Hello, I'm new to this newsgroups and to orchids as well, so please excuse
my lack of knowledge. :-)

In April we got our first orchid, which is labeled as "Vuylstekeara Saint
Sand 'Pacific sunrise,'" when it was already beginning to bloom. All blooms
were open soon after we bought it, the blooms stayed for a month and a half
or so, and then withered and fell. Meanwhile we were watering as instructed
about once a week.

We went back today to have it repotted (we were told to do so after the
blooms fell) and they told us we should fertilize it. We know we should
avoid urea in the fertilizer, but beyond that, we aren't sure which one to
buy.

In case this info is necessary, it is in a north-facing window, the potting
mix is a combination of what appears to be wood chips and some synthetic
material (given to us at the orchid place when it was repotted), and we live
in Oregon, where the weather is neither humid nor dry and the weather is
mild tending hot this summer.

Tips on which fertilizer to buy and anything else we should be doing? The
orchid people told us at the repotting that the root structure was looking
very good but that we should increase watering to once every five days since
it is summer.

Vuylstekearas are probably a good choice for your climate, as they tend to
prefer to avoid a lot of heat, and can tolerate cooler weather quite well.
They like to stay evenly moist as far as watering goes, so you may need to
adjust your timing away from the "weekly" as appropriate. Don't let the
medium stay soppy, but water before the plant undergoes dry spells.

I suspect that growing it in a north-facing window will be a problem - the
plant may grow fine, probably a bit "leggy", but is not likely to bloom
reliably without more light. An east window would be a good choice.

As far as fertilizer is concerned, that's not really all that critical in my
opinion, but just be sure to get one with a complete array of minor and
trace elements to go with the macro-elements. I personally recommend
Dyna-Gro and the variants of the Michigan State University-developed
formulation, but there again, it's not overly critical.

When you feed, you'll probably want to feed at about half the rate specified
on the label. If you want us to help with a better or more precise
suggestion, post again when you get a fertilizer, and we'll all jump in!

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
..
"Erin Out of Boulder" wrote in message
...
Hello, I'm new to this newsgroups and to orchids as well, so please excuse
my lack of knowledge. :-)

In April we got our first orchid, which is labeled as "Vuylstekeara Saint
Sand 'Pacific sunrise,'" when it was already beginning to bloom. All
blooms
were open soon after we bought it, the blooms stayed for a month and a
half
or so, and then withered and fell. Meanwhile we were watering as
instructed
about once a week.

We went back today to have it repotted (we were told to do so after the
blooms fell) and they told us we should fertilize it. We know we should
avoid urea in the fertilizer, but beyond that, we aren't sure which one to
buy.

In case this info is necessary, it is in a north-facing window, the
potting
mix is a combination of what appears to be wood chips and some synthetic
material (given to us at the orchid place when it was repotted), and we
live
in Oregon, where the weather is neither humid nor dry and the weather is
mild tending hot this summer.

Tips on which fertilizer to buy and anything else we should be doing? The
orchid people told us at the repotting that the root structure was looking
very good but that we should increase watering to once every five days
since
it is summer.

Vuylstekearas are probably a good choice for your climate, as they tend to
prefer to avoid a lot of heat, and can tolerate cooler weather quite well.
They like to stay evenly moist as far as watering goes, so you may need to
adjust your timing away from the "weekly" as appropriate. Don't let the
medium stay soppy, but water before the plant undergoes dry spells.

I suspect that growing it in a north-facing window will be a problem - the
plant may grow fine, probably a bit "leggy", but is not likely to bloom
reliably without more light. An east window would be a good choice.

As far as fertilizer is concerned, that's not really all that critical in my
opinion, but just be sure to get one with a complete array of minor and
trace elements to go with the macro-elements. I personally recommend
Dyna-Gro and the variants of the Michigan State University-developed
formulation, but there again, it's not overly critical.

When you feed, you'll probably want to feed at about half the rate specified
on the label. If you want us to help with a better or more precise
suggestion, post again when you get a fertilizer, and we'll all jump in!

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
..
"Erin Out of Boulder" wrote in message
...
Hello, I'm new to this newsgroups and to orchids as well, so please excuse
my lack of knowledge. :-)

In April we got our first orchid, which is labeled as "Vuylstekeara Saint
Sand 'Pacific sunrise,'" when it was already beginning to bloom. All
blooms
were open soon after we bought it, the blooms stayed for a month and a
half
or so, and then withered and fell. Meanwhile we were watering as
instructed
about once a week.

