Where do orchids come from?

Did you know that none of the orchid you're cultivating right now in your home are native to United States or Puerto Rico?

Where do orchids come from?

We know that there are species of orchids all over the world these days, but they had to start somewhere before they were carried and planted in all of those places. Orchids are actually native to regions in Asia, Australia, the Himalayas and the Philippines.

Where are orchids found naturally?

Well, actually the majority of the orchids available in the market are orchids grown in jars in Hawaii - This plastic bottle contains hundreds of small orchids shipped to Hawaii from Southeast Asia after being propagated by tissue culture or seed.

Thanks to that, nowadays orchids can be found growing naturally all over the world, although their natural habitats have been dying off slowly for years. They can be found in a lot of places growing in the wild in warmer and tropical climates like Hawaii.

Some areas where orchids grow naturally include: Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Hawaii, India, Japan, Mexico, Philippines, Peru, Thailand, Indonesia

There are also some species of orchid that grow naturally in North America, but they are very rare and many are considered endangered these days.

All our cattleya orchid comes from one of this places mentioned above, however we don't proceed to sell them immediately they are received. We wait until they are acclimated to our environment which is:

Temperature: from 68 F to 88 F

Humidity: from 70% to 99%

Air Movement: Very Strong Air Movement

Light: all of them receive direct morning light

Water: all our orchids are cultivated near to a rain forest so they receive water or a mist every single day

Growing Media: all our orchids are grown on our "curated" coconut husk, preferable in a clay pot or plastic but in a very loose media which include lava rock, perlite , fir bark and carbon.

**Rest assured, that we do not put any of our available cattleya orchids in our website unless they are a minimum of 2 to 6 month acclimated to our environment, and of course they must be in growing stage, with visible new growths or roots.

What do orchids need to survive after you purchase an orchid seedling from us?

This are young orchid growing in a material that holds moisture (but no saturated) they need to dry fast, and abundant air flow needed for root growth.

Orchids are like any other plant. They need:

Light
Water
Proper growing medium
Air
Fertilizer protocol
Preventive disease protocol

If you provide them with what they need, they will grow very happily and show you new growth and new roots in no time. If your environmental conditions are different from ours, you should try to adjust your environment artificially, either with humidifiers, artificial lights, fans and adequate growing medium depending on how often they will receive water.

XOXO @LaForestaOrchids