Here are some of the first Dendrobiums of the season!
Orchids then and now. The story of 13 orchids and counting..
OH Goofy...I missed this thread...and it is so much fun!!! You tell such beautiful stories...so funny, so clear, so feeling...and you laugh at yourself which is a gift.... Now I am happy to be up to date and will follow along... I always thought orchids were prissy primadonnas...now I think of them as flashy divas or colorful clowns... They ARE fun.
Carol
Oh, Dave! Always beautiful flowers!
Nothing new on my orchid front... well, some are stagnant or worse... :o( Others started looking better, with fresh growth, no blooms though. But this keeps me going!
Christi, I really think you should try a couple! I know they are addicting (ask me how I know?). From all the orchids I have, the friendliest so far is the little Tolumnia. She likes bright light (some filtered sun, too), and she lets you know if you water properly. If not enough, the leaves turn a bit reddish. When you increase the watering, they revert to green. Right now she gets watered every other day, and "lives" in a bowl with shells, stones and water to increase the humidity. I must have been doing something good to her, she flowered while inside twice (on the same spike), and the blooms keep for about a month!
While I will never recommend, based on my experience, a Phalenopsis for a beginner, this is a good one!
I hope your MIL is better and on the route to recovery! Lots of health wishes going your way!
Carol, now that you've read my orchid saga (hmmm, I like that, "prissy primadonnas"!!!), what do you think about me trying Hoyas? I really hope I'll be better!
Hugs and best wishes for everyone!
Alexandra
Alexandra...if you understand orchids/epiphytics and semi epiphytics...you will have no trouble with hoyas. They essentially have the same growing requirements...they actually do well in the same 'soil' etc.
Hi Goofybulb. I am a beginner to Orchid's;-) The only one's that I have are Phalenopsis and they have been so easy for me. I am sorry that you advise against them. Hang in there.
These two have been in continual bloom for me since July 08 when I purchased them. They have never stopped blooming.
Rachel
Rachel, they are beautiful!
I'm happy that your experience is positive, and I've heard many recommending Phalenopsis for beginners. Maybe you can share your tips and tricks for growing them, so that Christi (and others) would have a good start!
Unfortunately, Phals were very difficult to me even in a friendly environment like Miami. I will have to seal my wounds before trying them again, or suggesting/gifting them to my friends, but that's just me.
Sometimes I feel ashamed for my failures, but I still confess them, and hope to learn more...
Tomorrow I'll take some pics of my "towards better" group. That should give me hope that... one day I'll become a good gardener! (and that's my motto!)
Alexandra
Alexandra...that's my goal too....and I am 68!!! Everyday I learn more and more about growing and that's what makes growing plants so exciting for me!!!
Hi Alexandra and I too hope to one day be a whole lot better/knowledgable gardner as well;-) Patience has been a virtue for me for the most part and I still have a very long way to go!
I am sorry to say that I honestly can not add any tip's on the Phal's. Mine actually thrive off of neglect. No special soil, no special watering, etc. etc. Just potted up in good ole miraclegro potting soil and watered once a week. I have fertilized them only twice since I have had them.
Will look forward to your pic's. Wishing you a lovely day.
Rachel
Carol, NOOOOO! 34 more likely! I kinda like your confessions better, they surely are more about success than failure.
Rachel, I don't know how you do it, but regular potting soil is usually the doom of orchids, as they like to breathe through the roots. My Phal met its sad faith due to over-watering (had decomposed bark and moss holding water), and regular soil does this, keeps too much moisture around the roots at all times, leading to root rot.
Oh, well, I'm good with the theory, but bad with my results...
Wonderful pics from everyone! I can't grow orchids in pots for the life of me, but thrown on the ground and neglected seem to do far better than if I have my hands on them!
Hi Christi ^_^!
Welcome Rachel!
Jen
I have now joined the orchid group. A friend gave us one a couple weeks ago. It's still alive which means that we all lost on the bet on how long it would live. LOL!!
Good, now ignore it as much as possible. :-)
Great, Pepper! I'm sure you'll do a great job with it! When are we going to see a picture of your new baby?
Hey, Kathleen!
