Robin Corwin

More Society... > In Your Garden - Robin Corwin

For a Mother’s Day gift that keeps on giving, choose a potted plant. While the beauty of cut flowers is fleeting, a carefully selected living plant can continue to bring mom joy for a long time to come. May I suggest a moth orchid?

Phalaenopsis orchids are elegant and sculptural houseplants. One of the easiest to grow indoors, they’re also abundant in nurseries, florist shops and even grocery stores. Their leathery, strap-like leaves are attractive, and the arching stem’s flowers open successively to resemble exotic moths in mid-flight. Flower colors include white, pink, purple and even yellow. Many cultivars are freckled or striped, and some sport darker centers and lips. All are incredibly beautiful.

If you select one with buds as well as blooms, the floral display can last three months. All that is needed for the plant’s continued well-being is filtered light, oncea- week watering and some fertilizer. Along with keeping the plant out of drafts and away from heat sources, this regime almost ensures reblooming, a feat that will bring mom great satisfaction.

I grow several moth orchids in the East-facing window over my kitchen sink. The extra humidity there is probably beneficial, and I get to drink in their beauty often. I flood them every Monday with filtered water and drain them well before replacing them in their decorative cachepots. Since I’m not great at remembering to fertilize, inserting two Jobe’s houseplant spikes deep into the orchid bark every two months makes feeding them almost effortless. When flowering fades, a cut just above the node that produced the lowest bloom sometimes results in another flower spike. If it doesn’t, I cut the stem all the way down and wait. Before long, the blooming cycle starts all over again.

Since orchids symbolize strength and tranquility, they’re the perfect gift for any mom.