Touching Orchid

[orchidlover411]

Hi i have recently acquired many orchids... 50 to be exact! I was wondering if its ok if i were to touch the buds of the orchids... Now im not talking about grabbing them and squeezing the life out of the but just a little accidental graze of the hand. In case anyone is wondering why i would ask such a silly question i heard from an anonymous source that the orchid would die if you touch it... any part of the plant.

Thank you.

[Hummer344]

UMMMMM, I have never had that trouble out of my 60 orchids. Me thinks that it might be one of those ole wives tales.

[Leisurely]

So, I guess you have learned by now that you don't believe what you hear unless you know it to be a fact. That was probably started, once upon a time, by a grower who did not want people handling plants at shows. Just guessing. Your orchids will not be harmed by touching them. You can even kiss them if you want and no harm will come to them

[Tobi]

Hi and welcome to the forum. That's sounds like something my Grandmother
from the "old country" might say. Unless your hands have been in contact
with a bacteria, virus or fungus that is pathogenic to plants, then an
occassional love pat will not hurt. I'm not saying hugging and kissing the buds
several times a day, but touching the plant or buds should not harm them.

[jay]

Welcom to the forum.

Jay

[pikevi]

Welcome to the forum orchidlover411.

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by orchidlover411

In case anyone is wondering why i would ask such a silly question i heard from an anonymous source that the orchid would die if you touch it... any part of the plant..

First of all welcome to the fourm! If you need information on how to take care fo your new collection and have the names of some of your orchids (they should have tags of some sort in them, be sure to keep the tag in the pot so you don't loose track of which tag goes with which plant), post some of the names and we'll see what we can do to provide information on how to care for them.

It's never silly to ask a question. That's what the forum is for. On the contrary it's wise to ask about somethign we don't know and silly to remain in ignorance about something. Folks here are helpful and eager ot share the joy of orchid growing, so you never need to worry about asking lots of questions.

Rest assured in knowing that touching an orchid will not kill the plant and that touching a bud or any part of the plant, either accidentally or intentionally will kill neither the flower nor the plant. For the vast majority of the commonly grown orchids it is just the opposite, they're tough plants.

I'm happy to tell you that your anonymous source doesn't have the foggiest idea what they're talking about. Several months ago we had a thread going here where people posted crazy things they'd been told about orchids, things like put them in a bag under the sink for 3 months to get them to bloom. This "orchid myth" that you've posted put a smile on my face. It's not one I'd heard before.

Let us know if you have other questons!

Happy Growing!

[MariahK]

I haven't heard of this either but to add my two cents if it were true all my orchids would be dead!

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Sometimes buds have a problem opening, maybe the air is too dry or a little sap is sticking the petals together, so I often flex the buds a little to help them to separate at the seam where separation normally occurs. Just be a little gentle. For most deseases, an open wound is nescessary to allow the organism to enter the plant, with virus being an example. So handling is OK if you are careful not to scratch the plant with a finger nail.