Where are you in your orchid collecting

[peeweelovesbooks]

When I first started, I was amazed by any and all things labeled "orchids." Everything was new and exciting and I wanted to gobble up most of the plants that I laid my eyes on.

Nowadays, I find that I'm buying less, and my tastes have definitely "framed" themselves, so to speak. Although I can appreciate the aesthetics of a beautiful orchid, I don't necessary "want" to own it.

But some definitely set my heart pitter-pattering and my breath faltering. I noticed this at an orchid show I went to today. I sometimes buy something new to keep things interesting, but for the most part, have settled on specific things.

Has this happened to you? Have your tastes refined? Changed? Settled into a recongizable pattern?

[sucuz]

Yep. Seldom saw an orchid that I didn't love. Realized that I had not the skill, nor the time, nor the growing conditions, nor the space, nor the finances to obtain & grow everything. Michigan winters are not conducive to having a large outside collection. Have mostly phals & some onc & a mini catt as they seem happy & do well in my home. When window sills fill up, can't get more until something else dies or is given away.

Fortunately, I volunteer at Frederik Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids, MI where I get to do their orchid wall display. Thus I get my "orchid fix" on a weekly basis. The orchid care team does all the work & gives me great plants (that I don't have to buy) to put on display. I get to play with the plants & take all the bows from appreciative guests. Works for me.

[keithrs]

I was the same way..... It would take me 10 min to pick a orchid at the grocery store because I wanted them all but I was only allowed one. Now I just walk over to see if theres anything interesting.... Nope not today.

I've been through the Catt. phase... that is where I got my start with a plant that my gramps gave me, Masd. phase that was a disaster, Phal. phase, Dendro. phase..... now I'm into Purpurata and rupicolous Laelias.... and slowly getting into lady slippers.

I'm more of the type that buys a type of plant to learn the culture of the plant. I think next will be a C-I terrarium. I'm thinking 3'x4'x2'..... will see

[FairyInTheFlowers]

Well, I started with Catts, which I still grow, and then soon got the rupic craze, but since I was too poor and inexperienced, I couldn't buy any. I then got the Brassavola craze, and bought a few. I then had a Phal craze, of which is the largest group in my collection. I got the Bulbo craze also. The thing is, I am still interested in all of these groups, and I still grow them and I would buy a plant from any of these groups. Once I build a plant stand in the basement, I will get the cooler growing plants I have wanted, such as Masdies, Paphs, and small Dends.

[Paul]

My first chids were restricted to what I could find at Lowes. Supermarkets had not started carrying them yet and I was ignorant of the existence of orchid shows, orchid societies, and orchid nurseries. Understandably, my selection was limited to phals and the hard cane dendrobs that were all that Lowes carried at that time.

My horizons opened up as I found an orchid society (quite by accident) and through that os discovered the existence of orchid shows and online ordering.

At that point, I wanted practically everything I saw -- though fortunately I did not have the finances to do anything too foolish acquisition-wise. Phals and dens were now joined by catts and some oncs. Oncs did not do terribly well for me so they never made any real inroads into my collection.

As years went by, I found myself getting bored with phals and got rid of them. Dens no longer did well after I moved into a new apt so they too went by the wayside. Catts now made up the vast majority of my chids.

Years passed and I moved again. By this time, while I still enjoyed catts, I found myself buying very little new catts as so many of the hybrids were similar enough to what I already had as to curtail my desire for new ones. In addition, I had "discovered" species -- in particular, mini species. I found this an excellant way to increase the variety of my collection without using up my limited space quite as quickly. Catts (both compact and mini) still dominate, but now I do have a smattering of mini species as well. I even have a hybrid phal or two. I still see plants I would love to have, but far fewer now as I have become much more finicky as my grow spaces have disappeared.

[RJSquirrel]

where I am at in my orchid collecting is trying to figure out whats wrong with them. the shine has worn off Ive killed so many trying to find my spot. sticking with cool growing orchids bec thats all I can do in my apt home for now. they all will have a new home nov 1st and we see what dies what cries and what flies into the trash can. what the heat didnt take care of over the summer some type of chlorosis has taken another 15 or 20 of my paphs and made them very unsightly. im not going to mess with them bec bad leaves dont recover their looks. I hate ugly plants.

I do have some happy zygo's and miltonias spiking. my only aganax is spiking. I like plants that new growths are born with spikes.