We went back today to have it repotted (we were told to do so after the
blooms fell) and they told us we should fertilize it. We know we should
avoid urea in the fertilizer, but beyond that, we aren't sure which one to
buy.

In case this info is necessary, it is in a north-facing window, the
potting
mix is a combination of what appears to be wood chips and some synthetic
material (given to us at the orchid place when it was repotted), and we
live
in Oregon, where the weather is neither humid nor dry and the weather is
mild tending hot this summer.

Tips on which fertilizer to buy and anything else we should be doing? The
orchid people told us at the repotting that the root structure was looking
very good but that we should increase watering to once every five days
since
it is summer.

On Thu, 29 Jul 2004 23:55:45 -0700, "Erin Out of Boulder"
wrote:

Hello, I'm new to this newsgroups and to orchids as well, so please excuse
my lack of knowledge. :-)



Tips on which fertilizer to buy and anything else we should be doing? The
orchid people told us at the repotting that the root structure was looking
very good but that we should increase watering to once every five days since
it is summer.


Welcome -
I would have to say that Ray has not only posted good advise, his
web site www.firtstrays.com has lost's of other free information
that you might want to research for later questions.

The normal question is how many more did you bring home when you
had this one repotted? We have all found the hobby quite
addicting and can not stop buying new plants.
SuE
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/albums.php

Thanks for the tips, Ray! I'll doubtless be asking for help again soon.

--
__________________________
Erin
**************************
"I was not very funny and humorous today, was I? Well, I save it for the
next time."
- Crazy Jaromir Jagr
__________________________

"Ray" wrote in message
...
Vuylstekearas are probably a good choice for your climate, as they tend to
prefer to avoid a lot of heat, and can tolerate cooler weather quite well.
They like to stay evenly moist as far as watering goes, so you may need to
adjust your timing away from the "weekly" as appropriate. Don't let the
medium stay soppy, but water before the plant undergoes dry spells.

I suspect that growing it in a north-facing window will be a problem - the
plant may grow fine, probably a bit "leggy", but is not likely to bloom
reliably without more light. An east window would be a good choice.

As far as fertilizer is concerned, that's not really all that critical in
my
opinion, but just be sure to get one with a complete array of minor and
trace elements to go with the macro-elements. I personally recommend
Dyna-Gro and the variants of the Michigan State University-developed
formulation, but there again, it's not overly critical.

When you feed, you'll probably want to feed at about half the rate
specified
on the label. If you want us to help with a better or more precise
suggestion, post again when you get a fertilizer, and we'll all jump in!

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
.
"Erin Out of Boulder" wrote in message
...
Hello, I'm new to this newsgroups and to orchids as well, so please
excuse
my lack of knowledge. :-)

In April we got our first orchid, which is labeled as "Vuylstekeara
Saint
Sand 'Pacific sunrise,'" when it was already beginning to bloom. All
blooms
were open soon after we bought it, the blooms stayed for a month and a
half
or so, and then withered and fell. Meanwhile we were watering as
instructed
about once a week.

We went back today to have it repotted (we were told to do so after the
blooms fell) and they told us we should fertilize it. We know we should
avoid urea in the fertilizer, but beyond that, we aren't sure which one
to
buy.

In case this info is necessary, it is in a north-facing window, the
potting
mix is a combination of what appears to be wood chips and some synthetic
material (given to us at the orchid place when it was repotted), and we
live
in Oregon, where the weather is neither humid nor dry and the weather is
mild tending hot this summer.

Tips on which fertilizer to buy and anything else we should be doing?
The
orchid people told us at the repotting that the root structure was
looking
very good but that we should increase watering to once every five days
since
it is summer.

Thanks for the tips, Ray! I'll doubtless be asking for help again soon.

--
__________________________
Erin
**************************
"I was not very funny and humorous today, was I? Well, I save it for the
next time."
- Crazy Jaromir Jagr
__________________________

"Ray" wrote in message
...
Vuylstekearas are probably a good choice for your climate, as they tend to
prefer to avoid a lot of heat, and can tolerate cooler weather quite well.
They like to stay evenly moist as far as watering goes, so you may need to
adjust your timing away from the "weekly" as appropriate. Don't let the
medium stay soppy, but water before the plant undergoes dry spells.

I suspect that growing it in a north-facing window will be a problem - the
plant may grow fine, probably a bit "leggy", but is not likely to bloom
reliably without more light. An east window would be a good choice.

