Help growing orchids in the office

[datousteve]

Hello all!

I've been a long time fan of orchids but have never considered growing them until now. To keep it simple, I was hoping to grow 2 or 3 orchids in my office. Two sides of my office have large windows all the way up. Unfortunately though, not alot of light enters the windows. At least not direct light. One of the two windows gets some light in the morning until 11am. After that, the other buildings block out the direct light. Currently, I have a few small cacti occupying that windowsill.


My office is lit by 3 sets of 3 what look to me like T5 bulbs. I can add a light if need be to my office but anything I do needs to look professional since this is an office. I don't think the partners would appreciate me rigging up strange lights all over the place.

If you guys have any suggestions or links that can lead this newcomer in the right direction, please do share. Having been into reefs for a number of years, I realize that people on these boards are MUCH more knowledgeable than the ones at my neighborhood OSH.

[datousteve]

I'd like to add that the temperatures by the windows do get somwhat cold at night and I hear that central air is shut down on the weekends. I might have to purchase a light and a fan on timers to have this work properly.

While on the topic of equipment, what does everyone recommend for a beginner?

[Blondie]

As a person who still considers myself a beginner, I'll just say this: Do it. Buy the orchids and put them in the window and go from there. Get some phals--they are super easy and work well under many different conditions. I would recommend getting a small, simple fan for when the heat/air turns off. Don't worry about lights or equipment, just go for it. It's easier than you think!

Once you get into it and have fun with it, you can get more challenging orchids and set more things up. I've been growing for a while now with just sunlight and water and it's super fun!

[Ross]

Also consider the mottled leaved Paphs as a suggestion. They are really easy to grow and not really insistent on lighting and humidity.

[peeweelovesbooks]

Hello there.

I also grow orchids in my office. I have Phals and Oncidiums. Both types grow quite well, actually. I used to have an east facing window that got a lot of light (I'm on the 17th floor of the building). Honestly, my office got too much light after 10am or so. So, I used to partly close the blinds.

Now I'm in an office with a north facing window and I never close the blinds. I get indirect sunlight all day long (let's see during the summer). I water my plants 1-2 per week. I do spray/mist once a week, but I don't have any special lighting ( I'm a lawyer in a federal agency, so I can't have any special lighting or accessories for plants). I do make sure to fertilize, fertilize, fertilize. I use MSU plus superthrive, once a week. I mix the solution at home and take it to work, as I don't have the time nor the place to be mixing chemicals.

I pot all my orchids in plastic see through pots, which are inside ceramic orchid pots. I have many more orchids at home, but I rotate them once in a while when the ones in the office need special care, repotting, or if some other orchid that I have at home is about to bloom.

I used to have a cattleya. It was beautifully healthy and green but it only bloomed once. I brought that home and I think it got sunburn.

I currently have a huge white phalaenopsis noid that has been in bloom for about a month and keeps growing buds, a mini phal noid that is neon purple, an oncidium sharry baby and an oncidium twinkle. The twinkle is bursting out of its pot and is FULL of blooms. It smells wonderful!! The sharry baby was in bloom for about 2 months. I took that home, repotted it and took it back to the office.

Good luck and don't hesitate to take orchids to the office. I think you just have to be a little bit organized about taking care of them. But it's definitely doable.

[datousteve]

Thank you for all your responses. They have been most helpful.

I see many of you mention fertilizers that you use religiously. Could you provide more details as to where to get this stuff? I imagine it's just like dosing in a reef tank.

Thanks!

[datousteve]

Originally Posted by peeweelovesbooks

Hello there.

I do make sure to fertilize, fertilize, fertilize. I use MSU plus superthrive, once a week. I mix the solution at home and take it to work, as I don't have the time nor the place to be mixing chemicals.

I pot all my orchids in plastic see through pots, which are inside ceramic orchid pots.

Hello! I also work in a law firm doing patent work. If you belong to the USPTO, then we may have crossed paths before.

Back to orchids, is there a reason you pot in plastic see-thru pots and then place that inside ceramic orchid pots?

[peeweelovesbooks]

Originally Posted by datousteve

Hello! I also work in a law firm doing patent work. If you belong to the USPTO, then we may have crossed paths before.

Back to orchids, is there a reason you pot in plastic see-thru pots and then place that inside ceramic orchid pots?

Hey there. No, not USPTO, I work for OMHA (Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals) here in Miami.

I pot in plastic see-thru pots because it's easy to see whether your plants need watering and what is the condition of the root system. They are also very easy to keep clean and easy to transport. Whenever I want to take a particular orchid home, I just slip it out of the ceramic orchid pot, put it in a box and I'm good to go. When I go to the bathroom to water them, I also just slip them out of the ceramic pot, take my bottle of fertilizer, and quickly do what I need to do. It takes less than 10 minutes to water my plants. Also, I don't have the problem that the plant's roots are going to attach themselves to any clay or ceramic pot. They can get pricey and well, I don't want to break them.

And, finally, I use the ceramic orchid pots for aesthetic purposes. Since I work in an office environment, my office has to look professional. The pots are beautiful, they are all the same color, (dark brown with drip glaze) to match the furniture)but have different designs (one is round, with scalloped edging, 2 are hexagonal, and one is rectangular) and really enhance the orchids.

I mix 1 oz of MSU fertilizer per gallon. I've also been adding 1/4 tsp. of superthrive (many think it doesn't do anything, I thought it wouldn't hurt to try) I transport the mixture in those big gardening spray bottles.

I can try and take a picture of how they look, if you are interested.

[Blondie]

Originally Posted by peeweelovesbooks

I can try and take a picture of how they look, if you are interested.

I would love to see them!

[datousteve]

Thank you for the advice. I just picked up my first orchid... a yellowish phal.

With regards to watering, it appears that people recommend doing it weakly weekly. What does this mean exactly?

From speaking to the person at the store, she recommended watering it once every 2-3 weeks by running it under lukewarm tap water multiple times. Afterwards, I'm suppose to wait for all the water to drain out before placing it back into the ceramic pot. This makes sense when using water from the faucet but I'm not sure how I would do this if I was using fertilizer. What I"m guessing is:

1. Mix the fertilizer concentrate w/ RO water
2. Pour the mixed fertilizer over the plant but have another bucket below to catch the majority of the fertilizer that will run through the clear pot.
3. Repeat step 2 until you feel all portions of the orchid roots are wet.
4. Wait for roots to dry a bit before placing back in ceramic pot.

Last question: Do you place rocks and a bit of water in your ceramic pot to improve the humidity around your orchid w/o having the roots touch water? (i.e. rocks raise the clear pot a bit so it doesn't touch the water)

Thanks! I plan on ordering some MSU fertilizer from the following site this week.

Orchid Health