By Karen Edgington
Each week, Signal Akron will help you in your gardening adventures with an excerpt from "The Root of It," a monthly newsletter from the Summit County Master Gardeners, Ohio State University Extension.

Just as winter weariness threatens to dull our senses, the supplies of phalaenopsis orchids show up on store shelves. Growers have figured out how to produce these beauties for reasonable prices, especially when considering their extended bloom time of from three to six months. 

But how to display these elegant flowers? Phalaenopsis orchids are lovely as an accent or focal point, but also intermingle well with other plants. Creating a mixed orchid planter can take their display to the next level.

When choosing an orchid for a mixed planter, look for clean foliage, multiple stems and a number of unopened buds. Full-sized orchids add drama to mixed planters, but a miniature orchid is the ticket for a dining table or smaller space. 

Combine the orchid with tropicals or houseplants, even succulents, but choose plants with similar water and light requirements. Ferns mix beautifully with orchids and are offered in a wide variety of textures and shades of green.

Any decorative container with the height required to hold the orchid pot below the pot rim will do. A drainage hole is preferable, but not necessary. Planters without a drainage hole should have a supply of pea gravel or similar material at the bottom to act as a water reservoir and must be watered carefully. 

Orchids require a pretty exacting watering strategy, preferring a two- to three-week dry period followed by a watering — much different than ferns and other tropical plants. For this reason, it works well to keep a mixed planter orchid in its own plastic pot.

There are two ways to create the planter: Keep all plants in their original pots and camouflage the pot rims with moss and foliage, or keep only the orchid in its pot and plant the remaining plants in potting soil. Read on for instructions on creating the latter.

Instructions for making a tabletop orchid planter

Supplies:

  • One or more miniature phalaenopsis orchids, preferably multi-stemmed.
  • A mixture of plants to combine with the orchid (five to six will fill most planters). Purchase plants small in scale such as those sold for terrariums.
  • A container.
  • Pea or similar gravel for containers without drainage holes.
  • Good quality potting soil (no fertilizers or water-absorbing crystals please).
  • Sheet or reindeer moss (optional).
  • Focal point object such as shell, colorful rock, figure (optional).

Instructions:

  1. Gather your materials and arrange the orchid and other plants in the container to determine a placement strategy. 
  2. Remove all plants but the orchid, and place enough potting soil around the orchid container to anchor it in place.  
  3. Place potting soil on the bottom of the container .
  4. Plant the rest of your plants, shaking or teasing away and then discarding the soil from the original pots. The topmost roots should be just below the soil surface.
  5. Fill in gaps with potting soil.
  6. If using a doo-dad (technical term for a focal point object), put it in place.
  7. Fill in surface gaps with sheet moss or reindeer moss as desired. The container plants will fill in these spaces as they grow.
  8. If your container has a drainage hole, water well in a gentle stream until water comes out the bottom. Water planters without drainage holes until soil is moist to the bottom.

Keys to keeping your orchid container beautiful and thriving

  • Let the planter soil dry between waterings. Water containers with holes until the soil is saturated and water seeps from the drainage hole. Take care not to overwater containers without drainage holes. Water the orchid only once every two to three weeks.  
  • For the longest bloom period, place the planter in bright light, but out of direct sunlight.
  • Occasional misting with a spray bottle of water helps compensate for dry winter air. 
  • Trim unsightly leaves and leaves that grow out of bounds.

Mixed orchid planters can live and grow for long periods (a year plus). When the orchid has stopped blooming it can be popped out and replaced with a new one.

This project is sure to satisfy the gardener in you, and you may end up making another, and another, and …