Anybody grow orchids?

[Buff Shallots]

I used to have over 20 but when I moved, the conditions weren't right for them and they declined so much I had to compost them.

Now I have a Miltonia and Dendrobium at my office. Hoping they thrive enough here to bloom again!

 

[friendly_gardener]

Wow..Those are really beautiful darlings..
Which colour you have in miltonia?Have they bloomed?

:dance

 

[peeps7]

I used to have one but the conditions weren't right for it to thrive so it didn't make it. They are SOOOO beautiful though.

 

[sebrightlover]

I want to get another one.

I had one for like 5 years, but I never got it to bloom again. Then the little yellow demon cat ate it.

 

[Rosalind]

Bumping this because apparently I can grow orchids, not just kill them:

When I got this, it was a wrinkly, sad-looking thing on the clearance table and hadn't got a single flower. Finally got it to bloom!

My first two attempts at orchids were eaten by the small grey cat you see in the corner. This one, and a Phalaenopsis, have thus far survived the grey kitty.

 

[Carri]

I love orchids. My mom is so good at growing them. She has 30-40 of them! I've had one (I killed it :/) but I think I may make another attempt soon. I was at my parent's house yesterday and I miss seeing them!
My house is pretty dark inside. Does anyone have an ideas for me?
Pretty plant, Rosalind! That's a great clearance table find!

 

[patandchickens]

Urgh, my parents have a distinct excess of orchids. I can't say orchids do all that much for me except Phalaenopsis and some of the odder looking nonhybrids. Oh, and I like the really hairy warty Paphs too, and the Fu Manchu-ish ones And native wildflower orchids, most of which do not frankly look much like orchids at all, a distinct point in their favor I have *tried* raising castoff Phal's from my parents' greenhouse but never really assiduously enough to have had any success getting them to bloom.

I'm always impressed, though, by anyone who gets them happily flowering in normal household conditions. Nice picture Rosalind! That looks like a hungry, plotting expression on the grey cat's face, though... better watch out...


Pat, who keeps trying to persuade her parents to grow more *interesting* tropicals in the greenhouse, not those darn overhybridized plasticky looking orchids

 

[Carri]

I can't say orchids do all that much for me except Phalaenopsis and some of the odder looking nonhybrids.

I'm a fan of Phalaenopsis, too, but probably because they *supposed* to be easy to grow. I still kill them, though. I must have some talent.
I'd really like one with the big, white flowers.

 

[patandchickens]

I can't say orchids do all that much for me except Phalaenopsis and some of the odder looking nonhybrids.

I'm a fan of Phalaenopsis, too, but probably because they *supposed* to be easy to grow. I still kill them, though. I must have some talent.
I'd really like one with the big, white flowers.

As you are in California, the problem may lie in too-dry air (a tray of damp pebbles under them will *not* be sufficient) and/or too-warm nights (IIRC, Phals like it fairly cool - y'all correct me if I am remembering this wrong). If your plants were from somewhere like Home Depot, it is also possible they were doomed from the start, so it may not even have been your fault at all.

Really, much as I am not wild about them , there ARE orchids available to suit most kinds of growing conditions - if you are really interested in the whole orchid thing it might be worth looking a little more into what the various types want in life, and trying again


Pat, having put the horses into the barn for the night (a very rare event) due to -35C windchill, and actually *enjoying* contemplating tropical orchids for a change <g>

 

[Rosalind]

Yep, Phals like it cool and also flower in response to temperature changes--that is, there must be greater than 20 degrees F difference in the daytime temp from the nighttime temp. In my house, this is not generally a problem. We've got lots of drafts.

I dunno, I had good luck with my cheesy $15 Lowe's Phalaenopsis. I had to re-pot it in proper growing medium, but after that it was fine. Bloomed nice for months on end.

The secret to my success with this one was:

-Getting a kitty who hated Grey Kitty but loved that particular window and wouldn't share it with her,

-Getting exactly the right orchid food from a nursery, not just any old balanced plant food, and

-Drowning the heck out of them when they were watered, but letting them dry out a little between waterings. I make it sound like I did it on purpose, but really it was one of those, "Oh, rats, I forgot to water the plants this week--uhhhhh, watering twice as much is just as good as twice as often, right?"