I just dont know what I want to do anymore to be honest. Its more work and less fun than it used to be.

[Merlyn]

I started with the dinner plate Phals at Home Depot and the Dens. As time went by, and I thank the force that I found an orchid society, that phase passed and I became very fond of the orchids that didn't die on me. My collection grew in that direction more and more. Then one day at a 2006 Christmas NCOS meeting I discovered Catasetums in the form of a brilliant yellow Cycnoches chlorochilon X Cycnodes Jumbo Micky !!! Just the April before I had been given, by a mistaken gasping and finger pointing, my first Bulbophyllum. A burfordiense which took a while to work its way into my heart which it surely did by the graces of blooming randomly and frequently for me and not dying. Those two episodes changed the direction of my orchid collection completely. As of today I have 144 of which 50 are Ctsms, 25 are Bulbs, 26 are Phals which are exclusively species or primary hybrids, and the rest a mishmash of others. At this point I'm starting on a new level of interest, it seems, as I'm slowly getting into Ctsm cross breeding. Haven't done one yet but am collecting pollinia from all that bloom in my house !

[Eyebabe]

I too started with phals but that was before the supermarket carried them.

I would get them at flower shows a few times per year and my collection was pretty reasonable.

I had a tough time keeping them alive though in my cool house with 30% humidity
Thus, from show to show, enough died off that the number stayed around 10

After attending flower shows for about 2-3 years I got to see some "other" fabulous orchids.
My interest expanded to getting educated.
Also, I became adept at shopping online for orchids
I prefer large blooms and the history of cattleyas and their breeding interest me tremendously.

For the past 3 or so years I have regulated myself to mostly large flowering cattleya species and hybrids.
As the collection expanded, we were fortunate enough to be able to build a greenhouse.

I have about 250 plants now and about 175 of them fit the "collection criteria".
The rest are what you have heard me call "token" phals....like my bellina and my gigantea and my guadalupe pineda.
I also have some small cattleyas, two beautiful lycastes and one awesome phrag that only ever bloomed one time four years ago
Two or three brassa's etc. etc. etc.
I bought my first rupiculous laelia a couple weeks ago and it seems that is the orchid "du jour" from reading some other posts. It's the cutest thing!

Fortunately, concentrating on one type of orchid does not require the faithfulness of a marriage

Like RJ, disease really gets me down and although I will attempt to treat and have frequent success with sick orchids....I don't linger long. It hurts too as the "pickier" you are with plants, the more they cost.
This is why I must still work my day job for a long long time

[Charmkp]

I started collecting hard cane Dendrobiums. I would buy a plant every week from my grocery money. Not knowing what I was doing, as I knew nothing about orchids, many of them died. I figured they needed there own space, so I constructed a small shade house for them. Out of ignorance, I used 75% shade cloth. They did'nt do well under that at all. I live in a cool area with plenty of rainfall especially during winter, and so I contiued loosing my plants. Eventually I decided to cover the shade house with polyethelene plastic, and bingo this is worked for me. I am now loosing less plants now.

I became adventurous and told my husband that I wanted a phaleonopsis, as we were told that they were hard to grow. So I got my first phal. for valentine and every year around the same time it bloomed. So I got my groove on and bought a few, don't have much of them though, just about 15.

I then started to venture into other orchids, and so I started collecting sun vandaceous and mokara. Now I over 100 these, (my largest collection). To me they are the easiest orchids to grow. They survive all our climatic conditions (in the tropics ie). I now have sereral different speicies, most of them noids though, as I never understood the importance of the labels so I lost some, and some came without. Orchid board has changed that though. I now try to secure the labels/tags.

I have among my collections oncidiums, dendrobium, cymbidiums (really love these, but they don't always do well in our neck of the woods unless they are warm loving), cattleya, epidendrums, spothoglottis, calante, phaius, phaleanopsis, vandaceous, a grammatophyllum (that never bloom for me) and a few I don't know what they are.

I will always collect orchids, as there are so many species and one never knows or understand them all. I've been exposed to so many different ones on Orchid board.

[Masdyman]

I don't buy much at all nowadays, if I do it will most likely only be a Masdevallia but choice is very limited so I rarely do.
I never get a heart flutter anymore from anything else, when I first started growing most orchids would have been on the list!
I don't even have any in the home, we nearly purchased a couple of Phalaenopsis for my two kids at a recent show but they was to pricey really to justify it.
I guess you just get used to them!