Phalaenopsis ‘White Willd Orchid’

The flowers of this orchid may be small, but there are loads of them (we lost count!), so the overall effect is really impressive. What’s also impressive is the length of time the flowers last – we had one in the office last year that flowered non-stop for virtually the whole year. They are relatively easy to grow – ours did not get too much TLC, and even got neglected at times, but it still soldiered on pumping out the flowers regardless. If you give it as a gift the recipient will be thrilled! Please note that the pot in the photograph is not supplied with the plant (which is sent out in a simple nursery pot). They do however make excellent potted plants, and if you want to have a ‘finished’ look, we do have a wide range of pots on our website to choose from.

They love humidity, so a bright kitchen or bathroom would be ideal, and mist the leaves with water occasionally, especially if they are in a heated room.

Don’t worry if the roots grow outside the pot. In their native environment, they grow in the crooks of branches, and use these aerial roots to absorb water from the air. They do not mind being overcrowded in their pots, so you only need to repot them when the growth starts to suffer. They usually only send up flower spikes once a year, however you may encourage a second flush of flowers to form more quickly if you trim back the stem to just above the first node immediately after they have finished flowering. They prefer even temperatures, so try not to have big drops at night time.