How to Arrange Artificial Orchids

Cut the foam as wide and long as the container and 1 inch higher. Put a line of hot glue on the bottom of the container. Push the floral foam into the container. It should fit snugly.

Place a layer of sphagnum moss over the foam. Use the butter knife to tuck the edges of the moss into the sides of the container so none of the foam shows. Orchids in the wild grow in the crevices of trees and in moss and bark. Growing from the sphagnum moss gives the orchid a natural look.

Take a leaf of the orchid between your thumb and forefinger. Press the leaf into an upward arch and then into a graceful downward curve with your fingers. There should be a wire down the middle of the leaf to hold that shape in place.

Repeat the curves with the other leaves. Push two leaves to one side of the stem a few inches apart and one to the opposite side. Orchids don't grow with their leaves equally arranged around the flower stem.

Fluff the orchid petals using your fingers to separate and smooth them out. Use a photo of an orchid as a guide to petal placement. Exactly how they should be formed depends on the variety of orchid. Moth orchids have flatter petals and a flatter shape than Cattleya orchids for example. If the petals are creased from the store or storage, mist with water.

Curve the stem of the orchid into a gentle arch with pressure from your fingers. If there is more than one flowering stem, curve them both in the same direction, one at a 45-degree angle and one at a 70-degree angle. More or less, the angles don't have to be exact. You just want some space between the two stems.

Push the end of the stem at a slight angle into the floral foam. Push the sphagnum moss away from the foam and secure the orchid stem with a dab of glue. Replace the moss.