Bought 9 orchids today at lowes for $1/each. I don't have a clue what to do as I never had an orchid before. This is what I got:
2 - Colmanara Wildcat 'Red Star'
Colmanara Wildcat 'Butterfly'
2 -Dendrobium White Lightening 'Starchild'
Doritaenopsis [Taisuco Firebird x (Happy Smile x Taisuco Candystripes)] x Taisuco Firebird x (Happy Smile x Taisuco Candystripe)
2 - Phalaenopsis (Moth Orchid)
Phalaenopsis?
Anyone have pictures of these. They already bloomed. Please someone tell me what to do and what conditions are best for them
Need help with Orchids
no one here that can tell me how to care for an orchid?
I'm no expert, but I also gave in to the clearance orchids at Lowes. KathyJo and I were just asking the same question about care at this link...
http://davesgarden.com/t/393343/
PanamonCreel offered a site for general orchid care in that thread. Maybe that will help if you haven't already stumbled across it. Sounds like you found some nice ones, just from the names :)
flowox, looks like heather_v , you and I have hit the end of the year orchid sales. I am so excited about mine. They seem to like their new home with me.
Were your's in pretty good shape when you bought them.? Mine were pretty neglected looking. But now looking lots better.
I tend to count chicks before hatch, but we will have to keep each other informed and maybe trade orchids in the future if we are successful!
Kathy, I was lucky and mine are pretty healthy. Some need to be repotted and I'm on my way now to get the stuff they need. Had to make some phone calls and see if our Meijers carried it and I was lucky.
Well, please let me be the 4th Musketeer!!!
The young gal that use to run our GHs @ the Farm, is going back to Cleveland & wanted to get rid of hers.
I now have 17 & & & about 25 HB books to go with them.
I have no clue about any of them.
If I don't find a house soon, I am going to get kicked out of her b/c of all my plants!!!!!!
:~)
lol
I hope you find a house soon. If you ever think of parting with any of them, let me know for sure :)
My mom likes them too......lol
flowox, if I can keep them alive til May w/o having a nervous breakdown over them, I may just pack them up & bring them up there.
I just got my first (3) plumerias last month. You sent me 4, that planted out as 5, brugs. And now, 17 orchids to grow.
The pressure is getting to GREAT. I may start having crying jags if these plants don't do well or like living with me!!! What will I do then??? H E L P!!! Where do I get tranquilizers? Not for the plants, for me?
:~)
well Smockette, you are always welcome here at my house anytime. Hey, would you be up for a road trip coming in the spring? I want to go see Aimee and will need to see if I can impose on some DG people for a bed to sleep for a day and maybee something to eat when I'm there. I'll only have enough money for gas and will have to sleep in my car if I don't find other fellow gardeners to take me in for the evening :)
You just get down here & I'll find you a place to stay, if I don't have a house by then.
I'd love to go see Aimee & I have tents, air mattresses, bedding & know most of the parks to stay in. (U know us bikers know how to travel)
I'll be going to Madri Gras in NO when ever Madri Gras is & then I am open til May, when I go to the 500.
Just ck'd MapQuest & you are only 216 miles fr Indy. And that ain't no step for this Texas stepper!! :~)
You just let me know & warn Aimee that we are coming!
Smockette,
Do you know what kind of orchids you have? Have you seen any of them bloom? 17! Wow! The books to go with them would be so great. I have an orchid book borrowed from a friend. The rest I hope to learn off the internet.
Well Smockette, we may just have to make it a date...........LOL
I won't know until closer to spring what's going to happen but I sure do want to go see Aimee and it would be wonderful to finally get to meet you!!!
Smockette, that sounds like a wonderful predicament to be in -- all those orchids, and the books to go with them. I'm like KathyJo, and hoping to learn a lot from the internet. I'm also scouring the local libraries for books.
Well, gang, I told my friend that I would 'hold' her orchids & her books so if I can find info for you, just let me know. The books are really great b/c they are about specific kinds, Dend., Phal, etc.
I am going to make a list of the books I got so we can use it as a reference library.
Each orchid is suppose to have a label & I am going to make a list them also so I will know what I have.
I have always admired orchids but only fr a far. I thought that they were more trouble than they are worth but when you get asked to take them b/4 her mother lets them die fr neglect, what can you say but ok?
