Where do orchids grow in nature?
Orchids occur naturally from the Arctic Circle to the southernmost tips of every continent. Only Antarctica has no native orchids. The orchids that most hobbyists find interesting come primarily from the forests and mountain ranges of the tropics. Most are epiphytes or lithophytes, with only a few terrestrial species being common in cultivation. In nature, orchids can be divided into four distinct types according to their growing substrata. Those growing on trees are classified as epiphytes, or “air plants.” Those which cling to the surfaces of rocks are called lithophytes, or rock growers. Using regular soil in the pots of epiphytes and lithophytes smothers their roots and will eventually kill these plants. Terrestrials, however, are those orchids that normally do grow in the ground like a typical garden plant. Lastly, those that live entirely underground and get their nutrition by tapping into the root systems of other plants or by absorbing decaying leaf litter and other organic mat
