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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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