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#16
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On Thu, 28 Apr 2005 07:09:47 -0600, Susan Erickson
wrote: On Thu, 28 Apr 2005 06:49:10 -0500, "Bob Walsh" wrote: Vic, I know -more conflicting info. There are some catts that take a little less light that might work in a north window. Gold Country Orchids has them. They are smaller too. Ah conflicting information. g I've come to expect nothing else in the world of orchids. Another group you might look at for low light, easy to grow, is the Phrags. There are some that also stay small if you want that. (they grow on you.) Bob I can't say that I can recall seeing any phrags that have caught my attention, but I'll try to keep my eyes open. As for what I want, I'd prefer large and spectacular over small and petit, especially if they are going to require effort on my part. Ok - Start with the words windowsill Catt. Expect something the right size to grow in a tea cup or just a touch larger. Always buy in bloom - then you know you like the bloom and that the plant is large enough to bloom. Expect that some orchids will re-bloom easier than others. Expect that some plants will take a year off to adjust to your care and your lighting conditions. No Gold Country, Alan has a breeding plan to breed just for windowsill growers. That is why he has 'tea cup size' plants. They are small enough to be balanced on the windowsill. Then they must be microscopically tiny. g My windowsill is about 3/4" wide. My phal is perched on a table about a foot away from the window. It's the only spot I've got for it. Phrags really like more light. Paphs are the lower light of the two slippers. And phrags go from something that looks very grassy to something that has a 4' leaf span. So, I will say here, you have to know what you are picking. If you are buying in bloom or at least in spike with a fair amount of development you know what size the plant will be when it blooms. I always figure a small or young plant can grow another 30%. Some will, others not. Where you live makes a difference for that north window. We all start assuming your in North America. We have members here in many areas of the world. North light in OZ is South in North Am. Sorry, I thought the .canada in my e-mail address gave it away. I'm in southern Ontario, the Toronto area more specifically. On fertilizer - best advice is weakly -weekly. So that you respect the species in these hybrids. They developed in the tropics of the world, not in a waterfall of food. Lower light, lower food needs. Humidity is always nice to have. Several plants together help each other here. An open bowl of water or a splash tray of rocks that catches the overflow when you water all increase it marginally and only as a micro climate. In a circle of plants the centered one will get the most benefit. Any containment will help increase that. My ML grew in a north greenhouse window. It was open to the room completely but because the window itself was a bump out it was contained on the other sides. The open bowls of water helped keep her plants happy. I run a humidifier for my own comfort, but whether it's enough for the phal is up for debate. I don't test for humidity levels. As to day and night temp differences... most of us that pay heat bills allow the house to cool a bit at night. We also say we sleep better. So unless you set your thermostat to hold 70, the normal house drops close to the 10-15 degrees at night. I try for the standard 70 degrees, give or take a bit. The temperature drops a bit at night, but not enough to make a difference for the plant. Given the touchy nature of the heater units in this place, it is best to find a comfortable temperature and try to maintain it. They don't offer a lot of fine control. Hot and cold are easy. A comfortable living temperature is much tougher. Then there is always. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. You enjoy one. Two would be more fun. It's tempting. We'll have to see. SuE http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/albums.php |
#17
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wrote in message ... Actually Tom, I didn't mean I doubt if I'd ever buy another phal. I meant I doubt if I'd ever buy another orchid. So far I've been lucky with the one I own -- it has rebloomed and it is developing new leaves. I just don't know if that luck would hold with a second plant, and I'm cheap enough to hate the idea of throwing $20, $30, $40 or more on something that is going to die on me. Since most of my houseplants have been grown from cuttings, or picked up on deeply discounted sale tables, investing double digit figures in a plant takes a lot of faith, and I'm not sure I believe enough in my ability to grow orchids. I dunno- I know I waste plenty of money of things I don't have nearly as much fun with. In my particular case I absolutely *hate* spending money on eating out when for the same amount of money I can buy enough groceries to feed myself for a week. I figure an orchid can cost approximately the same as an entree and drinks for one person, and I have a plant to enjoy for weeks afterwards. What's your thing? Books? Vacations? Theater tickets? Nearly everyone has some disposable income or money spent on unnecessary items. Whether it is $1 a week or $100 a week I see it as a small price when compaired to the hours of enjoyment you get from them. Remember this? If of thy mortal good thou art bereft And of thy slender store two loaves alone to thee are left, Sell one, and with the dole Buy hyacinths to feed thy soul. --Saadi Or orchids! -- Toni http://www.irish-wolfhounds.com |