As far as fertilizer is concerned, that's not really all that critical in
my
opinion, but just be sure to get one with a complete array of minor and
trace elements to go with the macro-elements. I personally recommend
Dyna-Gro and the variants of the Michigan State University-developed
formulation, but there again, it's not overly critical.

When you feed, you'll probably want to feed at about half the rate
specified
on the label. If you want us to help with a better or more precise
suggestion, post again when you get a fertilizer, and we'll all jump in!

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
.
"Erin Out of Boulder" wrote in message
...
Hello, I'm new to this newsgroups and to orchids as well, so please
excuse
my lack of knowledge. :-)

In April we got our first orchid, which is labeled as "Vuylstekeara
Saint
Sand 'Pacific sunrise,'" when it was already beginning to bloom. All
blooms
were open soon after we bought it, the blooms stayed for a month and a
half
or so, and then withered and fell. Meanwhile we were watering as
instructed
about once a week.

We went back today to have it repotted (we were told to do so after the
blooms fell) and they told us we should fertilize it. We know we should
avoid urea in the fertilizer, but beyond that, we aren't sure which one
to
buy.

In case this info is necessary, it is in a north-facing window, the
potting
mix is a combination of what appears to be wood chips and some synthetic
material (given to us at the orchid place when it was repotted), and we
live
in Oregon, where the weather is neither humid nor dry and the weather is
mild tending hot this summer.

Tips on which fertilizer to buy and anything else we should be doing?
The
orchid people told us at the repotting that the root structure was
looking
very good but that we should increase watering to once every five days
since
it is summer.

The normal question is how many more did you bring home when you
had this one repotted? We have all found the hobby quite
addicting and can not stop buying new plants.

Very good point! Well, my partner is a student and I work for a non-profit
organization, so we are quite short on cash. The original orchid was a gift
from me to him for our anniversary and not only did I find it difficult to
choose at that point, but when we went back to have it repotted we also
realized the genius of that store offering to have the first repot done for
free as we surely were tempted.

Amazingly we abstained, but they did point out a few nice ones that made our
mouths water and were, according to The Orchid Lady, good for our level of
inexperience.

Can anyone suggest a good orchid for Pacific Northwest-type climates that a
beginner can grow fairly easily? Per the above story we're looking for
fairly inexpensive, as well :-) Our one orchid cost about $25 and I don't
want to go too far beyond that, if that's possible.

--
__________________________
Erin
**************************
"I was not very funny and humorous today, was I? Well, I save it for the
next time."
- Crazy Jaromir Jagr
__________________________

"Susan Erickson" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 29 Jul 2004 23:55:45 -0700, "Erin Out of Boulder"
wrote:

Hello, I'm new to this newsgroups and to orchids as well, so please
excuse
my lack of knowledge. :-)



Tips on which fertilizer to buy and anything else we should be doing? The
orchid people told us at the repotting that the root structure was
looking
very good but that we should increase watering to once every five days
since
it is summer.


Welcome -
I would have to say that Ray has not only posted good advise, his
web site www.firtstrays.com has lost's of other free information
that you might want to research for later questions.

The normal question is how many more did you bring home when you
had this one repotted? We have all found the hobby quite
addicting and can not stop buying new plants.
SuE
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/albums.php

The normal question is how many more did you bring home when you
had this one repotted? We have all found the hobby quite
addicting and can not stop buying new plants.

Very good point! Well, my partner is a student and I work for a non-profit
organization, so we are quite short on cash. The original orchid was a gift
from me to him for our anniversary and not only did I find it difficult to
choose at that point, but when we went back to have it repotted we also
realized the genius of that store offering to have the first repot done for
free as we surely were tempted.

Amazingly we abstained, but they did point out a few nice ones that made our
mouths water and were, according to The Orchid Lady, good for our level of
inexperience.

Can anyone suggest a good orchid for Pacific Northwest-type climates that a
beginner can grow fairly easily? Per the above story we're looking for
fairly inexpensive, as well :-) Our one orchid cost about $25 and I don't
want to go too far beyond that, if that's possible.

--
__________________________
Erin
**************************
"I was not very funny and humorous today, was I? Well, I save it for the
next time."
- Crazy Jaromir Jagr
__________________________

"Susan Erickson" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 29 Jul 2004 23:55:45 -0700, "Erin Out of Boulder"
wrote:

Hello, I'm new to this newsgroups and to orchids as well, so please
excuse
my lack of knowledge. :-)



Tips on which fertilizer to buy and anything else we should be doing? The
orchid people told us at the repotting that the root structure was
looking
very good but that we should increase watering to once every five days
since
it is summer.


