Do Orchids Grow New Plants?

The Growth Habits of Orchids

• Some orchids have sympodial growth habits, while others have monopodial growth habits. Sympodial orchids exhibit new growths from lateral shoots while monopodial orchids have a single stem that annually grows from their apexes. In most cases, however, orchids are sympodial. Characterized by thick bulb-like growths, or psuedobulbs, sympodial orchids include cymbidiums and bulbophylum. Orchid leaves, stems and flowers will emerge from the new growths from these pseudobulbs. Eventually, the pseudobulbs will wither and die once they have fully supported the developing orchid growths. However, not all sympodial orchids exhibit pseudobulbs, such as the paphiopedilum. This type of sympodial orchid grows shoots from the base of the plant. On the other hand, monopodial orchids have vertical growth characteristics, meaning they grow upward. Instead of bulbs, monopodial orchids have new growths emerging from the end buds of old shoots. Examples of monopodial orchids include some species of the Vanda orchid.

The Life Cycle of the Orchid

• The orchid's life cycle starts with pollination, which actually differs from one type of orchid to another. Some orchids impersonate or mimic wasps to attract wasps to facilitate pollination while others use flies to start the seed pollination. A single seed pod can produce as many as 3 million seeds. However, only a few will reach maturity since the process of germination to maturity for orchids can take as long as 12 years, depending on the orchid specie. This rather long process is the reason why orchids become rare and endangered, hence, they're also expensive to propagate.

Raising Orchids

• Raising orchids can be very challenging, as the seeds require mycorrhiza, a fungus that enables successful growth for orchids. You can propagate orchids commercially or through meristem culture through the combination of seed and fungi in sterile flasks until the seedlings are ready for weaning and proper growing in pots. At home, the most common and easiest way to raise orchids is by dividing during repotting. This way, the orchids will grow genetically identical.

Easy Growing Orchid

• Though the orchid is relatively costly to raise, the Star Orchid, a variety of Epidendrum, or the Poor Man's Orchid, is more affordable than the rest of its kind. It's an ideal choice if you have a not-so-green thumb. It's easy to grow and maintain due to its highly adaptable nature to environmental conditions. A single stem can grow a multitude of plants. Once established in good soil, the plant blooms all year round. In addition, it's pest-free, hence it will not attract unwanted visitors from the insect kingdom. The downsides are that the Poor Man's Orchid has a weak stem and lacks the vibrant colors typical of higher-end orchids.