#19
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On Thu, 28 Apr 2005 12:19:12 GMT, "J Fortuna"
wrote: Vic, Your story makes me realize that maybe I am the one with the misconception after all. I consider Phals easy, even though I do have grow lights for them, since I (like you) have only north-facing windows in my apartment and I turn these lights on every day before I go to work and turn them off at night before going to bed, and even though as mentioned in my other post when the whether is in the 60s at night I tend to open the window to give them the 10-15 degree difference in temp. Before I did all this, my first two Phals did not reflower for me for two years. To me this still is not too much to ask, so I consider them "easy", but I guess as compared to a plant that just sits there in a corner of the room and gets watered once in a blue moon, they are not all that easy. However, I can't keep houseplants alive that other people consider hard to kill -- such as cacti or dumbcane, a plant which I killed very quickly, and didn't care enough about to try to prevent from dying. So I guess, whether Phals are easy to grow in part depends on ones definition of "easy", how much one is willing to do, without feeling put upon. I look forward to someday moving to a place with eastern windows though -- my dream house will have an eastern bay window for the Phals :-) and then I won't need to do anything special to get them to reflower. Joanna Joanna, Well so far my orchid is doing better than the African violet and kalanchoe I tried. I've got lots of basic greenery growing but I want something that flowers, and I refuse to count my spider plant which suddenly came back to life just as I had decided to pitch it out. There's just not enough bloom on it to consider it a flowering plant. (I don't really have enough light to keep a spider plant truly happy, especially in the spot where I want to put it. Its eventual fate is still hanging in the balance, although it will have a home on the patio for the summer.) I usually try wintering my outdoor planters by bringing them inside. Some of my herbs survived staying indoors, some didn't. My planter geraniums (and their companion green fillers) are growing like crazy. I've even got a bloom on one of them. I'm willing to give any plant a chance, but I'm not going to change my lifestyle or comfort level just to coddle a plant. Even if I could open the window closest to my phal, I doubt I would. I hate freezing at night, and just because cooler temperatures are helpful to the orchid, they might not be for some of the other plants I've got growing. I've got plenty of patience, but I don't know if I'd wait two or three years for an orchid to rebloom. I think a year would be about as far as I'd go. Fortunately I didn't have to wait anywhere near that long. As you said, it all comes down to our individual definitions of "easy." To me that is pruning and watering. Even feeding is a bit of a stretch. I don't want to have three or four different compositions of fertilzer to accomodate everything that is growing around me or to have to worry about switching feeds depending on the time of year or the growing cycle of the plants. That's way too complicated for me. g --Vic |
#20
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On Thu, 28 Apr 2005 10:36:11 -0400, Rob Halgren
wrote: wrote: When I tried talking to vendors, I'd tell them "I'm new to this but I like that plant. What conditions does it need?" Then they would proceed to tell me that I had the wrong facing window, or the wrong room conditions. They also told me the plant wouldn't likely bloom for me, or wouldn't bloom for two, three, four, etc. years. Hmm.. Well, that shouldn't happen. I don't know many vendors (around here, at least) who would have done that. There is a bit of a problem at shows, especially when the sales area is very busy, we don't always have time to give a detailed answer. That might be what happened to you. That is why I put my website on my tags, I usually tell people with more questions than I have time to answer to drop me an e-mail. I found most of the vendors willing to talk and to answer my questions, so I don't think it was a time issue. Most just weren't very encouraging. As soon as I said "rookie with a north facing window" I think most of them just decided I wasn't worth the trouble. I can understand them not wanting to sell a plant that isn't going to survive. That has the potential to harm their reputation or possible future sales. I've just taken