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    Home » Lifestyle

    DIY Orchid Centerpiece

    Published: Dec 18, 2020 by Andrea Howe · This post may contain affiliate links.

    4.8K shares

    Create this orchid centerpiece that is elegant and easy to maintain. This DIY contains the full step-by-step instructions to recreate your own fresh arrangement often found at high-end florists for $100 or more. 

    2 orchid plants and small house plants in a blue container on a wood tableMy friend Shelly, an interior designer and store owner, makes the most amazing orchid centerpieces.  Exactly like the ones you find at high end florist shops, that retail for well over $100.  Using orchids as her focus, she fills large and unique vessels with all types of plants ranging from succulents, to ferns, to create bold and long lasting centerpieces that easily become a statement piece around your home.

    A while back she taught me her secrets that I now share with you. Read on to get the full step-by-step tutorial.

    close up of white orchid

    materials needed to make your orchid centerpiece

    • 1-2 medium sized orchids
    • 3-4 small potted ferns, succulents & favorite houseplants
    • A large vessel to hold your plants (Home Goods is a great place to look for affordable options)
    • 2 sticks of bamboo, florist wire, sheet moss and reindeer moss (found at most craft supply stores)
    • Scissors or clippers, old newspaper or scrap paper to use as filler, and a plastic grocery bag to use as a liner
    • The raffia and leaf shine are optional but nice touches (Leaf Shine can be purchased at most home warehouse stores)

    small house plants and 2 potted orchids on brown kraft paper

    instructions to make your own centerpiece

    • Line your vessel with a plastic bag of some sort
    • Arrange your orchids and house plants
    • Fill in with balled up newspaper to hold plants in place
    • Attach bamboo to centerpieces
    • Create a trellis and decorate with raffia and reindeer moss
    • Cover newspaper with sheet moss

    woman assembly a DIY orchid arrangement

    Begin by lining your vessel with a trash bag or plastic grocery bag to protect it from water damage when watering your plants.  Leave all the plants in their pots to make it easy to switch out in case any fail. After you’ve lined your vessel, begin arranging your plants.  To help them stand up and to hold in place, ball up sheets of newspaper and stick in between.

    woman stuffing balled up newspaper in between orchid and house plantsOnce your newspaper is in place, remove the green sticks that come with the orchids and tie them to the bamboo.  You’ll notice that the bamboo sticks will be too high for the plant.  Not a problem.

    Taking a pair of gardening shears or even heavy kitchen scissors, snip off the tops of the bamboo, and you should have just enough left to make a perfect cross trellis.  Take your florist wire and cut about a 12″ piece and start wrapping your bamboo cross trellis in place, in a diamond pattern.woman tying orchid plant to a piece of florist bamboo
    cutting-bamboocreating a cross trellis for an orchid with bamboo and florist wire Then it’s time to apply the reindeer moss.  Take small bits of it, and a strip of the raffia, and wrap the moss in place with the raffia, covering up each section of florist wire.  tying-reindeer-moss to bambooFinally, take your sheet moss and break it into pieces to cover up the newspaper.
    using sheet moss to decorate orchid centerpiece Spray your leaves with leaf shine is an optional step, but it makes a difference!  The spray rids the leaves of dust and water spots, and makes them super lustrous. And you are now done making your own arrangement!

    can of leaf shine next to a potted plant spray-plants-with-leaf-shine

    Orchid maintenance and care tips

    Water your orchids about every 15 days, making sure not to over water. A great way to prevent over-watering is to drop a single ice cube at the base of each plant every 10-15 days.  For the house plants, follow instructions based off of their variety.

    The orchid blooms should last a good 3 months and can possibly bloom twice a year. Once the last blooms fall off, cut your flower spike halfway down the stem. Continue caring for it as usual, it is not dead!, and hopefully it will bloom again.

    Orchids love humidity, so keep your arrangement somewhere with a temperature range of 75-85 degrees Fahrenheit. Every once in awhile, take your arrangement in the bathroom while taking a hot shower.

    ice cube at the base of a potted orchid plant

    choosing the right plants for your arrangment

    • Choose filler plants that will require similar amounts of sun and water. My dining room table gets lots of afternoon light, so we chose hearty houseplants and flowers that will do well with lots of light.
    • The Phalaenopsis orchid is a great choice since it’s the most common and easily available variety. They are also hearty and reasonably priced.
    • For the filler plants we chose a Zebra Plant (the striped houseplant), two Flaming Katys (the flowers) and a couple of pots of flowy moss.

    orchid arrangement with succulents, ferns and moss

    how much does this floral arrangement cost to make?

    All the supplies required to make this orchid centerpiece will run you about $35-40, which is still much cheaper than if you bought your own. Plus, many of the supplies, such as the moss, florist wire and spray, can be used to make multiple arrangements.

    tall white Phalaenopsis orchid in a blue pot

    How long does this Orchid Centerpiece take to make?

    From start to finish, the arrangement only takes about 20 minutes. If you also include your initial time investment visiting a couple of stores to pick up supplies, in all total you should have this centerpiece completed in less than 2 hours.

    The effort is well worth it because the results are stunning and will save you tons of money. You can also scale this tutorial down to make smaller arrangements that would be perfect for gift giving.

    close up of white orchid tied to a bamboo stick with raffia and moss
    I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! Please make sure to let me know if you give it a go and how it turned out.

    Other great tutorials to check out

    • DIY Leather Chain Necklace 
    • DIY Wire Star Wall Art
    • DIY Yarn Wall Tapestry

     

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    About Andrea Howe

    Andrea Howe is a Certified Nutrition Coach (CNC PN-L1) and the founder of Howe We Live. As a seasoned home cook of over 20 years, developing and photographing recipes is her passion. Andrea has spent over 10 years in the health & nutrition industry, writing for various publications including Babble and Disney. Her work has appeared in Real Simple, Taste of Home, Yahoo, Buzzfeed and ABC News.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Barbara says

      March 11, 2020 at 9:27 pm

      I like ,one so much orchids i have 10 colours in home

      Reply
    2. Susan says

      May 23, 2015 at 8:26 pm

      I am so glad I came across this site-your arrangements are beautiful. I can’t wait to try one myself. Thanks for sharing your talents!

      Reply
    3. Heather says

      May 25, 2013 at 12:20 pm

      I love orchids! This arrangement is stunning! Pinned!

      Reply
    4. Ginger says

      May 24, 2013 at 8:38 am

      Beautiful! Thanks for all the great tips. I would never have thought about living the plants in the containers so you can take them if (or in my case when) they die to replace them easily. Brilliant!

      Reply
    5. {darlene weir} @ fieldstonehilldesign.com says

      May 23, 2013 at 11:20 am

      SO pretty!!

      Reply

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    Welcome to Howe We Live. I’m Andrea, a Certified Nutrition Coach and a passionate home cook. I’ve been writing about the health & nutrition industry for over a decade. As a mom of 3, my number one goal is to make eating well as uncomplicated as possible. Let me help you throw together a great meal at home that is both delicious, and healthy-ish. Read More

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    orchid and house plant DIY arrangement in a wooden box