HELP... Orchid impulse buying condition....*

[Dr. Dave 4u]

My Diagnosis = I'm suffering*from an Orchid impulse buying condition..

I seem to have been bitten by the bug and keep buying orchids when I probably don't have the space and or proper conditions for everybody!
Here is what I have collected so far....is it time to stop?What's the cure?
Help me before my wife throws me and the plants out!!!! She is living in a jungle now!!!

-My Orchids so far
Phalaenopsis
Dendrobiums
Castasetums
Oncidiums
Cattleyas
Epidendrums
(The Vanda's bloomed, gorgeous, then died in winter)

-My other exotic and less exotic plants!Bottle neck palm
Buddha belly bamboo
Various fig trees
Desert Rose
Ponytail palm
Various Dracaena
Snake plant
Pothos
Ficus bonsai
Lucky bamboo
Plumeria
Big leaf Jade
Burros Tail
Fiddle leaf fig
Tillandsia, Air Plants

And I probably forgot a few!

They are all in a small eastern facing condo with about 6 hours direct sun and Northern NJ growing zone 6a I believe.

How do you stop yourself from buying more??!!!!

[estación seca]

Remember the old fax joke?

"Free to good home. Very cute husband or very cute cat. Husband says he or cat needs to go. Take your pick."

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Dr. Dave 4u

My Diagnosis = I'm suffering*from an Orchid impulse buying condition..

How do you stop yourself from buying more??!!!!

Alas, likely no help here, we're all enablers...

This from Sue Fordyce, the daughter of the wonderful Catt hybridizer Frank Fordyce...

Obsession

[realoldbeachbum]

I suffer from the same addiction. If you find a cure, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!

[aliceinwl]

I’m theoretically out of space too, but I’ve gotten pretty good at squeezing them into all available real estate and then rearranging them to fit just one more...

[Roberta]

I am truly out of space - especially in the greenhouse. Except for miniatures... can a find room for a few more of those, hang them on the edge of benches or from hanging pots... but bench space is totally committed, and most hanging space as well. Outside I can still squeeze in one more.. but not many, Biggest problem is when things move temporarily (like when the Catasetinae move outside for the summer, or I bring blooming plants inside). As soon as there is a gap, somehow something comes along to fill it...then when the normal occupants move back, I wonder why things are so crowded...

[Mountaineer370]

It's easy. I have absolutely no extra space anywhere. I only started growing orchids about six years ago, and I, too, succumbed to the addiction quickly, but I am maxed out at about two dozen (plus a small number of non-orchids). I am limited by how many can fit in the house in the wintertime. It is not physically possible to create space where there is none, and there is only so much cramming and rearranging that can be done before the plants start to suffer. From the time I was a teenager, I have loved having house plants, and I would have many more now if I could, believe me.

[Leafmite]

Plants are an addiction for me, too. I really love all plants. At one time, people would enter our home and say "Wow, this place looks like a (botanical garden (Phipps, usually))." I had plants in every window, with a few very fast growing passiflora vines and other large plants in thirty/forty gallon pots. I did cull the collection, beginning ten years ago, and now I am pretty happy with what I am growing concerning the non-orchids. My largest pots are twelve-inch, now. As for the orchids, if the SVO mini-Cattleyas prove pleasing, I think I will be complete there, too.

---------- Post added at 11:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:21 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Roberta

I am truly out of space - especially in the greenhouse. Except for miniatures... can a find room for a few more of those, hang them on the edge of benches or from hanging pots... but bench space is totally committed, and most hanging space as well. Outside I can still squeeze in one more.. but not many, Biggest problem is when things move temporarily (like when the Catasetinae move outside for the summer, or I bring blooming plants inside). As soon as there is a gap, somehow something comes along to fill it...then when the normal occupants move back, I wonder why things are so crowded...

I had to make a rule for myself not to buy orchids or other plants during the summer...I would absolutely panic when autumn came and I had to fit all the plants inside again. It is nice not having to worry so much now.

[Dr. Dave 4u]

Love to see any older pictures of your "botanical garden" home of the past if you have any to share!
Must have been very special..!!!

[Leafmite]

The pictures would be on a DVD that is stacked next to the computer where we are slowly copying all the pictures and videos onto an external drive.
It was really tough to sort through the plants and
I did end up replacing a few plants I regretted giving away but I now have a collection of plants that is really rewarding. It is difficult not to buy every plant/every orchid but people and the dog need to live comfortably in the house, too. I really hope that the Obsession poem Roberta posted isn't true....