Any advice for a complete beginner.... - Page 4 - Orchid Board

JamesEG · #31 06-10-2013, 04:58 PM

Thanks for the help, I'll look up the OSGB and see if there's anywhere near me where I can go. And thanks for the help on the online ordering, I think I will do that if I can't find anywhere selling the orchids near me.

Cactuseed · #32 06-10-2013, 09:41 PM

I second cattleyas and dendrobiums. Also a good 'easy' family is the epidendrums.
- Growing from seed in orchidland is very different. Basically its test tube in vitro stuff. Google it.
Note to anyone in the usa interested in raising seedlings, I highly suggest ordering the seedling special from Oak hill nursery. You get 10 species orchids for 45 bucks including shipping.

Oak Hill Gardens

Island Girl · #33 06-10-2013, 09:56 PM

I do a lot of online ordering, and it is great when u buy from reputable vendors....

eBay can be a different story!

I would agree that u should start with flowering/blooming size plants (abbreviated FS or BS, which is what u will see on a lot of websites (@ least here in the US)) also, a lot of vendors don't give a whole lot of info in their plant descriptions... Which is why research is a good thing!

(Good for u, for doing this, b/c a lot of ppl don't do this, and then struggle). And with BS/FS plants, u get more instant satisfaction... With younger plants (esp. seedlings) it can take years (not months) these r slow-growing plants after all! Young plants can be frustrating at times... & in some cases, more difficult than their adult counter-parts!

There is a lot of ppl from the UK (on the O.B.) that order online, and also within the EU, (which I think u can order online from a vendor w/in the EU and be fine, ie: u won't need import permits... **but DON'T take my word for it! I don't live there!** Lol)... and someone please correct me if I'm wrong!
This is a link to E.U. Vendors: Orchids Vendors in Europe it is in the "Vendor Feedback" section of the forum, a very useful section! But, *Please* double-check with someone who lives in the UK, & make sure u can order from vendors w/in the EU w/o any special permits! Ask members Rosie, or RowanGreen (only two I can think of at the moment, that live in the UK). Plus, they could possibly recommend some more local vendors

Be careful! Orchids are addicting!

muahahahaha..

[Sorry for the novel!

]

Oscarman · #34 06-11-2013, 12:18 AM

Some great information you guys.

James can you tell us about the temperatures in the area where you are going to be growing your orchids. Growing on or near the windowsill? How about the light exposure. That will limit the choices genera and species and I am sure everyone can help narrow the list better with that info.

Welcome to the OB!

james mickelso · #35 06-11-2013, 12:34 AM

My suggestion would be to stay with phals for now until you get used to the watering needs and temperatures you have in which to grow orchids. They are the easiest and the most rewarding fr the beginner. They bloom a couple times a year and as long as the watering is watched carefully they will give the most bang for the buck. Next would be the miniature laelias and cattleyas. Easy to grow and flower and they would grow right on the windowsill. Dens after that. Phrags and paphs are not that easy for a beginner. They're not difficult but take some research and practice. Oncidiums and the intergenerics would be right there with cats I suppose. But my vote would be for phals. Easy to obtain, rewarding, and easy to learn.

JamesEG · #36 06-11-2013, 05:11 AM

Thanks for all of the help again, I really didn't expect to get such a good response! I feel that I have a good chance at keeping an orchid alive and healthy

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oscarman

James can you tell us about the temperatures in the area where you are going to be growing your orchids. Growing on or near the windowsill? How about the light exposure. That will limit the choices genera and species and I am sure everyone can help narrow the list better with that info.

The orchid would probably be growing in an area that has good lighting from windows (most are south and west facing) but not right on the windowsill as they're too small for a plant pot. So it wouldn't be in shade for any length of time. As for temperatures, sometimes the house can be pretty cold (around 17-18°C) but not very often. Also I'm not sure how much of a difference it makes but it can get very hot (for the UK, sometimes up to 25-28°C) and cold (-5 to -10°C) outside in summer and winter, although given the unpredictability of weather in the last couple of years in the UK that's probably not much to go by. I hope that helps narrow down the options.

I'm afraid that Oncidium sphacelatum is one that I would love to get, so hopefully the conditions are good for it and maybe it could be my first orchid. Can anyone share their experiences with this orchid? I would love to know more about it to try and see if I have any chance of keeping one healthy

of course I'll also carry on doing my own research.

As for getting a Phal before anything else to improve skills or practice, I might have a chance at convincing my Mum to let me look after one of hers for a bit. Although she loves the orchids so there's no guarantee!

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #37 06-11-2013, 11:52 AM

Oncidium sphacelatum:

Intermediate to warm temperature (55 F - 95 F).

Moderate humidity (50% - 60%) is fine.

Moderate bright indirect light.

Grow potted in small grade fir bark. You can add perlite or sponge rock (sponge rock is a larger pebbled version of perlite) to the mix to give it more air if you like.

