... I'm going to drive down to a rather big nursery not far from me where I
will ask for the orchid Neostylis Lou Sneary. I really like the look of this
plant and it has a very pretty flower..

Does anyone have any thoughts on this plant? Any recommendations or special
thoughts on treatment or something like that?
I'm sure they'll be able to give me some general information where I will
buy (or look for) this plant, but.. Nothing beats hands-on experience, I
guess.

I'm rather nervous and I don't know why.. : P

It's rather cold here at the moment.. Around 50 degrees, and will be varying
from 50 to 60 degrees within the next week or so..
If I have a heater on, would it be safe to have the plant near it?
I'm also going to get a humidity tray, I've read that they are useful in
non-humid areas..

Is it safe to bring this plant outside when it rains?
When it's windy?

I'll keep it away from direct sunlight (will be mostly living next to a
window in my bedroom).. Facing west..
Is it absolutely necessary for this plant to obtain wind of some sort? I
could always take the pot outside if this is needed..

I hope someone could give me some information on this.. And if I have left
something out, please feel more than free to add it in..

Thanks a bunch to all who have already contributed and replied so quickly to
my previous post..

Hi Eroyee,

I agree, that Neostylis is a beauty, but I don't think you are likely you
are going to find it available at a regular nursery, large or not. You would
most likely need to visit a specialist orchid nursery, or even mail order
the plant.

Here is a suggestion. If you are going for a drive tomorrow, the Mornington
Peninsula Orchid Society is having their winter show from the 3-9th of
August, at the Cranbourne Park Shopping Centre, High Street, Cranbourne. The
will in all likelihood have hundreds of blooming orchids for you to check
out, and give you and idea of what you like. There will also be society
members onsite who will answer any questions you have. Use their knowledge.
Explain your growing conditions, and ask for suggestions what they think
will grow easily in your area. There should be a selection of plants for
sale as well - usually a lot cheaper than local nursery Plalaenopsis and
Cymbidiums.

If you can't make it to the Mornington Peninsula, the following link lists
Australian Orchid societies, one of which should be close to you.
http://www.orchidsonline.com.au/ausOrchidSocieties.html

I agree with Wendy, a nice Dendrobium kingianum (Aussie native) is a great
place to start. I bought one last year in Sydney for about $12 - in that
year it has almost doubled in size, and is just about to open 30 plus
beautiful pink flowers. It's a very easy grower. There are also hundreds of
hybrid Aussie Dendrobiums using D. speciosum, D. tetragonum and D.kingianum,
among many other species. Try typing "Dendrobium Hilda Poxon" or "Dendrobium
Aussie Victory" into Google's image search - just two out of hundreds of
pretty Aussie Dend. hybrids.

Good Luck with your search
Matthew

You seem to want to
"Eroyee" eroyeeattelstra.com wrote in message
...
.. I'm going to drive down to a rather big nursery not far from me where I
will ask for the orchid Neostylis Lou Sneary. I really like the look of
this
plant and it has a very pretty flower..

Does anyone have any thoughts on this plant? Any recommendations or
special
thoughts on treatment or something like that?
I'm sure they'll be able to give me some general information where I will
buy (or look for) this plant, but.. Nothing beats hands-on experience, I
guess.

I'm rather nervous and I don't know why.. : P

It's rather cold here at the moment.. Around 50 degrees, and will be
varying
from 50 to 60 degrees within the next week or so..
If I have a heater on, would it be safe to have the plant near it?
I'm also going to get a humidity tray, I've read that they are useful in
non-humid areas..

Is it safe to bring this plant outside when it rains?
When it's windy?

I'll keep it away from direct sunlight (will be mostly living next to a
window in my bedroom).. Facing west..
Is it absolutely necessary for this plant to obtain wind of some sort? I
could always take the pot outside if this is needed..

I hope someone could give me some information on this.. And if I have left
something out, please feel more than free to add it in..

Thanks a bunch to all who have already contributed and replied so quickly
to
my previous post..

There you go Eroyee, see why this is such a neat group, Matthew has just
given you
the perfect gateway of info to start you on your way. *G*
Good luck & let us know what you do.
Cheers Wendy
"sneff" wrote in message
...
Hi Eroyee,

I agree, that Neostylis is a beauty, but I don't think you are likely you
are going to find it available at a regular nursery, large or not. You
would
most likely need to visit a specialist orchid nursery, or even mail order
the plant.

