Springtime Spirit Lifters

OPEOPLE HAVE LONG HELD IN ESTEEM that which is beautiful, exotic, or rare. Whether a fine silk, an intricate hand-woven rug, a tantalizing perfume, or an exquisitely blended culinary dish, human beings find pleasure in exploring all that is different, new and lovely.

This fascination with beauty carries over into the selection and tending of plants, both inside the home and outdoors in the garden. One plant that inspires both interest and respect is the orchid.

Tending orchids in a home environment necessitates an understanding of the needs of the individual plant. For best success, as with any plant grown indoors or out, it’s best to match the needs of the orchid with the conditions of your growing environment. Attempting to grow an orchid in a space without adequate sunlight, for example, may result in a plant that either does not flower or that has pale, small, or flimsy flowers.

Frustration can be averted, at least in part, by taking steps to assess your home’s overall light and n n n SPRINGTIME SPIRIT LIFTERS

Elegant Orchids & Garden Center Possibilities

Orchids captivate the imagination, conjuring up images of more tropical environments, an oftenwelcome dream of escape during Wisconsin’s longer winter months. But their beauty in a home may be enjoyed year-round, bringing a burst of color to freshen and enliven sunlit window ledges. temperature before assigning a new orchid to a growing space. Other key variables in orchid care, including monitoring water, humidity, and ventilation needs, are easier to manipulate to match the plant’s requirements.

Orchids in the wild flourish around the globe, growing either on the ground or as epiphytes, or air

by Anne Kaiser

Lamm Gardens and Lammscapes!

plants. Epiphyte varieties often may be found in the upper levels, or canopy, of early-stage rain forests. In this natural environment, the orchids enjoy plenty of sunlight, a fair amount of moisture, and gentle breezes. As epiphyte varieties tend to do better as houseplants than their terrestrial counterparts, it’s helpful to consider the growing conditions of these varieties when placing them in an indoor living condition.

Orchids tend to prefer adequate hours of bright light each day to allow blooms to form. According to Emily Gehrke, owner of Thiensville’s Frenz Garden Center along with her husband Jim, Phalaenopsis is the orchid most often grown in the home. Gehrke noted that this type of orchid “has similar growing conditions (to) an African violet.” Other varieties are sometimes deemed more difficult to grow because of the more specific growing conditions they require. Gehrke also noted that because different types of orchids have variations in their care requirements (such as light and water needs, fertilization preferences, and how to repot), it is best to first become familiar with the needs of your choice orchid. “Orchids can last up to centuries,” Gehrke explained. “Given the proper conditions they can live a very long time,” she said. She encouraged patrons not to be discouraged if an orchid or other houseplant dies. “All plants are living things and all living things do die…It’s nature,” Gehrke said.

AREA GREENHOUSES

Flower preferences needn’t be exotic to be rewarding to grow, beautiful, and uplifting to view in the indoor and outdoor spaces of a home. Frenz Garden Center, located at 505 North Main Street in Thiensville, Wisconsin, offers customers a lovely selection of indoor and outdoor plants to brighten any season. Emily Gehrke described several flowering houseplant options that are both “long blooming and easy care.” She mentioned Cyclamen, Calandiva (“which has a rosette flower that resembles a rose”), and Kalanchoe as favorites of her customers. “They all have showy blooms (in) colors of purples, pinks, reds (and) white for Cyclamen (and) reds, pinks, yellows, (and) whites for Kalanchoes and Calandivas,” Gehrke said.

When selecting a flowering houseplant, Gehrke noted that it’s important to choose one that has buds as well as open flowers. “When purchased, plants can have open blooms, but also look for more buds on the plant for a longer flowering time,” she said. “Once the flower is spent, it is best to purchase a new one, (as) they are not easy to get to re-bloom…,” she said. African violets, however, are also a customer favorite, and they are easier to encourage to rebloom, with proper watering and fertilization.

One of the newest, most exciting inventions Emily at Frenz Garden Center says she carries is the AQUAPOTS! They are beautifully colored, Ceramic planters which are Self Watering, SelfContained and make for very easy, Carefree Container Gardening. They actually can save money down the road from not having to replace dead plants half way through the growing season. You can go on an extended vacation, and know your container garden will still be alive when you return!

As in the growing of orchids indoors, it’s important to provide flowering houseplants with enough light. “If a sunny window is not an option, table-top or floor-standing grow lights are available, with many style options,” Gehrke said. For those who wish to keep indoor plants compact, Gehrke noted that other indoor favorites include miniature plants, seasonal flowers, and green plants. Miniature plants “fit nicely on desks, tables, (and) in small spaces to brighten an area,” Gehrke explained. Her customers also enjoy succulents and air plants in their indoor home spaces.

Beaver Lake Blues & Sunset Views

Southeast shore – 154-ft. of awesome swimming frontage. Wooded privacy of 1.7-acres, small boathouse and original 42'x36' barn for storage. Please email for Virtual Interior Tour and Arial Lake Tour. N57W30560 Stevens Road, Hartland $2,400,000

LIEBERT TEAM

Your Lake Country area experts for 40 years. Two Lieberts are better than one.

Please email for Virtual Interior Tour and Arial Lake Tour.