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

[Nanook 2010]

I Have visited a local grower a few times now and here's what I've learned (I've been growing for about three years)

1. Don't ever stress out about repotting- the grower has hundreds of orchids in his "stock" section not for sale that had not been repotted for years and were gorgeous. The lesson I learned, is it could always wait for repotting



2. Cattelyas need more light than you think. Their Cats are grown year round under full Florida sun with only 25% shade cloth. ( or a standard Fl pool cage )

3. Big box store orchid mix is fine. This is all they use. When I asked about "special mixes" he laughed and said more power to you if you want to use 'em, but the store bought was cheaper and easier for his operation.

4. His employees did sterilize cutting tools each time (possible lesson for me there)

If you are a beginner and are able, I would recommend visiting a professional grower.... I think you will begin to realize how stress free and enjoyable growing can be. There really is truth to the "benign neglect" saying

[Nanook 2010]

Picked this one yesterday while there......BLP Golden Peacock Orange Beauty

[jesscorine]

gorgeous! thanks for sharing

[james mickelso]

Benign neglect? Well some yes and a big no. When you have a nice orchid, say a nice catt, it will grow well, if you learn what it needs and provide that as it fills the pot. Then it will take more care as it overfills the pot and the roots start growing over the edges. This is the stage where the older more established nurseries take divisions while leaving the older pbulbs to throw new growth buds. For instance SBOE does this. But after awhile this type culture takes it's toll and the plant starts to decline in vigor and in health. The potting mix breaks down completely and molds start to proliferate causing root loss and diseases to take hold. So now we try to take the completely rootbound orchid out of it's pot, divide it and clean the old rootmass out. Now the real trouble starts. There is so much damage caused by us trying to untangle the living roots and cut out the old dead material that we end up destroying the plant. For those who, like me, have been growing for a long time, no problem. But for those who have not, they have most likely just killed their orchid. Better strategy is to repot when it is time, in the correct part of that species' season, and with new media. You mention not stressing about repotting. Correctomundo. Repotting is so simple. Potting mixes from the big box stores? Some good ones but a lot of bad ones too. These can help you grow beautiful orchids but they can also make growing orchids a real pain. It again boils down to using the correct mix for your watering strategy. Or you can reverse this and say water according to your potting mix. For most beginning orchid growers/hobbists.....water kills. You get a potting soil that has a lot of fines in it which plugs up the very important air spaces, repot into it, and watch as your orchid declines and then croaks. Or you read a bit here, learn what an orchid needs from a potting mix, and then find the appropriate mix for your needs. It ain't rocket science. I am with you 100% on going out to an orchid nursery and seeing what they do. But if you look at the greenhouse you have shown us in your pic, what do you see? Most likely a greenhouse with a temperature around 80*f, humidity levels around 60% to 90%, very good quality water, and very small amounts of fertilizer added to the water all the time. And just the right amount of light. In other words perfect conditions for the orchid types they grow. Most of us can't duplicate this all the time. And so we must compensate for that with our modified watering strategy, and potting mixes. And most of all read this board and use what you learn. Like you say.....don't stress about it. We're here to help and can give you loads of info.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by Nanook 2010

1. Don't ever stress out about repotting- the grower has hundreds of orchids in his "stock" section not for sale that had not been repotted for years and were gorgeous. The lesson I learned, is it could always wait for repotting

It works for certain orchids. Others, not so much.

If you're talking about Cattleyas, then, I can see that, but I would still try my best to get them repotted at least once a year; at most, maybe once every 2 years.

[ALToronto]

I've killed orchids because I let them stay too long in old decomposing medium. Even catts. It all depends on the plants and the medium, and I agree that the same schedule doesn't work for all. But if the plant is not thriving, and it was last repotted over two years ago, I would get some fresh medium pronto.

