Phalaenopsis “White Orchid”

Phalaenopsis orchids are often commonly known as moth orchids, due to the shape of their flowers. They come in many shades of white, cream , pink and purple and offer an exotic look to any room. Despite their fragile and delicate appearance, these plants are remarkably tough and easy to care for.

Phalaenopsis is a genus of approximately 75 species and natural hybrids, mainly found in the Philippines and Indonesia. The plants used in horticulture are as a result of plant breeding programmes using hybrids of two or three of these species, but mainly derived from Phalaenopsis amabilis. Recent advances in tissue culture have made the breeding and cultivation of these plants much easier, bringing these once rare and tricky plants into mainstream horticulture.

Moth orchids are characterised by having large, fleshy leaves, a profusion of aerial roots, covered in a grey spongy material called velamen (which absorbs moisture from the air), and long arching flower spikes that can carry over a dozen individual flowers.

You will notice that our orchids are provided in translucent plastic pots instead of our usual coir pots. This is because orchid roots require a little light – as epiphytes, the plants grow high up in the branches of trees, and do not root into the soil.