a quick look at your site. Your descriptions seem nice and helpful. The few vendors who tried to convince me to buy plants tried way too hard. They really believed in the hard sell and basically told me that it would grow no matter what There seemed to be no middle ground -- especially since a vendor selling an identical plant a couple spaces over would tell me point blank that I'd just likely kill it. So even though I was almost ready to buy another plant, I walked away empty handed (except for a small bag of fertilizer). Actually even buying that was frustrating because every vendor told me I needed a different strength/type/numbers (10-30-10, 20-20-20 etc.) of fertilizer or that I needed two or three different types (one for general growth, one for blooming, one for something else, etc.). I don't buy from hard sell type vendors either. I just don't believe in that. Somebody who is selling a plant, especially to somebody who is a professed beginner, should make a point of finding something that will work for you. If they don't have a suitable plant (many vendors specialize in things that might only grow in a cloud forest, for example), they should just tell you that and perhaps point you to another vendor who has a bunch of what would work for you. Even following the discussions on this group is off-putting. I just have a normal apartment. I don't have grow lights or plant-specific humidifiers or hydroponic trays. My room temperature stays pretty constant -- I don't have 10 or 15 degree differences between day and night temperatures. As far as I can tell my plant shouldn't be growing at all, especially since I only have one north facing window that isn't shaded by a balcony or doesn't have a window unit heater/airconditioner blowing under it. Added to those limitations, I constantly read about people who have had plants for years that haven't bloomed or rebloomed for them, and it all gets a bit discouraging. I'll tell you a little known secret... There isn't any one way to grow an orchid. There, I've broken the code. I would give my grandmother (who had a bright green thumb) an orchid a few times a year, and she would grow them in absolutely the opposite way I would suggest. Dark corners, sitting in saucers of water, no food... They grew like weeds. Actually that's the approach I'm trying to take. I'm trying to trust my instincts. I look for advice when I think I need it, but since a lot of it is conflicting, I try to do what I think will work. I think the whole obligation to learn about orchids can be overwhelming. I hate looking at a plant and feeling stupid. That has never happened with anything else I've ever tried to grow. Even though I've tried to pick up some hints and tips from the newsgroup, I don't want to have to devote all my spare time studying about orchids, but part of me feels that unless I learn all the terminology and the history and the naming conventions, and everything else, I'm never going to feel like I could confidently grow these things, and that's a lot more than I was looking for when I bought a simple, pretty houseplant. You have a very difficult set of conditions, but not an insurmountable one. Find a good seller of plants that has a good selection of different plants. Preferrably one in your town or near to it. Make an appointment to visit them, so they have plenty of time to work with you. Make sure you buy a few plants, to make it worth their while, but I promise it will be a better experience than you had at the show. I might try that one of these days. It's a good suggestion. Although I might have to visit a few greenhouses first during their general opening hours, just to get a feeling about the place and the grower and to decide if I really want to take that next step. Rob -- Rob's Rules: http://littlefrogfarm.com 1) There is always room for one more orchid 2) There is always room for two more orchids 2a) See rule 1 3) When one has insufficient credit to obtain more orchids, obtain more credit |
#21
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da wrote:
Actually that's the approach I'm trying to take. I'm trying to trust my instincts. I look for advice when I think I need it, but since a lot of it is conflicting, I try to do what I think will work. Far too many orchids are killed by people who read too many books. Your approach is the best way to learn how to grow anything, not just orchids. Observing the plant is the only way to know if it is doing well. What matters is how a specific plant behaves in your specific environment. Can't get that information from a book. Sure, you can get some general ideas, but 'facts on the ground' always trump 'facts in the book'. I think the whole obligation to learn about orchids can be overwhelming. I hate looking at a plant and feeling stupid. That has never happened with anything else I've ever tried to grow. Even though I've tried to pick up some hints and tips from the newsgroup, I don't want to have to devote all my spare time studying about orchids, but part of me feels that unless I learn all the terminology and the history and the naming