But most orchids are actually far sturdier, adaptable, and resilient than most people think. If you can grow houseplants, you can grow orchids. Orchids are different from other houseplants. These epiphytes live attached to other plants or structures that simply provide a place of attachment, but no water or nutrients. Since they do not have a continuous supply of water, their roots have a spongy coating that quickly soaks up the water from periodic rain or dew.
Water is stored in their thickened leaves and stems so they can survive dry periods.
Orchid growers have to provide support for the plant, without allowing the roots to stay wet. Indoors this can be accomplished by growing the orchid in a pot filled with chips of bark, stones, tree fern fiber or some other loosely packed material that allows the roots to be well-aerated and through which water can drain quickly. Potting an orchid in soil or letting it sit in a a water-logged pot will kill it, since a lack of oxygen will cause the roots to suffocate and rot. But you may have to experiment with different types of potting media to find the type that is best under your conditions. Orchids in medium-sized pots generally need watering only once a week.