Essential supplies for a growing orchid collection

[bethmarie]

Hi everyone,
I'm going to invest a few bucks in supplies for my orchid crew, which has grown to 12 or so in a shockingly short period of time. (You know how vulnerable you are to infomercials at a certain time of night? Well, beware. Same applies with orchids. Woke at 3am and couldn't get back to sleep; surfed a little and ended up buying a phal. violacea and an angraecum leonis. I'm not responsible. It's called sleep-shopping
Right now I have nothing but plants, water, fertilizer and one good humidity tray from tindara. I figure I need a few pots, some potting mix, something to sterilize tools with, etc. Will some of you weigh in with what I ought to have on hand and what not to spend on, so I can keep my hobby somewhat sustainable? Thank you!

[Bud]

I like to order online....you made business with tindara; they are a good reputable supply store= also repotme.com....and for basic orchid supples go to our fellow member's store at firstrays.com

[tucker85]

You don't need to spend a lot of money. For many years I bought most of my supplies from Home Depot. My HD has 5" clay orchid pots that have always worked well for me and they also carry wood baskets that I'm using more and more. Clorox can sterilize your shears. If you want to spend a little more money (especially on shipping) RePotMe.com, Tindara have lots of good products.

[Wynn Dee13]

I like Kelly's Korner. That is where I usually get my supplies. I use a bleach solution to sterilize my tools and you can also use a torch. I usually only order when I need something I can't find around my house. That is usually pots and a few other things. I like the clear slotted plastic pots or the aircone square clear pots. I also use a lot of clay pots and I have a hard time finding certain sizes so I order them. Oh and rhizome clips. I have never been able to find them locally. I also buy wooded stakes, and New Zealand sphagnum moss online but that is what I grow almost all my orchids in. It all depends on what you need for your plants. I have used Tindara before too.

[james mickelso]

I find that a good torch from HD is very handy. I use it to sterilize all my tools. They are very inexpensive and come in handy when you get a leak in your plumbing. I get the large size torch and gas bottle. The small size just doesn't get stuff hot enough. I also use it to heat up my big screw driver to melt holes in the sides of plastic pots as I don't think the holes in the bottoms are large enough. I also use a lot of lava rock so maybe give that a look.

[bethmarie]

Thanks to all for your replies. I had a recent case of root rot because I'm not adept at growing in sphagnum, and it got me thinking there might be a few things I should have at the ready, since I had no clean sphag for the sphag and bag treatment I've read about, and no new mix or pots either. I've looked at the air cone pots and am really interested in trying those. Appreciate everyone's input very much.

[Discus]

It's always worth having on hand:
some growing media
some pots
some pesticides

I'd also suggest getting a fan to gently blow over your plants.

[Gage]

If you like using sphagnum moss as a growing media, I recommend spending a little more money and getting super high quality. Otherwise it is going to break down and become useless very quickly because the cheaper stuff is essentially mostly broken down when you buy it. I also recommend a torch for sterilizing tools. If you have 12 Orchids now, I wouldn't bother buying a lot of pots. I would just buy a couple extra whenever you actually need something. Once you see the momentum of your collection moving in a certain direction you can better assess what supplies you will need. Oh, and the thing I use more often than anything else is the thinnest gauge of aluminum bonsai wire. I have huge rolls of it from way back when, and I use it all the time for tying plants to mounts or into pots and baskets, tying spikes to stakes, etc. It's very handy and very easy to work with. I don't remember what I paid for it, but one roll has lasted me several years of bonsai work plus several years of orchid work, and there is plenty left.

[Chris Green]

Invest in a good bug spray, fungicide, a good pair of sharp scissors, and a tub of cinnamon powder

One tip for growing in moss i can give it have something central that is either totally solid (a big stone) or something that allows a lot of air (a core of hydroleca or a bit of epiweb. Sit the plant on top, roots dangling into the pot so the rhyzome sits on top and is level-ish with the pot top and then fill in with moss. This stops any problems of the pot centre becoming too compact to be able to breath... or just removes the problem totally with the stone solution. The stone solution also resolves the issue of unstable tall plant's... or, use terracotta pot with moss

[Bud]

now why didnt I think about stone before? I always used styro-peanuts....stone would really weigh down plastic pots and wont topple easy