conventions, and everything else, I'm never going to feel like I could confidently grow these things, and that's a lot more than I was looking for when I bought a simple, pretty houseplant. You aren't under any obligation to learn a darn thing about orchids. Don't let that stop you. All you need to learn is how to take care of the plants you have. You don't need to know everything about orchids to grow an orchid. Just like you don't have to know all of the (very very many) philodendron species to grow a little green houseplant. Orchid growing is like riding a bicycle. You can read all you want about bicycles, and physics, and how asphalt reacts with knees, but until you actually ride the bike a few times you aren't going to know how. I know a lot of people who grow orchids that can't even spell phalaenopsis, much less pronounce it. They do fine. The only time you need to feel stupid is if you break off a flower spike or kill your plant, and then only long enough to figure out why it happened and not to do whatever stupid thing you did again. Some people like to learn all of the esoterica of the plants they grow (history, breeding, awards...). I'm one of those. But not everybody cares that much. If all you want is a pretty flower and a healthy plant, don't worry about it. So, don't let an 'expert' talk you out of anything. What counts is whether you like a flower or not. If you think it is pretty, and an 'expert' hates it, well, so what? If your plants bloom in dark corners, and some expert says they need light, again, who cares? How's that for a pep talk? *grin* Rob -- Rob's Rules: http://littlefrogfarm.com 1) There is always room for one more orchid 2) There is always room for two more orchids 2a) See rule 1 3) When one has insufficient credit to obtain more orchids, obtain more credit |
#22
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On Thu, 28 Apr 2005 15:16:59 -0400, Rob Halgren
wrote: wrote: Actually that's the approach I'm trying to take. I'm trying to trust my instincts. I look for advice when I think I need it, but since a lot of it is conflicting, I try to do what I think will work. Far too many orchids are killed by people who read too many books. Your approach is the best way to learn how to grow anything, not just orchids. Observing the plant is the only way to know if it is doing well. What matters is how a specific plant behaves in your specific environment. Can't get that information from a book. Sure, you can get some general ideas, but 'facts on the ground' always trump 'facts in the book'. I think the whole obligation to learn about orchids can be overwhelming. I hate looking at a plant and feeling stupid. That has never happened with anything else I've ever tried to grow. Even though I've tried to pick up some hints and tips from the newsgroup, I don't want to have to devote all my spare time studying about orchids, but part of me feels that unless I learn all the terminology and the history and the naming conventions, and everything else, I'm never going to feel like I could confidently grow these things, and that's a lot more than I was looking for when I bought a simple, pretty houseplant. You aren't under any obligation to learn a darn thing about orchids. Don't let that stop you. All you need to learn is how to take care of the plants you have. You don't need to know everything about orchids to grow an orchid. Just like you don't have to know all of the (very very many) philodendron species to grow a little green houseplant. Orchid growing is like riding a bicycle. You can read all you want about bicycles, and physics, and how asphalt reacts with knees, but until you actually ride the bike a few times you aren't going to know how. I know a lot of people who grow orchids that can't even spell phalaenopsis, much less pronounce it. They do fine. The only time you need to feel stupid is if you break off a flower spike or kill your plant, and then only long enough to figure out why it happened and not to do whatever stupid thing you did again. Some people like to learn all of the esoterica of the plants they grow (history, breeding, awards...). I'm one of those. But not everybody cares that much. If all you want is a pretty flower and a healthy plant, don't worry about it. So, don't let an 'expert' talk you out of anything. What counts is whether you like a flower or not. If you think it is pretty, and an 'expert' hates it, well, so what? If your plants bloom in dark corners, and some expert says they need light, again, who cares? How's that for a pep talk? *grin* Rob -- Actually it's pretty darned good. :-D I'm pretty much determined to treat my orchid, just as I do my many philodendrons. They are absolutely impossible to kill and have never made me feel inadequate or caused me to run to a newsgroup seeking advice. ;-) (Of course, I've never actually spent a dime on any of them.) --Vic |
#23
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Kathy,
