vicky wrote ..
Anyone had any success with the (very pretty looking) egret orchids that
are advertised in most of the plant catalogues atm?

We got 6 either free or 'special offered' with something last year, and
they've done very poorly. I think 1 had a recognisable flower (which
was a lot smaller than I expected) and the rest the flowers either
didn't open or went brown, and now the plants are coated in some kind of
aphid.

They've been grown in orchid compost (ie, small bark chips) and watered
in a similar fashion to my other orchids (slightly more than sparingly,
actually)

They're dying off now and don't look like they're going to do anything
else. Should I throw them, or cut them back and store the little bulby
things for anotehr attempt next year?

Habenaria radiata. They are terrestrial orchids that grow in the fields in
Japan and therefore need a free draining humus rich, soil type, compost not
bark chippings which are used for tropical epiphytes/lithophytes mainly and
hold little nutrients or water. They should also get plenty of water when in
growth, Japan is quite wet, but they don't like sitting in it. They should
be hardy in most of the UK so a cold greenhouse is all they need/want.
Probably do better in a patio pot outside.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
just W. of London