Choosing a nice Phalaenopsis

Hey there, a common place to purchase a first orchid is at a grocery store, or hardware store.  Typically, the orchids found there are phalaenopsis.  This is a fine place for a beginner to purchase an orchid and there are some things you can think about when you select the orchid you want to purchase.  

Phalaenopsis have many great characteristics.  Their blooms are long lasting, sometimes for months.  The light required is not difficult for most people to provide and they can rebloom every year if you pay attention to a few key details.  

When choosing a phalaenopsis, I recommend looking at the health of the plant, the size of the plant, and the quality of the blooms.  The leaves should be turgid, not wilted.  Avoid plants with signs of pest infestation (like scale).  In general, the plant should look happy.  A good time to buy is after a new shipment comes in.  The amount of light in the typical store settings is often insufficient for optimal health and the plants tend to lose a little vigor as they sit waiting to be purchased.  

When it comes to the size of a plant, that is very much dependent on your personal requirements.  Think about where you will place the plant in your home.  If the space is ver small, you may need to choose one of the smaller phalaenopsis.  They often have smaller but many blooms.  Plants with larger blooms tend to be larger and may get even larger for the next couple years.  

The quality of the blooms can be subjective.  The best rule of thumb is to pick the one with the blooms you like the best.  At first, you may think they all look alike, but after a closer look, you will see subtle differences in shape or form that make one stand out over another.  The bloom characteristics of orchids is highly dependent on genes.  The blooms will look quite similar the next time it blooms for you.  Don't obsess over that, the main thing is that you like the blooms on the plant you buy.

So we haven't discussed orchid name tags.  This is a drawback to buying a Phalaenopsis from a grocery store or big box store.  They rarely have the name of the hybrid on them.  To a beginner, this is not an issue.  If you become a more serious enthusiast, you will likely want to only purchase plants with name tags.  Don't worry too much about that, over time, most people lose name tags for some of their plants and it's always nice to have a blooming orchid whether it has a name tag or not.

So what next?  Now you can visit a few of these places and look closely at the plant health, size, bloom quality and select a new orchid for your home.  

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