Plants in Vancouver: greenhouse orchids and succulents for a rainy city
The Fraser Valley, which supplies Vancouver and western Canada with flowers, grows daffodils, tulips, sunflowers and peonies in open fields but keeps its orchids under glass. Plants in Vancouver follow the same logic indoors: a potted orchid and a succulent under glass both live in a room, so the choice comes down to the recipient's windowsill rather than the weather outside.
Fields outside, orchids under glass: the flowering pots to choose
Phalaenopsis is the most popular orchid sold in pots, because growers can propagate it easily and bring it into flower under glass. A single bloom stays open for two to three months, far longer than anything cut and put in a vase.
The format depends on where the orchid is going. A single plant stands alone in its pot. An orchid in a box or a hat box travels next to other flowers, and one next to something sweet works as a gift in its own right. The Belgian Chocolate Orchid and the 7 Orchids in a Box both answer to that description by name alone. Whatever the pot, it arrives in the state it will keep on a sill at home, with no repotting once the door opens.
One more detail matters locally. Close to a quarter of Vancouver's residents are of Chinese background, and in Chinese custom white flowers are linked to mourning, so a plant for such a household is worth choosing in a colour other than white.
Mild summers, grey winters: where a moth orchid stands and reflowers
A moth orchid sets a new flower spike only when daytime temperatures stay below 27°C, and Vancouver's July highs sit around 19 to 22°C, comfortably inside that window. The RHS gives a workable range of 19 to 30°C by day and 16 to 19°C at night, which makes a bright room here a fair stand-in for a greenhouse through most of the year.
Direct summer sun through glass still scorches the leaves, so the plant wants a light window without midday sun. From November to March the city turns wet rather than frosty, and indoor heating dries the air further; watering drops to about once a week while the plant is actively growing and less often over winter. The pot should never sit in standing water: tip out the saucer, and keep the leaves and the growing crown dry when you water.
Leave the clear pot in place rather than switching it for something else. It shows whether the bark has dried out and lets you check that the roots are turning the silvery white of a healthy plant rather than a dull grey. Once a spike has finished flowering, cut it back above the second node to encourage a new one.
About 1,200 mm of rain outside, a spray bottle for the succulents
Vancouver gets around 1,200 millimetres of rain a year, most of it in November, the wettest month on the calendar. None of that reaches a succulent standing on an indoor sill; whatever water it gets comes from whoever waters it.
Succulents store water in their fleshy leaves and stems, sometimes as much as nine-tenths of their total weight. That is why an open bowl suits them better than a closed one, and a light misting from a spray bottle works better than a regular watering can. "Stone rose" is a trade name for a rosette-shaped succulent rather than a species name, and a florarium such as the Truncated Cube Florarium with Stone Rose Succulent carries one under glass without claiming otherwise. Cacti keep a drier routine again and sit in their own section.
Every order for plant delivery in Vancouver is put together after the plant is chosen rather than pulled ready-made off a shelf, and the florist photographs it before the courier leaves. The exact slot shows on the plant's own page, and the delivery terms set out the zones in full. Many hospital wards in the city don't accept flowers, which is worth checking before sending one; the rules for hotels, wards and other addresses are covered separately.
Choosing plants in Vancouver usually starts with what the orchid or succulent is for. Flowering plants cover the orchids and their boxed versions, floralariums hold a succulent under glass with nothing further to water, cactus plants suit a sill that gets forgotten for weeks, and potted plants by type group the rest for anyone comparing pots side by side.