Are you orchid obsessed?

[The Orchid Boy]

In less than 2 years time, I aquired 40-50 orchids. (20-30 are seedlings from a flask.) It's shocking how fast I've run out of room!

[Leafmite]

I am plant obsessed and orchids are also plants. When I had to make room for the cinnamon tree, out went a few orchids that were space hogs (onc. Sharry Baby was replaced with a onc. Twinkle). I like fragrant flowers (jasmine and freesia are currently blooming) and while most fragrant plants need high light, orchids do not.

[PlantTeeth]

Originally Posted by Moirae

I have a tendency to be super obsessed with something then lose interest or get distracted by something shinier and then pick it back up again in cycles lasting from days to years. Right now, the phals on my sill are putting out new branches, spikes, buds or roots like crazy and so I stare at and inspect them daily right now. When they all finally bloom, I'll probably find them pretty to look at but lose interest until they start 'doing something' (like growing new leaves) again. Luckily, so far, even when I lost interest in them, I didn't neglect them much and still watered, fertilized repotted etc.

I am like that with my plants & lizards. For a couple weeks I am over-diligent caring for the lizards while ignoring the plants completely. Then it switches & I am all about the plants, but just managing the lizards. But I have been super focused on both for the last 3 months. So I'm doing better. :rolleyes:

via mobile

[Call_Me_Bob]

I must add, while I say I'm not "crazy obsessed" I still spend way too much time browsing forums (Like I am now!) watering, potting, and caring for my orchids. And I also work at an orchid nursery and love every minute of it. I probably have over a hundred plants. So not "crazy obsessed" but anyone else would beg to differ!

[gardengirl13]

Not real obsessed, but I have a thing for plants and orchids fall into that. If I had money I'd buy another few, maybe about 5-10 of my most favorites, but that would be it. If we owned instead of rented the outside would be a lot more! As it is we have lots of plants outside. Silly when you rent, but we're long term renters. We were at our last house for 5 years (but we didn't like the location or the landlord- case in point we left a few plants and shrubs and he moved them all to his house for his wife and charged us $200 to do it!!- yeah THAT bad!!) we've been here for almost 8 years now. Good landlord great location (unless this storm really does produce 20" of snow tomorrow!)

Inside plants help since they can come with us when we do move again. So yeah they are important to me, but nothing I can't stop thinking about! ha ha!!

[JanS]

Here's my story:

I grew up in Czechoslovakia under Communism and loved plants thanks to my mom and her farming family but never got to have an orchid. It represented a jungle world I wanted to be able to visit - if not live in. We managed to immigrate to the USA in the 70s ... and I got my first orchid! (from Hauserman's in Chicago). Been hooked ever since - but because of the exotic nature of the plants!

That's not fair to orchids! Orchid species are found on every continent except Antarctica. Yet most of us here ignore temperate orchid culture in favor of the jungle species. In those younger years I found various orchid species in Wisconsin in the wild and brought them home to Chicago to try to grow in pots. Interestingly they usually grew for 2 years - flowering the first year (to my great enthusiasm!!), then succumbing to the artificial environment the second season.

Since then I have traveled a lot and visited many jungle places, and brought some orchids back (legally), and each of those now has an identity and a story behind it. With these I am obsessed to adapt to their new home, to make them survive, and to hopefully make them thrive. Same with orchids I buy specifically from a grower for a reason.

I also have many NoID orchids given to me by friends who have no idea what to do with them (mostly hose big-box-store buys). As much a I hate to admit, I don't care that much for them...but just can't give them up, so they keep clogging up the greenhouse...

[Orchidreamer]

Currently, I am crazy obsessed. I started growing orchids in 2003, and my "obsession" waned in 2006, due to my rigorous high school program, when I barely had any time for anything else besides studying. College was emancipation for me, so in 2009-2010, my passion for orchids picked up again.

[The Orchid Boy]

I love hearing about everyones' "obsession" and back story.

My first orchid was a noid phal from Lowes. My fourth orchid (and first non noid) was a Paph. delenatii from Mid-Pacific Orchids. I've been hooked on paphs ever since.