Moth Orchid Decor

Appearance

• Before you add a moth orchid to your home or garden decor, consider its appearance. These orchids range in color from white to deep red, with perky shades of yellow and a pale pinkish-purple in between. Sometimes their arching stems hold 20 or 30 flowers, according to the University of Tennessee.

Considering Their Needs

• Incorporating the needs of moth orchids into the decor is both practical and aesthetically savvy. The main need that may affect decor is humidity. Phalaenopsis orchids require 60 to 70 percent humidity, according to the University of Tennessee. Placing them in the bathroom to soak in the steam is one option for meeting this need, but you can also set them in a tray filled with wet gravel to decorate other rooms. And because they require little light, you can place them in almost any room in the house, preferably near a window with a sheer shade.

Alternative Planting Methods

• For a more dramatic look, you can mount moth orchids on a tree trunk or sturdy branch; this is how they thrive in the wild. Simply attach the orchid roots to the tree trunk using biodegradable cotton string; over the course of several months or a year, it will attach itself to the tree, its new host. To mimic these natural conditions inside the home, attach your moth orchid to a slab of cork or bark. Hang the host cork on the wall several inches beneath a light, preferably in a humid room such as the kitchen or bathroom. Water frequently -- more than twice a week -- as moth orchids need more water than other orchids, and mounted orchids are prone to drying out.

Prolonging Blooming

• If you want to enjoy the color and beauty of orchid blooms longer than 4 months, you can prolong the flowering period with a few easy maneuvers. The University of Tennessee recommends snipping back the spikes after blooming to produce new flower-producing spikes. Alternatively, apply a diluted fertilizer high in phosphorus each week, which encourages flowering. You can also stimulate blooming by dropping the nightly temperatures to 55 degrees F for a month, then raising them to the typical 60 or 65 degrees F, tricking the orchid into thinking it is spring.