If you’re reading this you’re either at Black Ring Coffee or you follow us or both. We thank you for both or either. When we first started working with Orchids about two years ago the one thing that excited us the most was that Orchids could be propagated be propagated and that they are perennial.

The documented history of the Orchid goes back as far as say 600 B. C. Confucius (551-470 BC) said that the Orchid was “The King of Fragrant Plants” The Orchid in Chinese is called Ian. The term or should we say the word Orchid attributed to Theophrastus (370-295 BC) who saw testis when he looked at the Orchid. The Greek word for testis was orchis. No doubt he thought testis resembled the pair of underground tubercles found on many Mediterranean species of Orchids. Through out cultures and civilizations the Orchid has had a place, not only for their appearance but as body lotion created from the plant by the Aztecs, to give them strength and courage. Orchids didn’t make their way to the west until 1731 where they were brought from the Bahamas by Pete Collinson. Years later the first Orchid Society was established in London in 1812. When the Orchid arrived in America is not known but by this different species and varietals of Orchids had be plucked from their tropical places of origin and brought to America. Once they learned how to propagate and cultivate Orchids outside of their natural habitats, the selling and using of Orchids in Europe and America took off in commerce and fashion, and now you can by an Orchid at your local coffee shop.

Our Orchids are Moth Orchids or Phalaenopsis amabilis, and what we’ve done is placed them in a glass container, with rocks on the bottom, and we used sphagnum moss as a substrate. We use rain water and we let the container completely dry out before watering again. We use a fish and kelp fertilizer only once a year after the flower stem has died. Every two years you can use new sphagnum moss as a substrate but we recommend keeping as much moss on the root system as possible and then adding new. You want to keep the Orchid in a warm place where there are no drafts and in indirect sunlight. They will flower for over a month if kept in the proper environment. If and when they do drop their flowers be patient they should return again by the end of the summer. Feel free to contact us if you have any more questions.

Another reason we love Orchids are for their symbolism, besides their early sexual reputations, Orchids are thought to provide protection and be conduits for love. They are also good companions when you that you need to up your willpower game and to be more fierce. Take time to meditate on your Orchid when you are consumed with negative thoughts and you need to get things done.

Again if you have any more questions, please contact us here on our website. Or follow and contact us here on Instagram.