Welcome -
I would have to say that Ray has not only posted good advise, his
web site www.firtstrays.com has lost's of other free information
that you might want to research for later questions.

The normal question is how many more did you bring home when you
had this one repotted? We have all found the hobby quite
addicting and can not stop buying new plants.
SuE
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/albums.php

Hi Erin,

Can anyone suggest a good orchid for Pacific Northwest-type climates that
a
beginner can grow fairly easily? Per the above story we're looking for
fairly inexpensive, as well :-) Our one orchid cost about $25 and I don't
want to go too far beyond that, if that's possible.

I must say that I don't know the Pacific Northwest climate, anyway I live in
Italy (middle-north) and I had beautiful results with Phalaenopsis !
Some time ago I bought one and just put it in the sitting room : it did a
lot of flowers, roots and leaves and I...did nothing but taking care in a
very simple way (water once a week). I was so proud that I bought others to
put near and now I'm trying to learn more about !

Here a Phalaenopsis medium sized costs about 15 Euro (which should
correspond to nearly 15$).

I'd like to add that here we call a person good with plants a "green thumb"
and...before the Phal. I used to define myself a "black thumb", so you can
imagine...it must be a very "easy" plant :-)
Now I have also other species but I think Phal. is the most adaptable.

Cheers

Elena

Hi Erin,

Can anyone suggest a good orchid for Pacific Northwest-type climates that
a
beginner can grow fairly easily? Per the above story we're looking for
fairly inexpensive, as well :-) Our one orchid cost about $25 and I don't
want to go too far beyond that, if that's possible.

I must say that I don't know the Pacific Northwest climate, anyway I live in
Italy (middle-north) and I had beautiful results with Phalaenopsis !
Some time ago I bought one and just put it in the sitting room : it did a
lot of flowers, roots and leaves and I...did nothing but taking care in a
very simple way (water once a week). I was so proud that I bought others to
put near and now I'm trying to learn more about !

Here a Phalaenopsis medium sized costs about 15 Euro (which should
correspond to nearly 15$).

I'd like to add that here we call a person good with plants a "green thumb"
and...before the Phal. I used to define myself a "black thumb", so you can
imagine...it must be a very "easy" plant :-)
Now I have also other species but I think Phal. is the most adaptable.

Cheers

Elena

I'd like to add that here we call a person good with plants a "green
thumb"
and...before the Phal. I used to define myself a "black thumb", so you can
imagine...it must be a very "easy" plant :-)

Yes, we used to say my partner had a "black thumb" also, but he's done
really well with the one orchid we have :-)

--
__________________________
Erin
**************************
"I was not very funny and humorous today, was I? Well, I save it for the
next time."
- Crazy Jaromir Jagr
__________________________

"Elena" wrote in message
...
Hi Erin,

Can anyone suggest a good orchid for Pacific Northwest-type climates
that
a
beginner can grow fairly easily? Per the above story we're looking for
fairly inexpensive, as well :-) Our one orchid cost about $25 and I
don't
want to go too far beyond that, if that's possible.

I must say that I don't know the Pacific Northwest climate, anyway I live
in
Italy (middle-north) and I had beautiful results with Phalaenopsis !
Some time ago I bought one and just put it in the sitting room : it did a
lot of flowers, roots and leaves and I...did nothing but taking care in a
very simple way (water once a week). I was so proud that I bought others
to
put near and now I'm trying to learn more about !

Here a Phalaenopsis medium sized costs about 15 Euro (which should
correspond to nearly 15$).

I'd like to add that here we call a person good with plants a "green
thumb"
and...before the Phal. I used to define myself a "black thumb", so you can
imagine...it must be a very "easy" plant :-)
Now I have also other species but I think Phal. is the most adaptable.

Cheers

Elena

I'd like to add that here we call a person good with plants a "green
thumb"
and...before the Phal. I used to define myself a "black thumb", so you can
imagine...it must be a very "easy" plant :-)

Yes, we used to say my partner had a "black thumb" also, but he's done
really well with the one orchid we have :-)

--
__________________________
Erin
**************************
"I was not very funny and humorous today, was I? Well, I save it for the
next time."
- Crazy Jaromir Jagr
__________________________

"Elena" wrote in message
...
Hi Erin,

Can anyone suggest a good orchid for Pacific Northwest-type climates
that
a
beginner can grow fairly easily? Per the above story we're looking for
fairly inexpensive, as well :-) Our one orchid cost about $25 and I
don't
want to go too far beyond that, if that's possible.