Actually I have repotted my own orchids ever since ... pretty much the time when I posted that I did not do it myself :-). The first time I did it I had major backpain afterwards because I made the mistake of doing the repotting in the bathtub and bending over to do it. But when I realized that mistake, it has been fairly easy to do it myself since then. I may still in the future have a plant repotted in the plant nursery occasionally, since the service is quite affordable and convenient, but it's not as hard to just do it oneself as I originally thought. Joanna "K Barrett" wrote in message ... How long ago did you stop paying someone to repot your orchids for you? K Barrett |
#24
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Vic,
I remembered the easy orchid for you. It is Ludisia discolor. Grows well in low light, a loose potting mix (like for your violets), doesn't need food, has beautiful foliage (purple or burgundy with florescent orange stripes) and it blooms around January for a couple months. Some don't care for the flowers but I do. It will get as big as you let it and with low light the leaves get bigger (3" long x 2" wide) and look luxurious. If you find it, it should be inexpensive. Go to an Orchid Society meeting and tell a few people you want one and you will probably connect with at least a cutting. Yes , there is an orchid that will grow from a cutting. Put it in a glass of water and pot when it grows roots. Go to Orchidmall.com to find an Orchid Society near you. Bob wrote in message ... On Thu, 28 Apr 2005 15:16:59 -0400, Rob Halgren wrote: wrote: Actually that's the approach I'm trying to take. I'm trying to trust my instincts. I look for advice when I think I need it, but since a lot of it is conflicting, I try to do what I think will work. Far too many orchids are killed by people who read too many books. Your approach is the best way to learn how to grow anything, not just orchids. Observing the plant is the only way to know if it is doing well. What matters is how a specific plant behaves in your specific environment. Can't get that information from a book. Sure, you can get some general ideas, but 'facts on the ground' always trump 'facts in the book'. I think the whole obligation to learn about orchids can be overwhelming. I hate looking at a plant and feeling stupid. That has never happened with anything else I've ever tried to grow. Even though I've tried to pick up some hints and tips from the newsgroup, I don't want to have to devote all my spare time studying about orchids, but part of me feels that unless I learn all the terminology and the history and the naming conventions, and everything else, I'm never going to feel like I could confidently grow these things, and that's a lot more than I was looking for when I bought a simple, pretty houseplant. You aren't under any obligation to learn a darn thing about orchids. Don't let that stop you. All you need to learn is how to take care of the plants you have. You don't need to know everything about orchids to grow an orchid. Just like you don't have to know all of the (very very many) philodendron species to grow a little green houseplant. Orchid growing is like riding a bicycle. You can read all you want about bicycles, and physics, and how asphalt reacts with knees, but until you actually ride the bike a few times you aren't going to know how. I know a lot of people who grow orchids that can't even spell phalaenopsis, much less pronounce it. They do fine. The only time you need to feel stupid is if you break off a flower spike or kill your plant, and then only long enough to figure out why it happened and not to do whatever stupid thing you did again. Some people like to learn all of the esoterica of the plants they grow (history, breeding, awards...). I'm one of those. But not everybody cares that much. If all you want is a pretty flower and a healthy plant, don't worry about it. So, don't let an 'expert' talk you out of anything. What counts is whether you like a flower or not. If you think it is pretty, and an 'expert' hates it, well, so what? If your plants bloom in dark corners, and some expert says they need light, again, who cares? How's that for a pep talk? *grin* Rob -- Actually it's pretty darned good. :-D I'm pretty much determined to treat my orchid, just as I do my many philodendrons. They are absolutely impossible to kill and have never made me feel inadequate or caused me to run to a newsgroup seeking advice. ;-) (Of course, I've never actually spent a dime on any of them.) --Vic |
#25
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So why don't people think that, say, Pothos, are "difficult"? They take a
lot more maintenance than most orchids ... Kenni "Xi Wang" wrote in message news:ewYbe.1144533$Xk.714648@pd7tw3no... I too have had similar experiences. I think in part though, it's due to the fact that a lot of people just don't do their homework as well. Orchids are easy, but only if you put _some_ effort into it, and learn about their culture. Commonly, a person buys an orchid from HD or Wal-mart...etc, over waters, kills the thing, and never bothers to find out more, and then just go on to assume, based on that sole experience, that orchids are hard to care for, and that they suck at it. In time this will change, but it will be a long time I imagine. I can't remember where, but I heard an anecdote one time which was something along the lines of one has to kill 100+ orchids before becoming good at caring for them, and getting the hang of things. That number may be a tad high, but even if it was 10 orchids, well, during that time, the owner is probably thinking with each death how futile it is for them. Cheers, Xi |
