Some advice on buying orchids please?

[james mickelso]

Nice plants. Now get on the net and read, read, read. Paphs can be tough if not grown correctly. Phals are a piece of cake as long as they are not over watered and I see it is planted in moss which will stay wet for a long time down around the center of the plant so water sparringly. Let us know how it goes. We are free and full of ....uh....knowlege. Yeah. Knowlege

[The Orchid Kid]

they look great - good flowers and seem healthy

[professor plant]

After reading the posts above I think one very important question should be asked if you are going to buy a plant that is not in flower.

'Have you bloomed this plant before? Is it a reliable bloomer? ect...'

This is often forgotten. Many plants will grow well. Even flourish, but not bloom. This may be for a variety of reasons that may be overcome.

For example; I bought an orchid called a Telipogon. It was in bloom and looked healthy. It lasted five months and died. This is very common for growers who try this plant. I knew this going into it and was OK with it. You may not be.

Almost all cultural questions can be answered for you at a show. Try and get two different opinions just to compare the two. Some answers will vary. Make sure to include where you plan on growing it. Just remember, many plants may be easy to grow. Fewer are easy to bloom. I have plenty of examples.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by professor plant

After reading the posts above I think one very important question should be asked if you are going to buy a plant that is not in flower.

'Have you bloomed this plant before? Is it a reliable bloomer? ect...'

This is often forgotten. Many plants will grow well. Even flourish, but not bloom. This may be for a variety of reasons that may be overcome.

For example; I bought an orchid called a Telipogon. It was in bloom and looked healthy. It lasted five months and died. This is very common for growers who try this plant. I knew this going into it and was OK with it. You may not be.

Almost all cultural questions can be answered for you at a show. Try and get two different opinions just to compare the two. Some answers will vary. Make sure to include where you plan on growing it. Just remember, many plants may be easy to grow. Fewer are easy to bloom. I have plenty of examples.

I know this is off the original topic, but I just couldn't resist...

Many Telipogons don't fare well under temperatures above 85 F. They tolerate cool temperatures extremely well. Telipogons can be grown in temperatures around 36 F and still be just fine.

They can live far longer than 5 months in cultivation.

They also don't grow wet. That is a myth. They like good humidity, but moderate moisture.

I have grown 3 species of Telipogons so far. Telipogon venustus is not a good introduction to this genus believe it or not! They may be more heat tolerant compared to many other Telipogon species, but they ship horribly, and they are not as tolerant of low levels of moisture in comparison to the 2 other species of Telipogons I've grown.

The other 2 species appear to be far hardier orchids. Telipogon antioquianus, I grew for about 1 yr before succumbing to the heat and severe neglect, (there was a point in time when I was so busy with work and school, I didn't have time to sleep, let alone water the poor things). I still own the other species, (I forgot the species name), and it will be 1 yr since I've owned it in about 2 more months. The one that is still alive is supposed to be the more "difficult" species to grow because of how cold it is supposed to grow. However, just like Telipogon antioquianus, the Telipogon I currently own, can handle 85 F, as a high end temperature, quite well.

[professor plant]

King of Orchid Growing: Here is my experience with a telipogon.

The telipogon I tried was hutchisonii if I remember correctly. It DID NOT ship well back from the show I attended. When it came in initially, after stopping through Miami, it looked so-so. It was in bloom, but the plant was had very few growths and did not respond well to being in transit for another few days after initially seeing it.

When I got home I potted it loosely in a clay pot with NZ sphagnum moss. I trimmed the flowers in effort to conserve teh plants energy. It perked up for a while and put out a few new spikes, but they yellowed and the blooms aborted.

My terrarium is not cold, but cool. The temps were running about 65F in the day to 50F at night. I believed this was suitable and adequate. I kept it relatively balanced with moisture, allowing the plant to just to begin to dry slighty the day of watering. In my opinion it was never wet, but moist.

I am not discouraged to give them another shot, but I have been waiting for a venustus, but I did not preorder and none came in for sale.

I have bloomed many miniatures that poeple say are cold growers, but this was not one that flourished for me.

Do you know anyone in the states that has telipogons that are seed raised in the US? I am hoping to find some that have already been acclimated over a long period with the hope of having better luck.

Thanks for sharing your experience growing them. I appreciate all the feedback I can get.