If any of you go to Miami for a visit, you'll be able to see the Vanilla Mother in person!
Speaking of pictures, I'll post some tomorrow of the happy ones, my picture-managing program disappeared from my computer somehow, and the pics are huge unless I shrink them down (about 1.8Mb a piece...). I'm a computer klutz!
I will post a pic as soon as we get sunshine again. My house is surrounded by trees so unless there is sunlight the pics come out dark and a little weird looking. lol.
Looking forward to seeing the new "baby" Pepper!
Here it is. Got a few good shots today. It's a WalMart orchid. lol
Pic 2.
Pic 3.
Pic 4.
Pic 5 and last one. Lighting is terrible for the most part so I did hte best I could. lol
Bless you heart, Amanda. I love, love it. I am just not up to tackling orchids yet. Afraid it will be another addiction that I can't afford. How's the job going?
Pepper, that is gorgeous!
These two are the best-looking, and the happiest of them all... well, except for the little Tolumnia, which gave me two rounds of blooms (on the same spike) that lasted between January and mid-March (about 1 month each round). But I've shown you the little girl.
This is the NOID Cattleya (the huge-flowered pink one, my first orchid). I'm so happy she's looking good, and she has 2 new growths, maybe I'll have a flower? She hasn't been repotted, and I wonder if I should do it. The red Cattleya crossed the rainbow, I didn't now and didn't have the courage to repot, and when I did, it was too late.
And this is Cattleya loddigesii, again I have 2 new growths, and wonder if any will send a spike.
Then, looking good also, there are the two regular dendrobiums, one new pseudobulb each, but I didn't take their picture now. Maybe later, when I get them down for watering. One of them worries me a bit, because it's stuck between slabs of wood, and I wonder how long can it take until that wood goes bad and messes up the roots.
Hey Alexandra, chopped up wood would make a good growing medium for some orchids!
That will be our only orchid. We have no room for any more and don't have enough light either. As it is most of my tropicals are downstairs now awaiting warmer weather because the ants invaded my room again. lol. They are paying for it now since we stuck a bunch of terro out. lol
Christi, the job is going good. Been mainly stocking because it has been too cold for most plants. But next week they have a huge shipment coming in and I will be out there alot more taking care of the plants. I will have to close it up at the end of the day though since we will be in the 20s at night.
Finally getting that camera figured out.
Here's some more Orchid shots!
Spathoglottis plicata.
Phaius tankervilleae.
Dendrobium X
Beautiful Dave! These are all growing wild? Or are they cultivated? Regardless, they are exquisite!
Yokwe,
Shari
Wonderful, Dave! You are naughty! Now I fell in love with Phaius! Beautiful closeup on the Dendrobium! What am I saying? I love them all!
Mary (mpabbott1), are you still with us on the thread? Happy birthday! Hope you're having the time of your life!
Hugs,
Alexandra
Those are beautiful, Dave! Hi Alex! Hope you are doing well!
Hi all!
I'm a newbie to the community. I live in Singapore, and I grow some orchids on my high-rise balcony. I'm afraid they come in for benevolent neglect, but it seems to suit them.
This is a phalaenopsis, though I've lost the labels, so I don't know exactly what it is. If you look very hard, you'll see another spray of phalaenopsis in the background.
The photo's of the orchids are just breathtaking - no wonder they become such and addiction!
Aloha Gangajay, and welcome to TZG, so glad you have popped in! Your balcony garden must look beautiful with the orchids blooming, I take it that you don't have full, direct sun?
Jenn
Welcome, Gagajay! I've never had luck with phals! I grow simple things that survive on my windowsill or outside - with probably more neglect than yours! LOL
Kathleen
just woke up! How lazy am I these days???
Gangajay, welcome to TZG! That's a beauty you're having! Please show us more. I don't care too much for labels, but if any of my plants have it, it's OK. I know many others care a lot for the proper names and cultivars, but I always go for (in my eyes) beautiful flowers, diverse colors and fragrance! Yessss, fragrance, if possible, I would have only scented flowers!
Like Kathleen, no luck here with phals. But then, I'm still learning and fighting for my orchids. maybe another time, in another location (other than the desert...) I'll give them another try.
Hugs,
Alexandra