anybody into ORCHIDS?

[Lonesomedave]

my wife runs a beauty shop, and we have many orchids to decorate the place.

mostly Phalaenopsis, because of low light level, but some Cattlayas also.

have had bad luck getting the Cats to re-bloom, mostly because of the low light levels, but have gotten a cart and am moving them outside for a couple hours each day...will see if that stimulates them...got to be careful not to get too much sun.

any thoughts? or anyone else into them...

please post



oooppps....posted in wrong place...should be in off topic...mods, help please

[MJ5150]

I tried my hand at orchids a few times. I figured my fuschia skills were transferable. Not so much. I got to feeling guilty about all the orchids I was killing so I stopped trying.

-Mike

[carlos840]

I do, i have around 20 in my flat, mostly Phalaenopsis, although i do have one Vanda and some Paphiopedilum.

The great thing about having so many is that i constantly have 4 to 6 of them flowering.

It is pretty easy to force the flowering by moving your orchids around. Just putting them in a colder environment will fool them into thinking it is winter and they start a flower stem.
All you have to do is put them in a colder room, or on the floor for a while and they will flower.

They are actually really hard to kill once you have the technique. Just soak them under the sink once every one to two weeks and make sure they do not stand in water.
Most people who kill them follow the "don't overwater, just give a little once in a while" that most florists tell you! Orchids like a lot of water, but need to dry out between watering. They hate to sit in water to.
Appart from that, they survive pretty much anything.

I really recommend the Paphiopedilum if you want to try low light orchids, they are low maintenance, have great flowers, and flower every 4 months or so.

I really hate the fact that most people see orchids a disposable, as soon as the flowers are gone, they throw them away!
If they knew it is so easy to get them to flower again they would keep hem...

[MJ5150]

Thanks for the info. Maybe I'll give it a try again. What do you consider low light? How cold is too cold?

-Mike

[Lonesomedave]

Originally Posted by MJ5150

Thanks for the info. Maybe I'll give it a try again. What do you consider low light? How cold is too cold?

-Mike

orchids don't much like temps below about 60-65 degrees- - they can tolerate down to 50 or so, but i certainly wouldn't go much below that...they also bloom best if they are warm in the day and cooler at night. daytime temps should be @ 75 degrees

as far as light for phalaenopsis...a south facing window is best...BUT you do not want them in direct sunlight! keep them near the window, but out of direct sunlight. cattalayas like more light, but they also will burn if exposed to too much direct sun.

east or west windows i have been told are alright, with the same reservations....keep them back where there is no direct sun on them.

water, as said, real good, but let it drain...have holes in your pot, and also have it on a tray where some runoff can fill it up, but do not have the plants sitting in water. they like humidity, but do not like to sit in water...this is vital

fertilize....as they say...weekly, weakly....just a tad of orchid fertilizer in the water, not much...and water them about every week....give them a good soaking and let it all drain off (except for the water in the dish at the bottom of the pot

you should have good success with phalaenopsis.

[Tituscrow]

Originally Posted by MJ5150

I tried my hand at orchids a few times. I figured my fuschia skills were transferable. Not so much. I got to feeling guilty about all the orchids I was killing so I stopped trying.

-Mike

I'm like that with fish. It's more of slow-death tank than an aquarium...

[Lonesomedave]

Originally Posted by Tituscrow

I'm like that with fish. It's more of slow-death tank than an aquarium...

i also am the aquarium....uhhhHummm...authority

start a thread and ask questions and maybe i'll have an answer....it really is easier than you think

freshwater, that is...don't know squat about salt water.

[Lonesomedave]

BUMP!....

are you going to tell me that NO ONE here grows or is into orchids?

i'm gonna send this around one more time and this time i expect some answers....PLEASE...

surely some one

[Chebass88]

They are my favorite flower. I have one phaleanopsis that seems to be doing well.

I enjoy Robert Heinlein's quote: "Isn't it lovely how much they look like orchids?"

[carlos840]

Orchid story.

My grandfather had a passion for orchids and was one of the first europeans to grow them industrially.
This was just after the war and was a time where orchids were still not as available as they are now, they still needed tropical conditions that could only be replicated in green houses, lots of heat and humidity.
He worked a lot on creating hybrids, and on tissue culture rather than seed culture, and apparently had something for cattleyas, he had hundreds of square meters of greenhouses and exported orchids all over Europe (from belgium).
Unfortunately all his heating was provided by petrol, the oil crisis of the 70's hit him really hard and he pretty much had to stop over night as he could not fight with orchid prices from the netherlands. They had started later on and had already switched to gas heating.

I don't know if that is why i love orchids so much, as i never saw any of it or talked to him about it (i was never close to my grandparents), maybe it is in my genes....

[fraublugher]

Moving them around willl just stress them out.
Most plants adapt to their environment [see natural environment as the model] constant moving equals constant stress . equals contant dying off .

Keep a routine, one day a week to check on them , eventually YOU will adapt to their drinking schedule, which cannot be done at random.
There's amillion other details but I can't see your plants can I?
good luck