#26
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On Thu, 28 Apr 2005 15:42:40 -0500, "Bob Walsh"
wrote: Vic, I remembered the easy orchid for you. It is Ludisia discolor. Grows well in low light, a loose potting mix (like for your violets), doesn't need food, has beautiful foliage (purple or burgundy with florescent orange stripes) and it blooms around January for a couple months. Some don't care for the flowers but I do. It will get as big as you let it and with low light the leaves get bigger (3" long x 2" wide) and look luxurious. If you find it, it should be inexpensive. Go to an Orchid Society meeting and tell a few people you want one and you will probably connect with at least a cutting. Yes , there is an orchid that will grow from a cutting. Put it in a glass of water and pot when it grows roots. Go to Orchidmall.com to find an Orchid Society near you. Bob Thanks Bob, I'll keep it in mind the next time I go orchid shopping, although I think I still have my heart on a big, showy Cattleya, but it's human nature to want what we can't (or shouldn't) have. g --Vic |
#27
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Mick,
I couldn't have said it better, and that's quite an admission from me, LOL. It is sad when people decide that they are incapable, because the decision is self fulfilling. The best work I ever did in my life was to write and facilitate workshops to get people off their defeated butts. Bless my late Dad, who taught me that the only thing I wouldn't be able to do in life would be p**ing standing up! Diana |
#28
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Diana,
I am quite moved by your admission... I am going to pee on the next person that says Orchids are impossible to grow. Mick ========================= "Diana Kulaga" wrote in message nk.net... Mick, I couldn't have said it better, and that's quite an admission from me, LOL. It is sad when people decide that they are incapable, because the decision is self fulfilling. The best work I ever did in my life was to write and facilitate workshops to get people off their defeated butts. Bless my late Dad, who taught me that the only thing I wouldn't be able to do in life would be p**ing standing up! Diana |
#29
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Another 2 cents' worth: For folks who get infected with the "passion,"
orchids are wonderful because there is indeed always more one can learn about them. But for those who just want pretty flowers on easy-to-grow plants, we were able to boil down our "culture sheet" for all 5 of the major tribes that we carry [Catts, Dens, Phals, and Vandas] to a one-page sheet --granted, it is double-sided, but still G -- and if you are only doing Phals, you only need to read 1/5 of it. So far, we have good reported success from those following those relatively short directions. If you email me directly, I'll send you one [can you accept WordPerfect docs?] -- Kenni Judd Juno Beach Orchids http://www.jborchids.com wrote in message ... On Thu, 28 Apr 2005 10:36:11 -0400, Rob Halgren wrote: wrote: When I tried talking to vendors, I'd tell them "I'm new to this but I like that plant. What conditions does it need?" Then they would proceed to tell me that I had the wrong facing window, or the wrong room conditions. They also told me the plant wouldn't likely bloom for me, or wouldn't bloom for two, three, four, etc. years. Hmm.. Well, that shouldn't happen. I don't know many vendors (around here, at least) who would have done that. There is a bit of a problem at shows, especially when the sales area is very busy, we don't always have time to give a detailed answer. That might be what happened to you. That is why I put my website on my tags, I usually tell people with more questions than I have time to answer to drop me an e-mail. I found most of the vendors willing to talk and to answer my questions, so I don't think it was a time issue. Most just weren't very encouraging. As soon as I said "rookie with a north facing window" I think most of them just decided I wasn't worth the trouble. I can understand them not wanting to sell a plant that isn't going to survive. That has the potential to harm their reputation or possible future sales. I've just taken a quick look at your site. Your descriptions seem nice and helpful. The few vendors who tried to convince me to buy plants tried way too hard. They really believed in the hard sell and basically told me that it would grow no matter what There seemed to be no middle ground -- especially since a vendor selling an identical plant a couple spaces over would tell me point blank that I'd just likely kill