Your orchid collecting habits question...

[Lady Tottington]

Hi all! So, how many of you collect only AOS named orchids vs. how many of you collect anything that is spelled o-r-c-h-i-d? I guess what I'm saying is a collection of random and possibly "no id" orchids not as nice to have as opposed to an all strictly tagged and heirloom orchid collection?

I don't even know if there is a value in an orchid collection, or is the value really only to the collector him/herself?

Tell me about your collecting habits and what you look for? I am sure the answers will be quite varied, but I'm curious... I guess partially because I have several no-id orchids, but I had to start somewhere

[secretasiansam]

my only requirement is that it cost under 10 bucks. i think im at 28 now.

[jkofferdahl]

A good part of the value of your collection lies in what it means to you. Probably most of the value. Yeah, I'm pretty sure most of the value. Sure, for insurance purposes I keep track of what I paid for my plants, but I hope to never use that. I've given plants away but never sold them. Selling them just feels wrong to me. I have two daughters but neither of them came with a price tag.

I remember when my daughters were young and everyone wanted Beanie Babies (does that age me?). Books were written to value them, estimates of how their value would rise were always touted. My girls should both be millionaires! Of course, the stupid things are worth the price of a piece of cloth and a few beans now, not the hundreds of dollars expected. Orchids are plants, not an investment. Buy what you like, and if you get one that's been awarded it may or may not grow and bloom well enough to equal the awarded plant in your care. You may also buy an unbloomed seedling, for a few bucks, only to see it develop into an FCC winner. Enjoy the ride.

[jrodpad]

Great question Lady T.

I can't speak to value as I'm still building my collection and can't even imagine having something big enough or important enough to divide up and sell. I'm really just trying to keep all the orchids alive and happy.

I started collecting NOID phals and have moved on to more specific types of orchids - though not necessarily named orchids. I worry more about growing conditions, ease of care and genera than an orchid's AOS name or progeny.

For my named orchids, I do like the fact that if I accidentally murder the poor thing (**cough**) I might be able to find a replacement.

-J

[peeweelovesbooks]

Originally Posted by Lady Tottington

Hi all! So, how many of you collect only AOS named orchids vs. how many of you collect anything that is spelled o-r-c-h-i-d? I guess what I'm saying is a collection of random and possibly "no id" orchids not as nice to have as opposed to an all strictly tagged and heirloom orchid collection?

I don't even know if there is a value in an orchid collection, or is the value really only to the collector him/herself?

Tell me about your collecting habits and what you look for? I am sure the answers will be quite varied, but I'm curious... I guess partially because I have several no-id orchids, but I had to start somewhere

1) I don't buy NOIDS. There's nothing wrong with them, but there are too many beautiful orchids out there and for me, it just got ridiculous. Every time I would go into home depot I would think, "OH< pretty!!! --->buy." So, I eliminated NOIDS, baggie orchids, etc.

2) I narrowed down the genera I buy. After trying (and killing) oncidiums, cymbidiums, maxillarias, vandas, phaps, phrags, paraphalaenopsis, ascocentrums, etc. I decided to limit what I want to focus on. The caveat is that I allow myself to buy minis for my office. I also try out new stuff on a limited basis every so often to keep things interesting.

So, now I mainly focus on species orchids and within that only on specific genera, such as Laelias (the Mexicans), rupicolous Laelias, schomburgkias and myrmecophilas, angraecoids, renantheras, eulophiella. The odd Mexican species.

3) Well, since they are Laelias, I wanted to focus my collection on awarded divisions, and so that's what I've been doing lately. I buy original divisions of awarded plants from collections such as SBOE. Or, I buy their divisions, even if not awarded, because their plants ROCK.

4) The only hybrids I buy are divisions from SBOE or from boutique sellers, such as motes and RF for their renantheras.

5) I buy flasks, mainly from Troy Meyers but if one of the growers I know sells a unique flask, I buy it. Caring for seedlings is waayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy different than caring for adult plants, and I enjoy it immensely. There's nothing like seeing baby seedlings establish themselves and develop fantastic roots. But, I try to limit the flasks to what I grow in adult form.


That's what my focus is on right now. Honestly, since I got rid of all those other orchids and keep a narrow collection, I've been happier, enjoy it more and well, I think the plants are happier too.

However, everyone tailors their collections to what they love, and I think for that reason, everyone's collection is priceless.

[shadytrake]

I guess it depends on what you want to do with your chids.

I joined the local society and discovered that showing orchids in my neck of the woods has practically zero cost. That got me all excited since my other hobby (competing in hunter/jumper horse shows) is soooooo expensive.

Ever since then, I mainly try to get orchids that have names and will grow well in my growing environment. I'm still working out which ones I want to focus on (right now I'm all over the orchid world map).

I also make myself try not to "save" any from the store anymore. I have become picky about the quality of the plant and the condition of it (especially after sitting in with the AOS judges). They look at every aspect of the plant down to the nicks on the leaves (they actually count them).

In fact, I am currently culling my collection down to the best quality NOIDs, the named ones that are growing well, my compots, and a few sentimental ones.

Everything else in good shape is being re-homed. Anything not in good shape is going out.

I know it sounds harsh but I have only so much room and energy and I want to focus on my reliable good growers and the named ones that are good enough to show.