Here is a suggestion. If you are going for a drive tomorrow, the
Mornington
Peninsula Orchid Society is having their winter show from the 3-9th of
August, at the Cranbourne Park Shopping Centre, High Street, Cranbourne.
The
will in all likelihood have hundreds of blooming orchids for you to check
out, and give you and idea of what you like. There will also be society
members onsite who will answer any questions you have. Use their
knowledge.
Explain your growing conditions, and ask for suggestions what they think
will grow easily in your area. There should be a selection of plants for
sale as well - usually a lot cheaper than local nursery Plalaenopsis and
Cymbidiums.

If you can't make it to the Mornington Peninsula, the following link lists
Australian Orchid societies, one of which should be close to you.
http://www.orchidsonline.com.au/ausOrchidSocieties.html

I agree with Wendy, a nice Dendrobium kingianum (Aussie native) is a great
place to start. I bought one last year in Sydney for about $12 - in that
year it has almost doubled in size, and is just about to open 30 plus
beautiful pink flowers. It's a very easy grower. There are also hundreds
of
hybrid Aussie Dendrobiums using D. speciosum, D. tetragonum and
D.kingianum,
among many other species. Try typing "Dendrobium Hilda Poxon" or
"Dendrobium
Aussie Victory" into Google's image search - just two out of hundreds of
pretty Aussie Dend. hybrids.

Good Luck with your search
Matthew

You seem to want to
"Eroyee" eroyeeattelstra.com wrote in message
...
.. I'm going to drive down to a rather big nursery not far from me where
I
will ask for the orchid Neostylis Lou Sneary. I really like the look of
this
plant and it has a very pretty flower..

Does anyone have any thoughts on this plant? Any recommendations or
special
thoughts on treatment or something like that?
I'm sure they'll be able to give me some general information where I
will
buy (or look for) this plant, but.. Nothing beats hands-on experience, I
guess.

I'm rather nervous and I don't know why.. : P

It's rather cold here at the moment.. Around 50 degrees, and will be
varying
from 50 to 60 degrees within the next week or so..
If I have a heater on, would it be safe to have the plant near it?
I'm also going to get a humidity tray, I've read that they are useful in
non-humid areas..

Is it safe to bring this plant outside when it rains?
When it's windy?

I'll keep it away from direct sunlight (will be mostly living next to a
window in my bedroom).. Facing west..
Is it absolutely necessary for this plant to obtain wind of some sort? I
could always take the pot outside if this is needed..

I hope someone could give me some information on this.. And if I have
left
something out, please feel more than free to add it in..

Thanks a bunch to all who have already contributed and replied so
quickly
to
my previous post..

"Eroyee" eroyeeattelstra.com wrote in message
...
[snip]
I'm rather nervous and I don't know why.. : P

No need to be nervous. Orchids don't bite, so you'll not suffer anything
except maybe stress if the plant doesn't do well and a little damage to your
pocket book. :-)

It's rather cold here at the moment.. Around 50 degrees, and will be
varying
from 50 to 60 degrees within the next week or so..

You call that cold? Come to Canada, particularly the north or east, in
January. Then you will really see the cold! :-)

If I have a heater on, would it be safe to have the plant near it?
I'm also going to get a humidity tray, I've read that they are useful in
non-humid areas..

Yes and no. If you have the growing area open to your room, you are
effectively trying to raise the humidity of the whole room using the tray.
Make no mistake, the water in the tray will attempt to form an equilibrium
with the air in the room (or wider area, depending on how open the room is).
But this means that in most cases, a humidity tray will not have a
measurable effect on the humidity your plant sees. However, if you enclose
both the plant and the humidity tray by some means (e.g. a small plastic
tent), the if there is sufficient water in the humidity tray, you can get
close to 100% relative humidity regardless of how dry the air is in the room
in which it is placed. What I'd do is make a cabinet with plexiglass in a
wood frame, and place both the plants and tray in that, and have a pair of
vents, one of which has a fan that blows air it brings into the chamber
across the water in the tray. In this way, the air brought into the growth
chamber by the fan ought to pick up a significant amount of moisture, and
provide the required air movement needed by most orchids.

Is it safe to bring this plant outside when it rains?
When it's windy?

Probably. after all, most orchis live outside all the time. ;-) But as to
whether or not your particular pattern of rainfall and wind speeds is
helpful or harmful to your plant will depend on the details of the ecology
of the species you have (or the species from which the hybrid was made - as
the case may be).

HTH

Ted

Eroyee,

I'd tell you to calm down and not be nervous, but I guess one's first orchid
is a little like "the first time"! Either way, you'll love the experience!
Stay with us.........

Diana