Any Interest in Writing Orchid Care Articles?

[jarjarb52]

Hey,

I was wondering if anyone would be interested in writing care articles for different orchid species for beginners? These would be posted on a website...with the goal to spread our love for orchids and also hopefully help many people/viewers.

I can provide a small amount of compensation for your efforts and time.

Let me know - PM me!

[claypot]

I think if you look around the web you will find plenty of articles specific to each genera. Try starting with the AOS.

[Roberta]

There are a few issues with general articles.

Even at the genus level there is a lot of ground to cover. And the general articles typically don't do much to address the range of different orchids within the genus. Even within a fairly uniform genus like Phalaenopsis there are still exceptions. Other genera are far more complex, since orchids come from every continent except Antarctica, from sea level to above treeline. Obviously different species with different needs. And then there are the hybrids. Another issue is that culture sheets don't tend to address the differences in growing conditions that people can offer.

In summary, a simple "how to" discussion is fine for a start, there are lots of those already (such as the AOS culture sheets, and discussions on this forum for that matter) but they're all extremely oversimplified. But then, the complexity is part of the attraction of orchids. There is so much to learn, and the learning never stops.

[jcec1]

This is the best place to find out about orchids. There is a wealth of information and knowledgeable people here. A difference in opinion is not necessarily a bad thing - people often have different experiences and grow things contrary to the rules.

[Fairorchids]

Originally Posted by jarjarb52

Hey,

I was wondering if anyone would be interested in writing care articles for different orchid species for beginners? These would be posted on a website...with the goal to spread our love for orchids and also hopefully help many people/viewers.

I can provide a small amount of compensation for your efforts and time.

Let me know - PM me!

• The AOS has some 1 page articles for the basic genera, which are often re-posted by local orchid societies.
• I have written some, you can find those here: Fair Orchids
• For individual species, I rely on the descriptions in IOSPE listings to guide me to cultural requirements.

Having said this, written guides only go so far (unless you write a book). There are issues/variations depending upon

1. Where you grow (window sill/under lights/in greenhouse)
2. What potting mix you use.
3. Whether you use clay or plastic pots
4. The care regimen you have for your other plants.
5. Where you are located (as it relates to relative humidity, light & temperature levels.

As an example: Another greenhouse grower gave me a piece of a very vigorous Brassia Rex, potted in bark mix in a plastic pot. Over the first 8-10 months, it went steadily downhill in my greenhouse. I then changed it to a spaghnum/bark mix (4:1) in a plastic pot. Since then, the plant doubles the number of leads in each growth cycle.

[claypot]

Care instructions are written often in the context of the country of the author which can be diverse and misleading. The way a grower in Taiwan recommends cultivating a Phalaenopsis, for instance, would be considerably different from someone in Germany.
I believe the only way to devise culture is to understand the genus you are dealing with and the natural environmental conditions where nature cultivates it then aspire to create such conditions as closely as you can.

[Roberta]

My climate is sufficiently different from almost everybody else's (outside of coastal California USA) that the basic culture sheets and articles are pretty useless for me. (And I grow predominantly outdoors) I have a pretty big collection, and am always trying to figure out what I can get away with... I go to the species information for factors such as elevation, and then extrapolate a lot. I have shared what works for me (what grows outdoors, what needs greenhouse protection) on my website. Anybody who uses that information is then going to have to extrapolate to THEIR conditions. Never mind different countries... different micro-climates in the same coastal region of one state of the USA. I have utilized a book written specifically for the San Francisco Bay area, which addresses a wide range of micro-climates, and done my own extrapolations along with a lot of observation. (This is closest I could come to a reference work relevant to my area.) Result, an increasing number of successes and a diminishing number of failures. But it remains a work in progress and I think always will be.