I must say that I don't know the Pacific Northwest climate, anyway I live
in
Italy (middle-north) and I had beautiful results with Phalaenopsis !
Some time ago I bought one and just put it in the sitting room : it did a
lot of flowers, roots and leaves and I...did nothing but taking care in a
very simple way (water once a week). I was so proud that I bought others
to
put near and now I'm trying to learn more about !

Here a Phalaenopsis medium sized costs about 15 Euro (which should
correspond to nearly 15$).

I'd like to add that here we call a person good with plants a "green
thumb"
and...before the Phal. I used to define myself a "black thumb", so you can
imagine...it must be a very "easy" plant :-)
Now I have also other species but I think Phal. is the most adaptable.

Cheers

Elena

On Sat, 31 Jul 2004 13:45:26 -0700, "Erin \(Pacific NW\)"
wrote:

I'd like to add that here we call a person good with plants a "green
thumb"
and...before the Phal. I used to define myself a "black thumb", so you can
imagine...it must be a very "easy" plant :-)

Yes, we used to say my partner had a "black thumb" also, but he's done
really well with the one orchid we have :-)


If your doing well with that one, there are quite a few
intergeneric plants that have similar leaf structure and flower
spikes in that style. They would be good. I would guess you
have lower light, so Phal, or Paph might be something you could
enjoy. The $15 - $25 range is larger than you think. Generally
if you are buying at an orchid suppler and not a general nursery
or florist. it will give you quite a few choices.
Miltonia and its crosses are plants that most of us recognize as
coming from your area because a large breeder used to work in
that area.

SO:
Miltonia -
Miltiopsis
Miltassia
Miltonidium - and other varities starting MILT
Wilsonara
Colmanara
Vuylstekeara - lots of things that end in -ara.

The problem being the tags often only have the first 4 letters.
But if you want to try different things try a
Phalaenopsis - they often bloom for 3-6 months. And will start
blooming annually when quite small. They want filtered light -
generally softer light than the best for the -ARA type of plant.
They like to be just moist not wet, no standing water, but do not
want to dry out for several days.

The Paph or slipper style bloom is a beauty to some and ugly for
others... So you will have to decide if that is a plant style you
wish to grow.

Glad to have you two added to our group.

SuE
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/albums.php

Great, thanks so much, Susan. We'll definitely take that into account when
we get our next one! I totally appreciate the advice.

--
__________________________
Erin
**************************
"I was not very funny and humorous today, was I? Well, I save it for the
next time."
- Crazy Jaromir Jagr
__________________________

"Susan Erickson" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 31 Jul 2004 13:45:26 -0700, "Erin \(Pacific NW\)"
wrote:

I'd like to add that here we call a person good with plants a "green
thumb"
and...before the Phal. I used to define myself a "black thumb", so you
can
imagine...it must be a very "easy" plant :-)

Yes, we used to say my partner had a "black thumb" also, but he's done
really well with the one orchid we have :-)


If your doing well with that one, there are quite a few
intergeneric plants that have similar leaf structure and flower
spikes in that style. They would be good. I would guess you
have lower light, so Phal, or Paph might be something you could
enjoy. The $15 - $25 range is larger than you think. Generally
if you are buying at an orchid suppler and not a general nursery
or florist. it will give you quite a few choices.
Miltonia and its crosses are plants that most of us recognize as
coming from your area because a large breeder used to work in
that area.

SO:
Miltonia -
Miltiopsis
Miltassia
Miltonidium - and other varities starting MILT
Wilsonara
Colmanara
Vuylstekeara - lots of things that end in -ara.

The problem being the tags often only have the first 4 letters.
But if you want to try different things try a
Phalaenopsis - they often bloom for 3-6 months. And will start
blooming annually when quite small. They want filtered light -
generally softer light than the best for the -ARA type of plant.
They like to be just moist not wet, no standing water, but do not
want to dry out for several days.

The Paph or slipper style bloom is a beauty to some and ugly for
others... So you will have to decide if that is a plant style you
wish to grow.

Glad to have you two added to our group.

SuE
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/albums.php