Probably the most “user-friendly” orchids for the average homeowner are species and hybrids of the Cattleya, Phalaenopsis and Paphiopedilum genera. Cattleya flowers have two large horizontal petals and a lower petal, called a “lip.” Located between these three petals are smaller sepals. Cattleya plants have stiff, upright leaves with a storage structure called a pseudobulb at the base. On the other hand, phalaenopsis orchids have a monopodial growth habit, with a compact central stem. For orchids such as cattleya and phalaenopsis, orchid bark and osmunda fiber are two popular growing medium choices.