How to Speak Orchid

Branches (n) – The offshoots from the spikes. Each spike can greatly vary on the number and volume of branches it has. This is usually a result of growing conditions and breeding.

Epiphyte (n) - A plant that grows on another plant but is not parasitic. It generally pulls moisture and nutrients from the surrounding environments and is found mostly in temperate climates. Orchids are epiphytes. This is why Rocket Farms grows its orchids in moss- it replicates the orchid’s natural environment than soil or bark.

Mericlone (v, n) – The process through which orchids are bred. Mericloning enables breeders to create clones of existing orchids. This is done by taking a tissue sample from the specimen plant and then growing the tissue into multiples of identical plants. The benefit of mericloning is quality control; you know what the flower will look like and how it will grow.

Oncidium – An orchid genus with over 300 species. These orchids are much less commonly available for purchase due to their less predictable growth. This genus comes from the Greek word “onkos”, which means “swelling” and refers to the large bottom lip of the orchid. One very unusual Oncidium orchid is the Brassius orchid, which looks like a spider as an evolutionary mechanism to attract spider wasps to pollenate them.

Phaleonopsis - An orchid genus and the most commonly sold type of orchid. These are also called moth orchids, or Phals for short. The term moth orchid is thought to come from the genus of large moths called Phalaena, since these orchids are thought to resemble moths in flight.

Spikes (n) – The principle stems of an orchid. Although many orchid growers produce single-spiked orchids, the majority of Rocket Farms’ are double-spiked orchids, meaning there are two main stems. Increasingly we are even seeing some triple-spikes in our greenhouses.

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How to Speak Orchid

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