Let's make sure I don't kill all of my orchids!

[naoki]

Originally Posted by inle

So I pulled out the clear pots and checked on the roots. to be honest, some of them were soooo tightly packed in moss I gently loosened it up to help with watering. I don't want my beautiful, sudden, accidental orchid collection to die. I will be so infinitely depressed if this happens.

Sphag moss is good, but it may be better left for experts.

Originally Posted by inle

what brand of food do I buy? Which is the best? I don't have a problem ordering from online sources if it's 239847293874x better than the stuff at Lowe's.....I just gave my phal before some of the stuff from there.

It probably doesn't matter too much in the beginning, but people like Dyna-Gro Grow and MSU fertilizers.

Originally Posted by inle

How long will it take an orchid to develop symptoms of improper lighting?

Do each of these orchids prefer individual lighting situations? I'd imagine so, wouldn't they?

It could take a long time. Without enough light, they may keep growing for many years without any bloom. And yes, they prefer different lighting, I think other people answered this question.

Originally Posted by inle

One person bought me a mister to go with it.....so how exactly does one mist their orchids? Leaves, flowers, everything....?

I don't think it will do much unless you keep misting every hour.

Good luck!

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[inle]

Originally Posted by cbuchman

BTW, we're all addicts and we love sharing our "best" buys.
One of my favorite Orchid sources is Trader Joe's. Orchids for $8-$15

I live in BTR, LA. We don't have a Trader Joe's yet, but we're supposed to get one within the next year.

Two of mine were from Whole Foods, some of the others were from Fresh Market or one of our nurseries....................... omg I do not need another orchid supplier.................I am going to go broke.........

[inle]

One of the oncidiums I got from the florist's yesterday wasn't exactly the perkiest specimen on the face of the planet. I kind of feel like it was close to death. Lol. Here is a pic of the plant itself. The bottom parts are wrinkly.

https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resi...9853AF030D!751

Here are the plants of the other orchids. The spots on the leaves of the others are apparently leftover from the nursery....they sprayed with some sort of fungicide.

https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=#cid=...9853AF030D!723

Keep in mind that most of these I've had for less than 2 weeks....................so yeah, I am a touch overwhelmed.