I prefer to recommend using clear plastic pots for various reasons:

1. You can see some of the roots and have a rough idea of what's going on down in that area.

2. It lets a lot of the roots photosynthesize. Epiphytical orchids (aka orchids that grow on trees), tend to have the peculiar trait of having roots that can photosynthesize, hence why they are green.

3. These kinds of pots already come with a whole bunch of slots for keeping the root zone aerated.

It is not necessary to grow orchids in clear plastic pots, but it is a recommendation.

Water the orchid again when the roots and potting media dry out.

I'm going to clarify the issue with your mother's ailing Phalaenopsis.

In the context of ailing Phalaenopsis, I usually like to recommend keeping the Phal warmer than what most people normally grow their Phals at in the home. That's because in the wild, during the warmer months, (that would be towards the middle of spring through the summer), that's just how warm they grow. Also, it cues them to grow vegetatively much faster than if you kept them at around 70 F - 80 F (21.1 C - 26.7 C) during the daytime hours.

So, to clarify, keeping Phals at higher temperature ranges of about (70 F night - 95 F day/21.1 C night - 35 C day) during the mid-spring through the summer will usually prompt the Phal to grow faster vegetatively.

Q: Is it necessary to grow a Phal this warm if the Phal is in good health?

A: The answer is - no. But I'm just letting you know what I've observed on a reliable basis, (what I mean by "reliable basis" is that it is observable in several individuals within the same tropical Phal species, and it is also observable in several genera of tropical Phals). And in the case of bringing a Phal back from near death, keeping them warmer helps. It is not detrimental.

What you'll eventually find out on your own is that any little advantage helps when it comes to bringing a deathly ill Phal back to proper health, (trust me on this one...).

Look, it really doesn't matter what method you use, whether you use a heating pad or not - the point is to preferably keep your Phals warm during the warmer months or when they are deathly ill. I just recommended the heating pad because I know that other people have kept their orchids warm in this manner. And believe it or not, it is one of the least expensive ways of keeping your Phal warm without buying a greenhouse or cranking up the heater to your house.

Another element to helping with nursing a sick Phal back to health is high humidity. Plants, (orchids included), transpire through the underside of their leaves via pores called stomata. But because Phals naturally grow in very humid areas in the wild, they depend on humidity to keep from losing too much water through transpiration.

With a Phal with a heavily damaged root system. The plant is now not only transpiring at a normal rate for the Phal, but it is also not getting enough water through their roots to support the cells of the plant. This is what's causing the "veiny look" on your Phal's leaves. That's because if you look at the cells of your Phals leaves under a microscope, they're partially collapsed within the cell walls due to insufficient water.

High humidity helps the Phal in recovery because it slows down the process of water loss for the plant. I recommended a humidifier for this reason and for the reason that it is guaranteed to work if the machine is working.

Q: Is a humidifier necessary?

A: Again, the answer is, no! There are other ways to increase humidity reliably. But it involves you knowing what you're doing.

You can essentially raise the humidity by placing a wet newspaper/paper towel/moss/sand in a clear container, and placing the Phal in that container with that wet bedding, making sure not to have any part of the Phal touching wet surfaces.

The container method is different from the humidity tray method in that the container will hold onto the evaporated water locally a little while longer than the humidity tray would. The container would hold even more humidity in place if the container was closed, (make sure the lid has plenty of holes in it so the plant can breathe).

This is the other method to raising humidity.

So, if you've heard of "Sphag and bag", it uses the same principles. However, as a caution, the method of "Sphag and bag" proper, is not something I recommend because of some really big problems you may encounter later down the line.

Using a plastic Ziplock bag is one of those "cheaper methods" that leads to "cheaper results" - and this is as cheap as it gets in both regards. The problem here is that the bag doesn't offer the plant good air circulation. In other words, the air can stagnate in that plastic bag and cause fungal or mold problems when you originally didn't have that problem to begin with!

In short, methods will vary, but the principles will always remain constant.

The principles are:

1. Keep warm.

2. Keep humidity high.

JamesEG · #38 06-11-2013, 12:43 PM

Philip, thanks very much for all your time and help, I'll do what I can to help my Mum care for the Phal and get it back to good health. Could keeping the orchid more humid be achieved simply by misting it with warm-ish water?

Once again, thanks so much!

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #39 06-11-2013, 12:52 PM

Misting kinda creates an additional problem in cultivation.

That problem is that because the water droplets from the misting are rather large, and when a Phal is grown in cultivation, they are usually grown upright (which is the unnatural way for most Phals to grow), the water droplets from the misting can dribble into the crevices of the plant's crown and sit there if left unnoticed. This leads to what is generally called "crown rot".

Crown rot is bad. You don't want it.

I've read of people blowing water out of the crown using a straw, btw.

JamesEG · #40 06-11-2013, 12:54 PM

Okay thanks I'll just keep it warmer then, I think our house is fairly humid anyway so that shouldn't actually be too much of a problem. Although would it help to mist it very carefully? Say, on the bottom of the leaves?