Has anyone any hints on growing orchids from scratch. I have one bulb
(i'm not even sure if that is what they are called) which has a shoot
about seven inches long, how long before it will flower? I have some
others waiting to be planted. Can they be outside in pots? I have no
greenhouse, but someone in Madeira told me that they would be OK

On 20 Mar 2004 07:28:48 -0800, (Liz
Harket) wrote:

Has anyone any hints on growing orchids from scratch. I have one bulb
(i'm not even sure if that is what they are called) which has a shoot
about seven inches long, how long before it will flower? I have some
others waiting to be planted. Can they be outside in pots? I have no
greenhouse, but someone in Madeira told me that they would be OK

There are thousands of species of orchids, so without more information
we really won't be able to help much. If you could post a picture of
what you have to alt.binaries,pictures.orchids, we might be able to
tell you something about it.

Most orchids orchids require temperatures above 50 F, and so can't be
grown outside all year round in many locations. However, many can be
grown indoors or brought inside during the cooler months.

deg

On 20 Mar 2004 07:28:48 -0800, (Liz
Harket) wrote:

Has anyone any hints on growing orchids from scratch. I have one bulb
(i'm not even sure if that is what they are called) which has a shoot
about seven inches long, how long before it will flower? I have some
others waiting to be planted. Can they be outside in pots? I have no
greenhouse, but someone in Madeira told me that they would be OK

There are thousands of species of orchids, so without more information
we really won't be able to help much. If you could post a picture of
what you have to alt.binaries,pictures.orchids, we might be able to
tell you something about it.

Most orchids orchids require temperatures above 50 F, and so can't be
grown outside all year round in many locations. However, many can be
grown indoors or brought inside during the cooler months.

deg

(Liz Harket) wrote in
om:

Has anyone any hints on growing orchids from scratch. I have one bulb
(i'm not even sure if that is what they are called) which has a shoot
about seven inches long, how long before it will flower? I have some
others waiting to be planted. Can they be outside in pots? I have no
greenhouse, but someone in Madeira told me that they would be OK



Are you sure it's an orchid? We need more information...

Liz,

Are you sure it is an orchid, not an "amarylis" for example? What does the
bulb look like: is it huge, brown and hard? Amarylis have big brown hard
bulbs, they are becoming popular now as well, and are often sold in the same
section of the stores as orchids.

If it is an orchid though, one with pseudobulbs (does the bulb look like the
bulbs on a cactus, green and succulent), it could be a wide variety of
orchids then. Orchids are the flowering plants family with the most variety
in it. You might want to post a picture of it to
alt.binaries.pictures.orchids, or to a Web site and then send a link to the
Web site to rec.gardens.orchids.

Identifying the plant is an important first step. After that you can get
advice on it.
Best,
Joanna


"Liz Harket" wrote in message
om...
Has anyone any hints on growing orchids from scratch. I have one bulb
(i'm not even sure if that is what they are called) which has a shoot
about seven inches long, how long before it will flower? I have some
others waiting to be planted. Can they be outside in pots? I have no
greenhouse, but someone in Madeira told me that they would be OK

Liz,

Here is a photo of an ameryllis bulb (note: I misspelled ameryllis before,
it has two l's)
http://www.landspro.com/amarillbulb.jpg
And here is an example of what orchid pseudobulbs look like
http://generalhorticulture.tamu.edu/...seudobulb2.jpg
(As pointed out earlier many orchids have pseudobulbs, and thus if that's
what you have it would need to be identified further.)
I suspect that it is more likely that you have an ameryllis because few
beginners would get orchid bulbs "waiting to be planted", whereas my
understanding is that with ameryllis one often gets a bulb that one needs to
plant oneself. Of course, it is possible that you have something that is
neither orchid nor ameryllis.

Best,
Joanna

"J Fortuna" wrote in message
...
Liz,

Are you sure it is an orchid, not an "amarylis" for example? What does the
bulb look like: is it huge, brown and hard? Amarylis have big brown hard
bulbs, they are becoming popular now as well, and are often sold in the
same
section of the stores as orchids.

