If I knew then what I know now...

[cb977]

How would you complete that sentence with regards to growing orchids?

Is there one thing that you've learned along the way that you wish you had learned way back when?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I would understand how much my orchids meant to me and not take them for granted.

No matter how common or how rare, the orchids in my collection are precious.

There's always a challenge to take on even if you're able to grow one particular species or hybrid very well pretty easily.

Spreading the joy of orchids is better than just having them all to myself.

What goes around can really come around (even with orchids).

[SP2340]

Oooh man, where do I start? Okay, I wish I knew that orchids can take a few hours of direct sunlight per day.

[Cookiemonster]

First Sue- I your display pic

Wow I havent been growing that long and know next to nothing , but I wish I would have watered less, avoided expensive plants,
- I also wouldnt start with phals and vandas as I've killed most of them.

Also if there is something going wrong upstairs, usually that means something very wrong going on downstairs, not always but usually so take a look at the roots and medium when in doubt-
Good thing Im now growing mostly in clear pots- helps keep the ocd monster in check

One more thing- I wish I had known how bloody expensive this hobby was!! It never ends, there is always ONE more orchid you just got to have

[Royal]

...I would joined the Orchid Board and the AOS sooner.

Great question, Sue.

[kinknstein]

More light, more light more light! When I first started I thought I had my chids in good light, but after a couple years with very few blooms, I realized they can take much more than I thought before!

[cb977]

Great answers!

Keep 'em comin...

[camille1585]

The one thing I really wish I knew in the beginning was to always repot a new orchid, even if it looks fine! If I had, I probably wouldn't have killed 2 of my earliest orchids.
I also wish I knew not to overpot orchids. 3 years I repotted a Cym into a pot 3 times bigger than the original pot. It's only just beginning to fill the pot, and the oversized pot may explain the lack of bloom despite my attention to cym blooming requirements. And I also wish that I had repotted it back into something smaller as soon as I noticed the mistake.

And I wish I had know about OB earlier, to help me avoid those stupid mistakes!

[jkofferdahl]

...I'd have a LOT more orchids because I wouldn't have ignorantly killed so many! Of course, I also wouldn't have purchased some of the ones I did, not having the slightest clue that I couldn't possibly create the right conditions for them to survive. (Yes, folks, I am still haunted by the ghosts of orchids past.)

[WhiteRabbit]

I wish I would have known about OB sooner! lol
My plants have definitely benefitted. You can read the books - but there's nothing like info and tips from people growing especially if their conditions are similar to yours!


Ditto on the more light!


good idea for a topic Sue!