Apart from Phalaenopsis, there are many other nice orchids that I want to discuss. This page is about three of the most popular orchid flowers we can easily find in our florist’s nowadays: Cattleya Orchid, Dendrobium Orchid and Paphiopedilum.

I intend to make a summary description of these three kinds of orchids and also give some tips on how to care for them properly. That’s because, even if all they are orchid plants, each one has different necessities or requirements in order to grow as healthily as they deserve.

Let us begin with the plant that some have described as the “Queen of Orchids”: Cattleya. Cattleyas are commonly known for their typical narrow petals that surround a sort of a lip in the middle of the flower. However, there are more that 40 different cattleya species and each one has different features.

Regarding Cattleya orchid care, the difference between Cattleya and many other orchid species is that this kind of orchid likes the direct rays of the morning and late afternoon sun very much (but not the hard rays of the early afternoon). Another characteristic is that Cattleyas prefer not to be repotted; so do not do that unless the orchid media is decaying or the roots have already outgrown it.

Cattleya Orchid

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The second orchid we will discuss is the Dendrobium Orchid.

The shapes of Dendrobium orchid flowers are somehow similar to that of another very beautiful and interesting orchid: the Phalaenopsis orchid (that we are not going to discuss on this page). Therefore Dendrobiums are also called “Phalaenopsis Type”.

As for orchid care, Dendrobium’s requirements are much the same as Cattleyas, unless that they like to be repotted every two years. This way, Dendrobium Orchids are going to thrive in the new media.

Dendrobium Orchid

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And… last but not least…

… The Paphiopedilum or Paph orchid. Pahiopedilums are perhaps the most unique and exotic among orchid plants. There are nearly 80 different paphiopedilum orchid species and they are native to Southeast Asia. Possibly the paphiopedilum most remarkable feature is the curious shape of their flowers. Indeed, some of the paph orchids display their flowers in a shape resembling a woman slipper. Hence they are commonly known as Lady’s Slipper (or Venus’ Slipper).

Paphiopedilums are not very choosy when it comes to care for them. Only bear in mind that the plant should always be moist (but not soak with water) and that they like to be repotted every two (or, at most, three) years. Besides, Paphiopedilums are one of the best choices when we want to grow our orchids indoors.

Paphiopedilum Orchid

If you want to know more about Cattleya, Dendrobium and Paphiopedilum orchids, I recommend your reading the ebook: Growing Orchids Indoors and Outdoors.