If it is an orchid though, one with pseudobulbs (does the bulb look like
the
bulbs on a cactus, green and succulent), it could be a wide variety of
orchids then. Orchids are the flowering plants family with the most
variety
in it. You might want to post a picture of it to
alt.binaries.pictures.orchids, or to a Web site and then send a link to
the
Web site to rec.gardens.orchids.

Identifying the plant is an important first step. After that you can get
advice on it.
Best,
Joanna


"Liz Harket" wrote in message
om...
Has anyone any hints on growing orchids from scratch. I have one bulb
(i'm not even sure if that is what they are called) which has a shoot
about seven inches long, how long before it will flower? I have some
others waiting to be planted. Can they be outside in pots? I have no
greenhouse, but someone in Madeira told me that they would be OK

(Liz Harket) wrote in
om:

Has anyone any hints on growing orchids from scratch. I have one bulb
(i'm not even sure if that is what they are called) which has a shoot
about seven inches long, how long before it will flower? I have some
others waiting to be planted. Can they be outside in pots? I have no
greenhouse, but someone in Madeira told me that they would be OK



Are you sure it's an orchid? We need more information...

Liz,

Are you sure it is an orchid, not an "amarylis" for example? What does the
bulb look like: is it huge, brown and hard? Amarylis have big brown hard
bulbs, they are becoming popular now as well, and are often sold in the same
section of the stores as orchids.

If it is an orchid though, one with pseudobulbs (does the bulb look like the
bulbs on a cactus, green and succulent), it could be a wide variety of
orchids then. Orchids are the flowering plants family with the most variety
in it. You might want to post a picture of it to
alt.binaries.pictures.orchids, or to a Web site and then send a link to the
Web site to rec.gardens.orchids.

Identifying the plant is an important first step. After that you can get
advice on it.
Best,
Joanna


"Liz Harket" wrote in message
om...
Has anyone any hints on growing orchids from scratch. I have one bulb
(i'm not even sure if that is what they are called) which has a shoot
about seven inches long, how long before it will flower? I have some
others waiting to be planted. Can they be outside in pots? I have no
greenhouse, but someone in Madeira told me that they would be OK

Liz,

Here is a photo of an ameryllis bulb (note: I misspelled ameryllis before,
it has two l's)
http://www.landspro.com/amarillbulb.jpg
And here is an example of what orchid pseudobulbs look like
http://generalhorticulture.tamu.edu/...seudobulb2.jpg
(As pointed out earlier many orchids have pseudobulbs, and thus if that's
what you have it would need to be identified further.)
I suspect that it is more likely that you have an ameryllis because few
beginners would get orchid bulbs "waiting to be planted", whereas my
understanding is that with ameryllis one often gets a bulb that one needs to
plant oneself. Of course, it is possible that you have something that is
neither orchid nor ameryllis.

Best,
Joanna

"J Fortuna" wrote in message
...
Liz,

Are you sure it is an orchid, not an "amarylis" for example? What does the
bulb look like: is it huge, brown and hard? Amarylis have big brown hard
bulbs, they are becoming popular now as well, and are often sold in the
same
section of the stores as orchids.

If it is an orchid though, one with pseudobulbs (does the bulb look like
the
bulbs on a cactus, green and succulent), it could be a wide variety of
orchids then. Orchids are the flowering plants family with the most
variety
in it. You might want to post a picture of it to
alt.binaries.pictures.orchids, or to a Web site and then send a link to
the
Web site to rec.gardens.orchids.

Identifying the plant is an important first step. After that you can get
advice on it.
Best,
Joanna


"Liz Harket" wrote in message
om...
Has anyone any hints on growing orchids from scratch. I have one bulb
(i'm not even sure if that is what they are called) which has a shoot
about seven inches long, how long before it will flower? I have some
others waiting to be planted. Can they be outside in pots? I have no
greenhouse, but someone in Madeira told me that they would be OK