She did mention that one is prego (BS) & as soon as I split it, it will sell for $165. Have any idea what kind this one is? Supposedly, there are some really special ones. Couldn't prove it by me but I guess I am going to learn, in self-defense.
Have you heard of 'Puppy Love'?
$165!!!!???? WOW.........lol
I guess I would spend that much on one if it grew gems as blossoms.......lol
I don't know of any orchid on earth that I would pay $165!!
:~)
ROTFL.............that's why I said it would have to grow Gems (real gemstones) or diamonds at least......LOL
Now you are talking about my birthstone!!! :~)
lol
Flowox, you asked for pix of some of the orchids in bloom. We'll start with a dendrobium:
Here's another kind of dendrobium--this one is quite fragrant, but the blooms don't last very long (3 days usually, 5 days tops).
Another variety of dendrobium...
a Phaleanopsis orchid...
another phal...
And my favorite phal. This one is Dtps. Queen Beer and is quite small--this one is in a 4 inch pot. The blooms are only about 1 inch across. It's very pretty, though.
As to caring for them, I keep mine outside (I can do that in my area) and generally only water them in the winter time. I water every 3-5 days and try to feed them with a weak orchid fertilizer on a weekly basis. If you keep them in the house, I have seen recommendations to keep them in a shallow saucer filled with pebbles and some water and/or mist them daily in the mornings. I don't have the time to fuss over my orchids like that and prefer to keep them outside. Light requirements vary by the types of orchids. Vandas like very bright light and will tolerate direct sun. Phals, on the other hand, require highly filtered light, so I keep mine in a very shady area where they don't get any direct sunlight. Dendrobiums are in between vandas and phals and will take bright indirect light. I hope this helps.
thanks so much. As for the pictures, I can only say "ooooohhhhh, aaaaaahhhhh" LOL
It looks like one of them may flower again soon. I can't wait!!!!
So pretty.... I should print some of these and post them where my orchids can see what they're supposed to do... maybe it will motivate them *lol*
You are too funny, heather! I almost killed my first orchid (the scented dend.) and finally set it outside as a last resort. Sometimes you have to experiment a little with them to get results. My phals I had to start feeding to get to bloom. I'm still working on the vanda orchid I bought two years ago to get it to bloom for me. I'm trying increasing the light to see if that helps. All I can say is have patience!
I think I'm addicted now, and I don't even have one in bloom yet. Since my first acquisition (6 orchids), I have also picked 2 more from Lowe's for a quarter each (just couldn't pass that up!). One is a dendrobium (no name label) and the other is a phal. 'Malibu Debutante'. And then at my favorite nursery, another one was just calling my name. Since it was different from the others at home, how could I resist?? and then to be marked way down since the blooms are gone... It's a Brsdm. Longlen Bill Switzer.
So, I've just jumped right into all this. Now as long as I don't kill them.... or my DH doesn't kill me. Seems every time I go out to get more plant supplies, I come back with more plants as well... hmmmmm....
I have a question about the phals. How firm are the leaves supposed to be, and is that any kind of indicator for needing water?
mine are pretty firm
I figured they should be, and I don't think mine are like they should be. Guess I'll have to check out some nice healthy specimens at the store tomorrow for a comparison. (And try not to come home with one.)
If they are indeed too limp, then what should I do? I've watered them thoroughly and made sure they aren't left standing in water. They are both in clay pots, one with bark, and the other in sphagnum moss. I haven't repotted yet, since I was letting them adjust to my house/light/etc. Didn't want to send them into total shock. The next step I was going to take is to place all the orchids in a group on trays of pebbles with water to help with the humidity.
I actually repotted half of mine sofar and they seem to be doing fine. I did notice that a few of them were in sphagnum moss and with it, the roots didn't look too healthy at all and most just pulled right off. I cleaned the roots off really good and then repotted them. I put some lava? pebbles in the very bottom of the pot, then just a very thin layer of spaghnum moss and then some bark. Go here and it tells you just how to repot them :)
http://www.imagine123.com/orchidtips/care/repotting.html
Heather, the leaves of phals should be firm. There has to be "significant" resitance when trying to bend/deform leaves. Repot immediately if they are not firm. Chances are still high that you might loose the plant though.
Great link, thanks flowox. And I will be repotting today since my leaves are fairly flexible on the phals. And if I lose them, I knew that was the chance I'd take when I got them so cheap. But, for now, I'll think happy thoughts for them :)