How many did you kill? - Sad but make us feel better thread!

[TOMMYMIAMI]

CambriaWhat, great addition I love your sentence :They require a very strange mix of attention and neglect and they really hold a grudge when you piss them off! The same here!!!! Thanks for sharing!

---------- Post added at 12:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:25 PM ----------

Many thanks Nikkik, and the same to you

---------- Post added at 12:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:27 PM ----------

Thanks King, your tips are always greatly appreciated!!!!

---------- Post added at 12:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:30 PM ----------

wow Eskevingo, what a story, I would probably tear all my hear if it would happen to me - and trust me, if I would ship my babies to my sister, it would be exactly the same! she has no green thumb what so ever! I am happy you are back on track and you have yet another full collection!

---------- Post added at 12:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:33 PM ----------

And again thank you so very much King. You know what is funny with me and my collection, somehow strangely the orchids that are not easy and suggested for beginners, or said to be harder to grow and take care of, are doing absolutely amazing things for me, all my bulbophyllums are just growing like crazy, blooming every year, so are all the phals, my dendrobium dockrillia tripled in size in last 3 years and blooms constantly the whole summer, so is schomburgkia, some of my dendrobiums aas well, my scaphyglottis and dendrochilum filiforme the same think, and brassavolas and grammatophyllum even epycattleyas. And dendrophylax which I have for some 2 months now seems to enjoy the balcony very much, beautiful roots, looking very healthy and growing well. It is these EASY ones as some say, like cattleyas, vandas, and some other dendrobiums, that are issue to me:-) Thanks for the tips, as a matter of fact, I did drive last month to St. Petersburg to local grower to get my Florida native orchids, so I got one Tampensis and one Cochleata as well. You know what, it is always sad to loose one, it always make me mad at myself, BUT in this stage, when I have over 70 orchids at my small balcony, and probably over 25 different species, I do quite enjoy getting the strange ones, more challenging ones. The good thing is, nowadays I learn to READ BEFORE PURCHASE, not like the times I did buy dracula lotax just because I loved the way it looks, and after getting them I did read they are cold growing:-))) So I do not buy anymore orchids that are not warm-hot tolerant, and I do read everything possible before I buy them:-) It is just joy and pleasure, and it is always very rewarding once they bloom:-) I still do have probably 15 orchids on the way and recently got also into these miniature ones, so will see if I can manage to keep these little buggers alive. But thanks to OB it is so much easier and better to take care of them now!

[Corsetière]

I killed an entire group (4-5?) of Phals at the same time by watering them with full strength Miracle Gro. It's pretty funny to me now (wasn't then). lol Glad I found orchid board. I wouldn't know about weakly, weekly, bamboo skewers, etc. without it!

[Paul]

Originally Posted by RJSquirrel

I dont really kill orchids. I get rid of them when they get so ugly I cant stand em anymore.

It generally takes a while before reaching that point. Particularly when new to the hobby, it's quite common for folks to want to "save" every plant. As years go by, I think one tends to get a bit more ... hard-hearted.

That said, I still after about 20yrs of plant obsession tend to try to nurse any of my plants that fall sickly back to health probably long after many would throw in the towel. And there are times that throwing away healthy plant material still "kills" me. But I have gotten better about it. Had a Sharry Baby several winters ago that wasn't doing all that great for me and then it came down with a major mealie infestation. Tossed it outside as a "gift" to Old Man Winter and let him do the honors. In one of my terrs, I leveled/chopped down a African violet that had gotten too big for its britches (it was trying to attain "shrub" status, I think). Found takers for the multitude of cuttings which otherwise I would have just tossed.

Originally Posted by CambriaWhat

"Orchids are not difficult to grow" is the phrase that really grinds my gears. It is a bold-faced lie!

Philodendrons are not difficult. Chinese evergreens are not difficult. Peace lilies are not difficult. Dracaenas and Zamioculcas are near impossible to kill.

Orchids are in fact difficult to grow! They require a very strange mix of attention and neglect and they really hold a grudge when you piss them off!

