When most of us speak of orchids, we think of the tropical orchids from Central and South America, and other far off, tropical, exotic places.  However if we were to search in our own woodland areas, we would likely find them growing right under our own noses.  Orchids can be found in most parts of the world except in the harsh conditions of the driest deserts and the arctic.  The native Epipactis gigantea grows in our area of the Lompoc Valley and is found in the western U.S., Canada, and Mexico as a large sized, cool to cold growing terrestrial that is found along rivers and streams, seepage banks with short rhizomes and a tall stem carrying 4 to 12, ovate-lanceolate, acute leaves that bloom in the spring and summer.  This particular orchid has been adopted by the Coastal Valley Orchid Society as the society orchid and emblem.  But if you do not have Epipactis gigantea in your collection then there are many other orchids that can be grown in your homes and greenhouses.

Of course, most of the commonly cultivated orchids are tropical varieties not native to our area.  Like any plant, they have needs that must be met for successful growth.  One of the rewards for an orchid grower is discovering the tricks of cultivation that bring a plant to flower.

The links below provide culture information for many commonly grown orchids. (These Culture sheets are from the American Orchid Society web site).

If you are just looking for cultural information about a certain orchid and don't wish to print culture sheets, then try Orchids AtoZ from the American Orchid Society.

You must have a PDF reader installed on your system and available to your Internet browser to view, print, or save the PDF documents.  You can download the current Adobe PDF reader for free at the Adobe web site, by clicking the image link below.