it. So even though I was almost ready to buy another plant, I walked away empty handed (except for a small bag of fertilizer). Actually even buying that was frustrating because every vendor told me I needed a different strength/type/numbers (10-30-10, 20-20-20 etc.) of fertilizer or that I needed two or three different types (one for general growth, one for blooming, one for something else, etc.). I don't buy from hard sell type vendors either. I just don't believe in that. Somebody who is selling a plant, especially to somebody who is a professed beginner, should make a point of finding something that will work for you. If they don't have a suitable plant (many vendors specialize in things that might only grow in a cloud forest, for example), they should just tell you that and perhaps point you to another vendor who has a bunch of what would work for you. Even following the discussions on this group is off-putting. I just have a normal apartment. I don't have grow lights or plant-specific humidifiers or hydroponic trays. My room temperature stays pretty constant -- I don't have 10 or 15 degree differences between day and night temperatures. As far as I can tell my plant shouldn't be growing at all, especially since I only have one north facing window that isn't shaded by a balcony or doesn't have a window unit heater/airconditioner blowing under it. Added to those limitations, I constantly read about people who have had plants for years that haven't bloomed or rebloomed for them, and it all gets a bit discouraging. I'll tell you a little known secret... There isn't any one way to grow an orchid. There, I've broken the code. I would give my grandmother (who had a bright green thumb) an orchid a few times a year, and she would grow them in absolutely the opposite way I would suggest. Dark corners, sitting in saucers of water, no food... They grew like weeds. Actually that's the approach I'm trying to take. I'm trying to trust my instincts. I look for advice when I think I need it, but since a lot of it is conflicting, I try to do what I think will work. I think the whole obligation to learn about orchids can be overwhelming. I hate looking at a plant and feeling stupid. That has never happened with anything else I've ever tried to grow. Even though I've tried to pick up some hints and tips from the newsgroup, I don't want to have to devote all my spare time studying about orchids, but part of me feels that unless I learn all the terminology and the history and the naming conventions, and everything else, I'm never going to feel like I could confidently grow these things, and that's a lot more than I was looking for when I bought a simple, pretty houseplant. You have a very difficult set of conditions, but not an insurmountable one. Find a good seller of plants that has a good selection of different plants. Preferrably one in your town or near to it. Make an appointment to visit them, so they have plenty of time to work with you. Make sure you buy a few plants, to make it worth their while, but I promise it will be a better experience than you had at the show. I might try that one of these days. It's a good suggestion. Although I might have to visit a few greenhouses first during their general opening hours, just to get a feeling about the place and the grower and to decide if I really want to take that next step. Rob -- Rob's Rules: http://littlefrogfarm.com 1) There is always room for one more orchid 2) There is always room for two more orchids 2a) See rule 1 3) When one has insufficient credit to obtain more orchids, obtain more credit |
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There are lots of people who have orchids for sale that do know how to grow
them, quite well. It's just that they are nurseries, rather than hardware stores. -- Kenni Judd Juno Beach Orchids http://www.jborchids.com "dusty" wrote in message ... "J Fortuna" wrote in news:rxVbe.16734$yc.13891@trnddc07: Joanna Well Joanna I think it will only happen when the people who sell them gain some inkling of how to grow them. People as in management. Associates are required to do what they are told and not allowed by management to think for themselves. I've been around to most of the retailers like Target, Lowes, Home Depot, Franks Nursery, Target, Kmart and Trader Joes. The only place I found that had some idea of how to care for them was Franks Nursery where they kept culture sheets handy for the customers. The worst places (in order of ignorance) are all #1 Home Depot = over watering (plants drown in their plastic/fancy containers or put into half full trays of water.) #2 Target drownings on a regular bases (fancy containers without drain holes) #3Lowes plants are either over watered or never watered. So you can see that by the time most people buy these plants they are already on their way to being dead. But then there's people like me that prey on that ignorance and improve my orchid collection at the discount self. signed sucker for $ discount shelf. Grow well and bloom magnificently Dusty |
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