Easiest orchids

[shaelyn]

don't get a cymbidium. they are a royal pain to water in an apartment environment anywhere that is not CA or someplace with similar weather that allows you to grow them outdoors nearly year-round. watering with a can makes a mess, particularly when the pseudobulbs have grown and filled the pot. they're top-heavy and will easily tip over in the sink, and they're huge and bulky to attempt to put in a sink and water without one of those attachments that can move the waterspout around the plant as opposed to tilting the plant into the spout. bathwater is too big and too unpredictable, particularly when it's in bloom and you're trying to keep the water from getting in the blooms - and again, you're tipping the plant instead of the water since they're so dang tall, and it's still a pain. get something that will stay small. my phals are very easy to water...I just found a spot they like in the apartment, near enough to the window to get bright light but far enough away to not get direct sun, and once a week I take them over to the sink. I mess around with other things sometimes such as humidity levels and applying keiki paste to flower spikes, and I'm probably going to start toying with different types of medium for the phals more, but that is all optional. they are as low- or high-maintenance as you want them to be.

that being said, here's my other suggestion: go out to your stores that sell orchids, and just find something inexpensive. it doesn't have to be the first one you see or something at the first store you go to even, just, when you see one you like, and if the price is right, go for it. continually soak in information about the type of orchid you bought, be it phal or catt or dendro, whatever, but overall, just grow the thing. if you got it on discount-wilted, shriveled and limp, give it a fair amount of water til its leaves get plump, and if it's healthy, just consider repotting it and start a watering schedule. when you're ready for it, start a fertilizing schedule - it took me a few months to get around to this, and while my phals may not look as pretty as they would have otherwise, they looked healthy the whole time while I was scratching my head and shrugging my shoulders over fertilizers. anyway, do what you need to, and then just sit back and watch it grow. watch it put out more leaves and roots. enjoy the hell out of the first flower spike. you're going to love it, y'know why? because you raised it, you grew it, you're reaping the rewards from your own efforts.
if you don't succeed, it's not a huge loss - you will learn what works and what doesn't for that kind of orchid, and whether or not you like growing that type of orchid, and you can try again. if you succeed and decide you don't like it, whether you sell or trade, I'm sure someone *cough getintouchwithmeifthathappens cough* uh, yeah, someone will be glad to take it off your hands... and then go try something different.
there are some that grow better in your environment, true, but the process of finding an easy to grow orchid doesn't have to be complicated.

EDIT: oh geez, I wrote an essay??


TL;DR: I suggest no cymbidiums, but otherwise just go find yourself one you like and roll with it. if it doesn't work out, try again.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

There are smaller species Cymbidiums that can tolerate warmth really well. Not all Cymbidiums grow cool or are huge.

Cymbidium aloifolium is one example.

[shaelyn]

huh. those do look easier to manage...though still a bit top-heavy, and tall and leafy.

those do look awesome though....hmmmmmmm *starts hunting retailers*

[rangiku]

I was going to say what Shae just did and make a suggestion: go to a Trader Joe's, or similar store, and buy 2 or 3 different kinds of orchids. Perhaps an Oncidium intergeneric, a Phal and one other. They are relatively inexpensive and you can practice growing them to see which you like and do well with.

I don't want to show you the plastic cup with all the tags from orchids that have gone to orchid heaven in the nearly three years I've been growing. I'm sure if I had those plants now, with what I have learned, they still would be alive.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

It's kinda hard to recommend some intermediate growing plants that are low light to moderate light growing, because most of the ones I know of are not really what I'd consider great for someone looking for a plant to just take off with little effort.

Oncs might be a good start, but some of them need a little effort to go.

Idk, Isochilus linearis? I love this guy. Grows fast. Easy to grow, imo. Blooms reliably. Beautiful foliage, imo. Flowers are small but interestingly arranged.

Arpophyllum spp.? These are related to Cattleyas but don't need the high light to thrive. They're small flowered, but their common names of Candlestick Orchid says it all. Grows faster than a Cattleya. Easy to grow, imo. Idk, these are great plants, imo.

Aerangis spp., maybe?

[Leafmite]

Here are a few that would like your window: Burr. Nelly Isler 'Swiss Beauty', angraecum distichum, haraella rectrocalla, oncidium Twinkle, oncidium cheiroporum, and many zygos (zygo louisendorf is a popular one). Most of these are smaller and all are okay without a south window. The Nelly Isler is one I especially recommend. I used mine as a Christmas gift (and replaced it!) but it bloomed three times a year and is really beautifully fragrant.

[Tommyr]

Originally Posted by Cstanm700

Just looking for a couple of the easiest orchid to grow!
Thanks,
Connor

For *me* Dendrobiums are the easiest. Then Oncidiums.

I am a Phal killer though. Killed 7-8 over the years, I stopped buying those.

[Gage]

Lots of great advice here! I especially appreciate shaelyn's thoughts. Get several different types that you find beautiful or interesting, and do lots of research on each of them. Some of mine I find are difficult for me to grow well, but I grow them because I love the blooms. Others I love the growth habit so much that blooms are just icing on the cake.

Some rewarding orchids (easy, for their respective alliances) I absolutely love:
Guaritonia Why Not
Oncidium Sweet Sugar
Vanda tessellata

Great and easy for mounting and very bright light:
Encyclia tampensis
Brassavola nodosa
Brassavola Little Stars

[FSUOrchids]

Originally Posted by Cstanm700

Just looking for a couple of the easiest orchid to grow!
Thanks,
Connor

It really depends on the environment. If you're growing indoors, there are plants that will do better than if you are growing things outdoors. A good beginner orchid species in general is philanopsis, but as mentioned some people don't have the right environment to get them to grow well. I live in FL so I don't have any issues and they grow really well for me without much effort.