Gary,
Nah. I don't have the patience for this. I very rarely buy orchids that are
not blooming size yet, and mostly I buy ones that are in bloom or in spike.
I am not patient enough to wait years to see the blooms. Though strangely
enough I didn't mind waiting months to see the bloom of my paph malipoense,
but I think that's because it's a neat plant while in spike as well as while
in bloom. I like watching leaves grow too, but not quite as much as watching
the blooms open.
Joanna

"V_coerulea" wrote in message
.. .
Maybe you could just buy a flask or 2, or a compot. Then you could watch
them grow bigger and get to repot them larger. The compots don't take too
much room, so you might deceive yourself that you still have plenty of
room
and buy too many. Of course, as they grow, you can then trade with others
for some different ones you want. That is if you can bear to part with any
of the "babies". That, of course, leads down the path of total absorbtion.
Because now you have to have a greenhouse to house all the new
acquisitions
along with the "babies". That first greenhouse will be much too small in
no
time at all, even though you swore it was huge when you bought it. It now
owns you: mind, body and soul. The only way to keep up with Rob's Rules is
to buy a larger greenhouse. Of course, I really can't think of a better
addiction that gives so much pleasure over such a long period of time.
Cheaper ones, but not better.
Gary

"J Fortuna" wrote in message
news:qQMce.942$nN.529@trnddc05...
Correction: I have only 6 Paphs, now surely that cannot possibly be
enough?
I still don't have a single one of those huge paphs that look like
bullfrogs
(like Paph Winston Churchill 'Indominable' for example, wouldn't mind
having
that one, and maybe a big green Paph to go with it as well), and then
there
is that neat species paph that looks like a poisonous mushroom (white
with
black spots ... paph bellatum, that's it), oh and I wouldn't mind having
a
bigger pure white paph (bigger than my Paph Deception II that is), Paph
Magic Lantern is also on my list, oh and given how fond I am of my paph
malipoense, maybe a malipoense hybrid would be neat to have too. I
really
liked all the paph lowii that they had at the orchid show in NY, they
look
like puppies with pink ears to me, but unfortunately David is not really
as
taken by them as I am, and so maybe I should first buy ones that we both
like.

Sigh. I need more Paphs.

Joanna, the Incorrigible

"J Fortuna" wrote in message
news:3fMce.1464$lZ.6@trnddc04...
I am an orchid addict, trying to postpone the inevitable: another
orchid
purchase. I last bought 3 orchids on April 16th (bringing up my total
to
38), since then I have been

-- visiting orchid vendor's websites every day, often more than once a
day
(just Web browsing, looking very innocent)

-- thinking about the imbalance in my collection, with 29 out of the 38
orchids being Phals, and only 9 Paphs, surely I must buy 22 more Paphs
soon.

-- stopped by the local plant nursery on the way from work, telling
myself
that if they happen to have a small Paph, those don't take up almost
any
extra space and one more Paph won't be any more trouble to water, etc.
The
only thing that stopped me from buying an orchid then and there was the
fact
that not only did they not have any paphs right now, but they are now
selling orchids potted together with leafy non-orchids, and those weeds
are
likely to take away nutrients from the orchids, right? Anyway they did
not
have anything special, so I just bought a new decorative orchid pot,
and
a
replacement lightbulb.

-- thinking with regret about that one orchid that I admired at one of
the
orchid vendor's at the New York show, but which I did not buy, since I
had
not looked around yet, and when I circled back, it was gone already.

-- thinking that I wish I could hold out with more orchid purchases
till
June, since in June through August fewer of my Phals will be in bloom,
and
so I will need to replenish the collection anyway, and I don't have
unlimited amounts of space in the one-and-a-half bedroom apartment that
we
live in. And surely having 17 orchids currently in bloom and 5 more in
spike
should satisfy me for the time being. But what are the odds that I will
stop
myself from another orchid purchase until then?

Does that kind of behavior sound familiar to you? Do you have
additional
orchid withdrawal symptoms that I should be watching out for? :-)

Joanna