Since I am a novice at showing, I'm just now learning the ins and outs of picking show quality orchids. Basically I have learned that if you want to get AOS quality chids, it can be important to research what has been awarded to the orchid you are looking to purchase. Some awarded orchids for example Den Banana Royal 'Diane Davis' CCM/AOS already received a Certificate of Cultural Merit 81 pts Five hundred and seventy-two flowers and 640 buds on 58 inflorescences.

Therefore, my chances of getting this Den and having it pulled for AOS anytime in the near future are pretty slim unless pulled for a flower award (HCC, AM, or FCC). Now that's not to say that I shouldn't get it for sheer enjoyment (it is currently on my want list), but I've found that if you have a goal for AOS awards it is important to research the orchid prior to purchase.

Dendrobium Banana Royal 'Diane Davis'

Anyway that's where my collection is heading.

[Lady Tottington]

you all have answered perfectly... thank you! I don't know if I will ever join an OS, but I would like to grow specimen size orchids just for my own satisfaction, and I would love to have enough orchids and types so that I could have one in bloom in every room, during every part of the year!

I like the idea of both starting some small (the flasks intrigue me), but I also think I would like to balance that out with having some that are already large, so that I don't have to wait forever.

I envision that someday, the orchids I have now, will mature enough so that I can give divisions to my kids when they have their own house, but that is assuming that they will want them

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts with me... given that my collection is small (only 20, 6 of which are NOID), I am trying to decide where to go from here.

I haven't yet discovered what I can and can't grow, but I'm sure I'll discover that along the way, right now I have catts, paph, onc, phal, dend, milt., mtssa., and I seem to be keeping them alive, but again, time will tell, time will tell

Thanks again everyone for sharing!

[boytjie]

When I first started growing 'chids, I read the advice of many long-time growers here on OB who thought it was best to specialize in a few genera/species that do well in your particular growing conditions, and just focus on those. I took in all that great logical advice... and then tossed it out the window. I've evolved into one of those growers that has a bit of everything. I'm currently up to nearly 200 plants, all grown indoors under lights, from every conceivable genus and family, from the common to the ultra-weird. It satisfies my insatiable curiosity to see if I can rise to the challenge of it and succeed; and most times, I've done well. I'm pretty darn proud of the fact that I've had very few deaths, have learned through my own research how to keep nearly anything alive, and get most of my 'chids to actually thrive and bloom regularly. So, the short answer is, I guess it depends on your personality type!

[jkofferdahl]

Originally Posted by jkofferdahl

A good part of the value of your collection lies in what it means to you. Probably most of the value. Yeah, I'm pretty sure most of the value. Sure, for insurance purposes I keep track of what I paid for my plants, but I hope to never use that. I've given plants away but never sold them. Selling them just feels wrong to me. I have two daughters but neither of them came with a price tag.

I remember when my daughters were young and everyone wanted Beanie Babies (does that age me?). Books were written to value them, estimates of how their value would rise were always touted. My girls should both be millionaires! Of course, the stupid things are worth the price of a piece of cloth and a few beans now, not the hundreds of dollars expected. Orchids are plants, not an investment. Buy what you like, and if you get one that's been awarded it may or may not grow and bloom well enough to equal the awarded plant in your care. You may also buy an unbloomed seedling, for a few bucks, only to see it develop into an FCC winner. Enjoy the ride.

I guess I didn't answer all of your questions. I grow in windows with lights for assistance. My plants are on racks. The house temperature drops to about 55 at night in the winter, and up to maybe 72, while both extremes are higher in warmer weather. Humidity is aided by a humidifier. My best luck has come with Phalaenopsis and mounted miniatures, so I have perhaps 10 minis and maybe 80 Phals out of perhaps 120 plants total.

[Rosiefuture]

I think I got my first orchid about 11 years ago. It was a Cat and was given to me by my mother in law. I gathered a few more such as cyms and epidendrums over the next few years but to be honest I didn't look after them very well. Then in 2004/2005 I had a massive change in my life, I lost about 100lbs in weight and my whole attitude changed. With the attitude change came more of an appreciation of the things around me and one of them was the orchids I had. I had collected quite a few by then but they were a pretty ratty bunch due to my neglect. I started to research what each type of orchid liked and had much more success with them. I still killed off quite a few but others flourished.

I have probably 250 orchids now, most of them are outdoors and I'd say 150 of them are cyms. I particulaly like pendulous varieties like the Sarah Jeans. I have always brought a few orchids into the house when they have been flowering but I have never had permanent 'house orchids'. Then about 6 months ago I bought a few rescue phals and a whole new part of orchid growing has opened up for me. I have about 10 noid Phals but about 10 days ago I went to the specialist orchid nursery and bought 7 more named seedlings. Phals amaze me with their growing capability.

Of my other orchids I have heaps of noids and they are just as precious to me as the named orchids. I've even given some of my noids their own names. lol A lot of my noids were originally named but in the past I was never very careful with the name tags. They either got lost or the writing faded too much to be read.

I am by no means an expert in the growing of orchids and I'm learning heaps from this board every day. I just love that my collection is changing and developing and to me, what is written on a little plastic tag isn't extremely important. The pleasure I get from watching them grow and bloom is and I just love passing on doubles at repotting time. Many of my friends have small orchid collections that I have passed on to them.

Marion