Suggestions for starting collection

[Rid]

Hello everyone, I’m thinking about jumping into orchid care as a new hobby.

I was unable to find an answer to a question with the search function which has probably been asked a thousand times already...:

I’m looking for suggestions for orchids that would thrive near a south facing, floor to ceiling bay window. My house is a ranch, so I believe the eave of my roof blocks direct sunlight in the summer, but I get all kinds of direct sunlight in the other three seasons. I’m in the southeast United States, mild winters, hot and humid summers.

Obviously looking for beginner friendly plants! Thanks!
Ridley

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Anacheilium spp.
Brassavola spp.
Cattleya spp.
Encyclia spp.
Epidendrum spp. (make sure they are intermediate to warm growing)
Guarianthe spp.
Isochilus spp.
Laelia spp.
Oerstedella spp.
Pollardia spp.
Rhyncholaelia spp.

Dendrobium unicum

Maxillaria tenuifolia

More importantly, make sure the plants you get are well established/well rooted. Even if you pick from this list, but the plants you get are not well rooted/well established, you could fail hard if the plants' roots are extremely damaged.

[JScott]

You can grow probably most of the commonly grown orchid types by a window like that. Oncidium or Cattleya is usually a good place to start, or Phalaenopsis (although they won't take much direct sun, so you may have a problem with your Phals getting too much sun by your south facing window in the winter). However, I would recommend putting the plants outside for the summer. They will love it, and you will end up with sturdier, more robust plants with better flowers.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I do not intend to be discouraging to anyone, but my personal opinion on growing Phals as a first orchid is not very high.

There's a reason why the Beginner's Forum is littered with questions about how to grow or save a Phal. Notice how there are far fewer questions about how to grow any of the orchids I mentioned on the list. The orchids I mentioned are far hardier than Phals are, imo.

This is why I don't generally recommend Phals to absolute newbies if they've never attempted to grow an orchid yet and if they're coming on here to ask what's a good starter orchid to choose from.

Maybe with a little bit more experience growing some of the hardier orchids, then I would recommend growing a Phal. The person would still be at the beginner's level, just a little bit more advanced than starting from ground zero.

My intention is to ease someone into the hobby.

[Ray]

My take on the reason there are many "help save my phalaenopsis" topics is different. "Many" because they are so readily available, and "help" because folks jump into growing them without understanding the basics, often assuming they're far more similar to tropical houseplants than they are.

The most common issue any new orchid grower has is grasping that the plants do much of their gas exchange through their roots, and not almost exclusively through their leaves as is the case with terrestrial plants, so must have a balance between moisture availability and air flow at the roots.

Ridley - take a look at THIS.

[Rid]

Thank you Philip, jScott, and Ray

[Mountaineer370]

Welcome to the board, Ridley! You've gotten quite a few suggestions already that have taken into account your location and growing conditions. So I would just add that you should look into these different orchids and decide which ones appeal the most to you. The orchid family is huge, with tens of thousands of members, and they have a large variety of appearances and characteristics.

Myself, I have found (so far) that the only orchids that seem truly happy in my house are Phalaenopsis, and I guess I'm lucky, because I do like their looks. But my growing conditions are unique to me, and yours will be different, as will everyone else's. Finding what you like and what does well for you is a years-long process. It's oft-repeated here but very true: Orchids teach patience.

+1 on the advice to make sure whatever you buy are healthy, well-established plants to begin with. Attending an orchid show or two would be a great learning experience, plus there are vendors selling plants, and you could ask questions about the needs of a particular plant.

[Rid]

thank you Cheri, I'm planning on researching the different genus, but I was hoping that ya'll could narrow things down a little bit at first because there is so much (too much?) information out there.

i've been doing bonsai (still a novice) for a few years now, so I hope that i'll be at least a little prepared with the patience part.

Thats funny about all of the 'phalaenopsis' posts. The bonsai forums are filled with 'help my first juniper is dying" posts.

Ridley

[AnonYMouse]

Originally Posted by Rid

thank you Cheri, I'm planning on researching the different genus, but I was hoping that ya'll could narrow things down a little bit at first because there is so much (too much?) information out there.

i've been doing bonsai (still a novice) for a few years now, so I hope that i'll be at least a little prepared with the patience part.

Thats funny about all of the 'phalaenopsis' posts. The bonsai forums are filled with 'help my first juniper is dying" posts.

Ridley

Cultivating bonsai will probably not help. I immediately killed my bonsai because their culture is unlike orchids or trees planted in the yard. I knew this in theory but did not execute correctly in practice.

I believe that you will be more successful with plants you like and that you do not graduate from one genus to another. I think you should graduate from an cheap NoID orchids to named plants (and awarded clones can be pretty spendy).

If you have a Trader Joe's near by, it is a great place to pick up NoID plants. If your area has shows, great place to see and ask questions. If you are near shows, they are usually associated with a club/society.

Go peruse ebay's orchid section (don't bid yet!). You can get some representation of particular genera.

[Jeff214]

I'm a relatively new orchid grower and I've found that you have to try out a couple of orchids to see what works for your own environment and growing conditions. It does take some time but it is rewarding when you find something that flourishes under your care. For example, I've killed numerous phals (sold in sphagnum moss) until I started repotting them in bark. I tend to over water and a different potting media helped tremendously.

That being said, I've found a few orchids hardier than some others:

Maxillaria tenuifolia (loves water. I cant kill it)
Oncidium hybrids (Onc. sharry baby, Onc. wild cat)
Den nobiles
Bpl. golden peacock
latouria dendrobiums (Den roy tokunaga, Den hawaii spectacular, Den little atro, Den normanbyense)
Cattleya hybrids (C. Isle of Paradise, blc golden chieftain)

Honestly, I find phals more difficult than most of the orchids I grow. Then again, you might find it easy.