My Phalaenopsis

I once believed that the greatest compliment a houseplant could give its owner was to flower. Yet my three year old phalaenopsis has honored me much more by going forth and multiplying.I water it sparingly. I have never re-potted it. I have never fed it. I do leave it on my shady porch for the summer, and this is why I think the plant approves of me, for what is more tropical than a Tennessee summer?

Books advise cutting the orchid's stem after flowering. I ignore this advice. This plant has never been out of flower, even when producing its two pups. Orchids live on warmth, wind, and dappled sun. Their offspring ask only for tree bark to live on. One day this spring I will have the courage to pot the orchid babies, though I may leave them attached to their mother for a while. I admit I am afraid of running out of orchid luck.