Discover The Meaning Behind Your Orchid Plant

Written by Cammi Morgan
Updated: March 16, 2023
Share on:

Advertisement


Flowers’ colors can hold significance for many cultures around the world. Since orchids are widely popular for use as cut flowers for celebrations, ceremonies, and gifts, knowing the symbolism behind the various colors of orchids can help you choose the right orchid for your special occasion. Understanding the meaning behind your orchid plant can also help you choose which species to grow in your home or garden.

In this article, we’ll discuss the symbolism behind seven colors of orchids, what occasion they’re well-suited for, and what energy they can help create in your home.

Alright, let’s dive right into talking about the meaning behind seven beautiful colors of orchids.

The Meaning Behind Your Red Orchid

Ruby Mokara

Red orchids are also a wonderful plant to grow for yourself.

©Wiyada Jaroenkhan/Shutterstock.com

Red orchids are vividly beautiful, eye-catching, and bring bold liveliness to gardens and indoor spaces. Like roses, these stunners of the orchid world represent love, romance, and affection, but they also symbolize bravery, inner strength, and boldness.

Red phalaenopsis orchids in particular, like the Bastian’s phalaenopsis (Phalaenopsis bastianii), are excellent gifts for a romantic partner. They symbolize love and attraction, but also because phals are beginner-friendly orchids that make for wonderful houseplants. With red phals, you can gift an expression of romantic love and also ensure your partner, who may not be an expert in orchid growing, can easily care for the plant.

Red orchids are also a wonderful plant to grow for yourself, as a reminder of your inner strength and to encourage you to take chances and live life boldly.

The Symbolism of Your White Orchid

La Monja Blanca

White orchids symbolize faith, hope, elegance, innocence, and simplicity.

©Arielvelasquez0896/Shutterstock.com

White orchids symbolize faith, hope, elegance, innocence, and simplicity. A vase of fresh-cut white dendrobium orchid flowers, such as the thunderstorm orchid (Dendrobium crumenatum), is a wonderful gift for celebrating fresh starts, renewals, and weddings. Growing white orchids can help create a sense of calm and gentleness in your home.

Gifting a bouquet of white orchid flowers communicates your faith in someone. It can express gentle encouragement and hope for the future. Graduations are a wonderful time for gifting someone a white orchid bouquet.

The Significance of Blue Orchids

Are Orchids Poisonous - Blue Orchid

Blue-flowered orchids are quite rare.

©Anastasia Lembrik/Shutterstock.com

Blue-flowered orchids are quite rare. Plants with a blue color overall are not common and represent less than 10% of the nearly 300,000 known flowering plant species. As such, blue orchids represent rarity, uniqueness, desire, fortitude, and a belief in one’s self.

Gifting blue-flowered orchids, such as the blue vanda orchid (Vanda coerulea), can help you communicate your appreciation for someone’s unique nature. Gift a bouquet of blue orchids to someone who has a strong sense of self and is a striking person.

Growing blue orchids can symbolize your faith in your own unique personality. These rare orchids help remind you to appreciate your special talents, unique experiences, and personal perspectives.

What do Orange Orchids Symbolize?

Orange guarianthe orchid

Symbolizing whimsy, enthusiasm, creativity, and playfulness, orange orchids remind us to embrace our inner child.

©Emőke Dénes | CC BY-SA – Original / License

Symbolizing whimsy, enthusiasm, creativity, and playfulness, orange orchids remind us to embrace our inner child. Make time for silliness and play. They also symbolize bold optimism and pride in accomplishments. Orange orchids make an excellent gift when celebrating a successful journey, and achievements in creative pursuits like art and music.

Growing orange orchids, such as the orange guarianthe (Guarianthe aurantiaca), can encourage you to think outside the box, take pride in your accomplishments, and enthusiastically pursue your dreams.

The Meaning Behind Your Pink Orchid

Purple cattleya orchids with green leaves

Pink orchids

symbolize gentle joy, fertility, new life, and grace.

©iStock.com/wisan224

Pink orchids symbolize gentle joy, fertility, new life, and grace. These fresh-cut orchid flowers are a wonderful gift to celebrate newborns and new parents. They exude a gentle joy that expresses care and peacefulness. They can also symbolize grace and forgiveness and can make a lovely gift for someone you’re making amends with.

Growing pink-flowered orchids, such as the pink butterfly orchid (Orchis papilionacea), can help remind you to be gentle with yourself, forgive your mistakes, and appreciate the quiet, gentle joys of life.

The Symbolism of Brown Orchids

Cymbidium Orchid

Brown orchids such as the iris-like cymbidium (Cymbidium iridioides) are excellent gifts for the nature lovers in your life.

©Diane Woodcheke/Shutterstock.com

Symbolizing wisdom, tranquility, rootedness, and a connection to the Earth, brown-flowered orchids are a wonderful representation of our connection and dependence on the natural world. Brown orchids are serenely beautiful and encourage quiet contemplation and an appreciation of the interconnectedness of the natural world.

Brown orchids such as the iris-like cymbidium (Cymbidium iridioides) are excellent gifts for the nature lovers in your life.

The Meaning Behind Your Yellow Orchid

Dickinson’s Lady Slipper

In orchids, the color yellow symbolizes cheerfulness, a sunny disposition, friendship, and optimism.

©709 × 531 pixels, file size: 108 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg – Original / License

In orchids, the color yellow symbolizes cheerfulness, a sunny disposition, friendship, and optimism. Yellow-flowered orchids, like the pale-yellow cattleya (Cattleya luteola), are a wonderful gift to welcome new neighbors, celebrate friendships, birthdays, and for other happy occasions.

If you want to brighten and liven up your home or garden space, growing yellow orchids is an excellent choice.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Sealstep/Shutterstock.com


Share on:
About the Author

Cammi Morgan is a writer at A-Z Animals where her primary focus is on mycology, marine animals, forest and river ecology, and dogs. Cammi has been volunteering in animal rescue for over 10 years, and has been studying mycology and field-researching mushrooms for the past 3 years. A resident of Southeast Appalachia, Cammi loves her off-grid life where she shares 20 acres with her landmates, foster dogs, and all the plants, fungi, and critters of the forest.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us? Contact the AZ Animals editorial team.