... So *if* I had the bug... Good starter flower?

[Ray]

ALL orchids are easy to grow.....IF you provide the correct cultural conditions.

The intelligent approach (and I am not claiming I followed this as a beginner - don't necessarily now, either) is to carefully analyze and understand the complete set of conditions you can easily and consistently provide - light, temperatures, humidity, even your own watering tendencies - then look for plants that will thrive under them.

What is "easy" for one grower may not be for another.

[Peithecelt]

Originally Posted by gerneveyn

There's a garden center in Auburn, NY called Dickman Farms that I like a lot. When I was there last summer, they had some cymbidiums, phalaenopsis, and dendrobium.

I'll have to see if I can't make a trip out.. There are a number of local places that sell orchids as well, and I'm probably going to go that route (particularly at first), just to minimize the cost so I don't kill my starter orchid..

[Peithecelt]

Originally Posted by Ray

ALL orchids are easy to grow.....IF you provide the correct cultural conditions.

The intelligent approach (and I am not claiming I followed this as a beginner - don't necessarily now, either) is to carefully analyze and understand the complete set of conditions you can easily and consistently provide - light, temperatures, humidity, even your own watering tendencies - then look for plants that will thrive under them.

What is "easy" for one grower may not be for another.

Thanks, though certainly a plant with a wider range of acceptable temperature and humidity will be easier for someone learning to care for orchids than one that is VERY picky about it's environment. And from what I've gathered, some of the traditional, flowering orchids are pretty easy going, while others require much more specific conditions. I'm just trying to sort out which plants have a little margin of error while I'm learning..