[Dendy83]

i dont think reading too much into what was posted is what the intention was. basicially, orchid growing can, and should, be fun. while there are basic necessicities that each genus requires, like more or less light, etc, i think for beginner hobbyists like myself, the take away is to just relax and enjoy orchid growing. stressing over whether to repot the second you get home shouldnt be the case, sit back and enjoy the blooms while they last and then repot....all the while keeping track of watering needs of course.

anyways, thanks for the reminder to just enjoy keeping orchids as a hobby. i think orchids, as well as a number of things, can be as complicated as you make them. i can understand that from a collector's standpoint the view on this topic can vary greatly. what collector wants to lose an expensive, rare, orchid from just doing the basics.

sorry for the lack of punctuation and capilization...i'm on my phone.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by Dendy83

i dont think reading too much into what was posted is what the intention was. basicially, orchid growing can, and should, be fun. while there are basic necessicities that each genus requires, like more or less light, etc, i think for beginner hobbyists like myself, the take away is to just relax and enjoy orchid growing. stressing over whether to repot the second you get home shouldnt be the case, sit back and enjoy the blooms while they last and then repot....all the while keeping track of watering needs of course.

I will agree that orchid growing can, and should be fun.

It is.

But just letting things be can sometimes backfire if you don't know what you're doing. From the few years of experience I've had being on the OB, I know it has happened to a few people before, and by saying this, I don't mean to offend anyone. I, myself, have tried this approach in general, and honestly, in certain cases - particularly the ones where I had very little clue as to what I was doing; it most definitely did backfire.

Originally Posted by Dendy83

anyways, thanks for the reminder to just enjoy keeping orchids as a hobby. i think orchids, as well as a number of things, can be as complicated as you make them.

While I do understand the "just enjoy keeping orchids as a hobby" mentality, especially from a beginner's standpoint, I think that the statement, "[growing orchids], can be as complicated as you make them", is true to a certain degree. Certain orchid's needs will indeed force you to think otherwise.

Speaking in terms myself only...

I definitely don't try to overcomplicate what I do in order to successfully grow an orchid, there will definitely be cases where simplicity gets thrown out the window - particularly, the further along in the hobby you go.

A lot of the times why my posts sound or appear complicated is because they are to teach people the principles behind the method, not necessarily the method itself. Another thing that makes a lot of my posts sound or appear complicated is because, a large majority of these posts are asking for help to save their dying plants, or to help save a dying plant that they intentionally purchased. Then there's dispelling a lot of old long time growing conventions that work against the growers, because some of those conventions are not necessarily based on a truth.

Originally Posted by Dendy83

i can understand that from a collector's standpoint the view on this topic can vary greatly. what collector wants to lose an expensive, rare, orchid from just doing the basics.

That's true. But I'd like to pose a few questions to the beginners...

Does it hurt a beginner to practice good growing habits from experienced individual growers to begin with?

Why practice mediocre or bad habits from the very get go when you have some of the best pieces of advice experienced growers can offer beginners based on over a decade of actual home growing practices - not nursery grown practices, which can oftentimes vary greatly?

You must remember that a large scale nursery can afford to lose a few plants compared to an individual grower who has sentimental value towards their keepsakes. Large scale nurseries don't have time to baby their plants, the individual can afford to spend some quality time with their plants. A grower deals in large quantities. A household grower deals in individual specimens to smaller quantities.

I used to be trained at a large scale professional nursery. And I'm telling you what the biggest difference between the 2 types of growing are - and even by saying this I am telling you exactly what I was trained in while I was working at a greenhouse.

Lastly...

Why overcomplicate the process of repotting? This is what James is saying.

It is far more complicated to deal with an overgrown plant in a potting mix that has degraded so badly that it is dirt, than it is to repot a potting mix that is still very close to it's original form.

Trust me, I've had to repot plants with badly degraded media when I brought it home from a grower, and it took me hours compared to repotting a plant with media that was still intact in just minutes.

This to me is no fun!

[quiltergal]

Philip pretty much echoed my thoughts on this. You can get away with a certain amount of benign neglect, however, you can take that attitude too far and end up with a hot mess in a big hurry.

I've had more than one grower tell me they expect a plant in an individual's collection to grow and bloom better than it will at their greenhouse because we, the collectors, have more time and attention to spend on each individual plant.

[Nanook 2010]

I wasn't trying to imply to completely ignore your plants...I see many posts where people stress about repotting immediately after buying a orchid...

Sure..if your orchid if failing and needs to be repotted.....go for it....

I was simply trying to point out to BEGINNERS that "professional" growers.......not Internet professionals sometimes wait years to repot with no ill effects.

There is a big margin between never repotting and repotting each year

Find that happy balance ...I have

J