Personally, I find orchids much easier and far more forgiving than a lot of plants. And while peace lilies may be easy, I find them to be BORING BORING BORING! (I think I would be hard-pressed to think of a more boring common plant off the top of my head.) The vast majority of Dracaena do nothing for me either nor many of the Aglaonema. Additionally, many of the thin leaved plants like Aglaonema do NOT do well in my conditions. The dry winter air plays hell with such leaves and such plants are typically spidermite magnets for me. Some Philodendrons can be prissy and many require a huge amount of space. Now if instead you are referring to Pothos (which is not a Philodendron, btw), yes they are easy for MOST people -- however, I know folks (including my sis) who have managed to kill them. Then there are those I have known who have killed of ZZ plants in record time. So the long and short is that "easy" is a very relative term.

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

Not when you start off with the right orchid!

There are quite a few orchids that are very easy to grow. It was just that you weren't told which ones they were when you first started out.

As an experienced home grower and a person who was trained in nursery growing for the crop plant Phalaenopsis, I can tell you right now, in my honest opinion, Phalaenopsis are perhaps one of the worst orchids for a beginner to start with.

I don't agree about Phals being among the worst ones for a newbie to start out with -- there are soooo many that could be far worse. (Though many of those are not so easily available.) Again it depends upon the conditions one can and will provide. The easy availability and low cost of the mass produced phals is benefical to the beginner. They can feel free to "give it a go" without a large outlay of cash. Replacement likewise is easy. However, the media such phals are typically found in at the BBSs and the care directions provided are such that the plant's continued existence is questionable at best -- especially in the hands of a newbie.

I completely agree with KoOG about choosing the right orchid for your conditions and knowledge as to what method of husbandry is best in your conditions. It can make all the difference in the world. Once you determine what conditions you can provide, THEN you can make an informed choice of an orchid suitable for you.

The "difficult" part with orchids, in general, is many folks want an exact "recipe" for their care (give X amount of water every X many days ....). Such a desire, while understandable, is completely unrealistic. What works for me in my home is hardly likely to work well for someone growing in humid Louisiana or Florida.

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

Neostylis is temperature tolerant and can handle temperatures down to 36 F and up to 110 F, with no problems. Make sure that if the temperatures do get above 100 F, that they receive good air flow.

I've killed several of those over the years too.

Originally Posted by Joseia

There is one less Paph in the world because of me. I can't even look at a Paph when I go to my local grower without the poor things trying to grow legs and run away.

I hear you there! I'm a licensed paph/phrag serial killer. And to those who would otherwise like to wax poetically as to how easy paphs and phrags are to grow, I have only one thing to say to you --

"Don't make me hurt you."

Fortunately there are not that many paphs or phrags I like enough to want to own.

Originally Posted by Joseia

A Neo Stylis Lou Sneary Bluebird got close enough to death to see the Pearly Gates and hear the choir singing. Neostylis - easy plant, they said; forgiving plant for beginners, they said; so easy you can just stick it on a windowsill, they said. Yeah, right! Almost killed that one three times. It's finally doing well.

Well congrats on that. Mine never did recover from its death spiral. Like you, this one was anything but easy for me in my conditions.

Originally Posted by DweamGoiL

I am an overwaterer and I fight that impulse with every ounce of my being every single day so I won't kill any more.

Then, in addition to KoOG's Pleurothallid suggestion, you might consider trying (if you haven't done so already) alternative culture. For example, plants in baskets and mounts are difficult for many of us who grow indoors in the winter lands -- our dry indoor winter air can be brutal. Such plants require much more frequent watering than potted plants. For potted plants, you could try a completely inert media like Hydroton/Prime Agra/Aliflor, Epiweb chunks, or the puffed recycled glass "rocks" used as a Diatomite substitute. Such materials do not hold a great deal of water which, again, would therefore require frequent watering. And then you might consider trying SH (Semi-Hydro) cultivation. Personally, I found it to be an abysmal failure with the plants I tried, HOWEVER I know a number of folks (including Ray from First Rays orchids) for whom this has proven to be a highly successful strategy.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by TOMMYMIAMI

And again thank you so very much King. You know what is funny with me and my collection, somehow strangely the orchids that are not easy and suggested for beginners, or said to be harder to grow and take care of, are doing absolutely amazing things for me, all my Bulbophyllums are just growing like crazy, blooming every year,

I don't find certain Bulbophyllums challenging at all. I would be very careful about using all inclusive statements about this group of orchids. I can think of at least one species that could possibly give a lot of people hell trying to figure out how to grow them.

