What I've learned after visiting a professional orchid grower.....

[stylingpat]

Thanks for reminding me that orchid growing is a pleasurable hobby to help enhance and enchant my life, not take it over and cause me to mentally suffer 24/7 over my plants :P

[Nanook 2010]

Originally Posted by stylingpat

Thanks for reminding me that orchid growing is a pleasurable hobby to help enhance and enchant my life, not take it over and cause me to mentally suffer 24/7 over my plants :P

That's why I recommended visiting a professional.......

I've worried over small black spots on my orchids, when to repot, how much water, how often to water, water temperature, water quality, outside temperature, amount of direct sunlight, amount of shade...Yadda.....Yadda......Yadda......

All these things are important......but not more important than enjoying your growing experience

We learn best from when we fail......But sometimes it sure stings!

J

[james mickelso]

I understand completely what J was saying. Beginners......don't make it any more complicated than it already isn't. Don't sweat it. It ain't rocket science. Then again, Philip and I and many others here want beginners and even some more experienced growers to enjoy their orchids by reading and learning how to make it even more enjoyable by doing things correctly and enjoying the fruits of your efforts which are the beautiful flowers you get and the praise of all here who know what we all go through with our orchids. Philip, myself, and others here enjoy teaching and giving you our insights. We even see some things differently but it all boils down to wanting everyone we can help to get the most out of our hobby (in my case obsession). I want everyone to post even the most mundane questions along with their most pressing concerns. From those who have one rescue phal/mothers day gift to those like me who have way too many. All questions posted here are just the tip of those really out there. And one answer to one question here actually answer lots of others too shy to post. So keep it coming. Don't let our human nature stand in the way of discussion. Not every animated discussion is an argument.

[WhiteRabbit]

I think the reason many stress to repot new plants soon is so that you can see the condition of the roots, condition of the media, and if there are fungus or pests ... Plants I have had a while, and repotted already, I know how old the media is, precisely what media it's in and how long it should last, etc. I don't stress over repotting those. I do try to repot in a timely manner - sphag annually, bark every 2-3 years, chc 3-4 years. Paphs annually. Other than sphag, most outgrow their pots before media needs replacing anyway. If not, then I probably need to check roots, maybe pot DOWN. But if I haven't been able to get to a plant, I know it wont suddenly croak because bark has hit two years old.

But that's also an upside of timely repotting in general. If I plan to repot a plant in bark every two years, if I can't get to it, I know it's really fine for several more months.

When getting a new plant, I have no idea how old the media is. Often, plants have been potted up previously without old media being removed - old sphag in the center of more recent bark ...

All that said - I do agree about not stressing. Honestly, if I stressed over every blemish, or issue, I would NOT enjoy growing orchids, and I do grow them for my enjoyment and relaxation.