Best Beginning Orchids

[Wnyndy]

What are some hardy orchids? What are cheaper ones, I can take a cash advance in USA but I hope to take it when I will buy a lot of orchids? And what in your opinion is the best looking? We’re is starting our vegetable garden and I thinking about adding more plants to my 55 gallon greenhouse. Thanks for your time!

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

Easy to grow depends on your growing conditions. What are your day/night temperatures, summer and winter? Humidity? Light?

[DirtyCoconuts]

love the avatar

welcome.

easy orchids are the ones you can grow in your conditions. As ES said, what are yours?

[jcec1]

I would start with ones you get either in a hardware or grocery store. They are usually in bloom, so you get to enjoy them straight away, they are cheap so if you kill them there is not a lot of loss and finally they tend to be bred to cope with less than optimal conditions.

That being said they do have certain requirements of warmth, light etc so your home conditions will be needed to judge what could do well.

[SaraJean]

When you say a 55 gallon greenhouse, are you talking about something like a 55 gallon fish tank? Are you looking for smaller orchids to go in there?

Ditto to what was said above in that it really depends on your conditions for what will be easiest.

That being said- One of my favorite easy growers is Prosthechea(Encyclia) cochleata. That one is tolerant of a huge range of conditions. Cold to hot, or on a windowsill year round, it doesn’t really seem to care about temperatures as long as it’s above freezing. It does fine in a range of light from slightly brighter than Phals(low light), Cattleya light (high), and even Vanda light levels (very high light). It grows vigorously and puts out a ton of roots with each growth. It is a sympodial Orchid rather than a monopodial, so if one pseudobulb gives you issues and rots, you can just cut it off and the rest of the orchid is fine. Plus it is a sequential bloomer that will be in bloom for 4-6 months, longer the older the plant gets, and possibly even year round.