Originally Posted by TOMMYMIAMI

...so are all the Phals,...

Miami's climate is much closer to a Phal's natural climate believe it or not. Just add a swamp forest, and some limestone hills, outcrops, and cliffs and you got it.

Originally Posted by TOMMYMIAMI

...my Dockrillia tripled in size in last 3 years and blooms constantly the whole summer, so is Schomburgkia,...

I'm not sure who told you that these were bad for beginners, but these would be the ones I probably would recommend to a beginner, particularly for someone growing in a climate such as yours.

The Dockrilla, I want to mention, is more of a semi-arid desert grower. You can't be a "sissy" under these conditions.

Originally Posted by TOMMYMIAMI

...some of my Dendrobiums as well as my Scaphyglottis and Dendrochilum filiforme the same thing, and Brassavolas and Grammatophyllum even Epicattleyas...

I would have to say that Scaphyglottis is again not terribly difficult to grow, particularly for someone with your climate.

I have not found the others you mentioned to be terribly difficult to grow either. I would probably say that these group of orchids start to move you away from "beginner" and gets you closer to being an "intermediate level grower", but I don't think they're quite solid intermediate level type plants.

Originally Posted by TOMMYMIAMI

And Dendrophylax which I have for some 2 months now seems to enjoy the balcony very much, beautiful roots, looking very healthy and growing well.

Dendrophylax funalis along with Dendrophylax fawcettii are 2 of the easier Dendrophylax species to grow, but that is just in comparison to something like Dendrophylax lindenii.

By general orchid standards, this species is an advanced level orchid. There is still a lot of room for mistakes to happen.

I will also add that your climate is much, much closer to that of where these guys are found in the wild. Far closer to that even of your native Dendrophylax lindenii ironically.

Originally Posted by TOMMYMIAMI

It is these EASY ones as some say, like Cattleyas, Vandas, and some other Dendrobiums, that are issue to me:-)

Cattleyas are not difficult and shouldn't be considering what climate you have. These grow drier than Schomburgkias do. Cattleyas need a bit less light than Schomburgkias do, as well. If you can grow a Schomburgkia, I don't see why you'd have problems with a Cattleya. They are related to each other.

Vandas, I can understand. They are water hogs. Especially when they are grown bareroot in those baskets. I personally don't grow them that way. I grow them potted and they do fine. I have one that finished putting on a show, and another one that's going to bloom in about a month or two. I love them.

Dendrobiums are such a large genus of orchid, that they are almost impossible to generalize their cultural requirements by genus alone. It would be far easier to understand them if you understood their general requirements according to Section instead.

For example, Section Latouria Dendrobiums will generally have similar enough requirements to each other that it would be easy to say that Latouria type Dens grow a certain way and have a certain temperament.

Whereas Section Spatulata Dens will generally have similar enough requirements to each other that it would be easy to say that Spatulata type Dens grow a certain way and have a certain temperament.

Same goes for Dens in Section Dendrobium - the species grouped within this section have similar enough requirements and temperaments that it is easier to make a generalization about them.

However, when you compare the 3 different sections of Dens to each other, they are worlds apart. Get what I mean?

FYI, the species grouped in the genus Dockrilla used to be classified within the super-genus Dendrobium, they were placed into a section of their own before they were divided off into their own genus.

Originally Posted by TOMMYMIAMI

Thanks for the tips, as a matter of fact, I did drive last month to St. Petersburg to local grower to get my Florida native orchids, so I got one Tampensis and one Cochleata as well. You know what, it is always sad to loose one, it always make me mad at myself, BUT in this stage, when I have over 70 orchids at my small balcony, and probably over 25 different species, I do quite enjoy getting the strange ones, more challenging ones. The good thing is, nowadays I learn to READ BEFORE PURCHASE, not like the times I did buy dracula lotax just because I loved the way it looks, and after getting them I did read they are cold growing:-))) So I do not buy anymore orchids that are not warm-hot tolerant, and I do read everything possible before I buy them:-) It is just joy and pleasure, and it is always very rewarding once they bloom:-) I still do have probably 15 orchids on the way and recently got also into these miniature ones, so will see if I can manage to keep these little buggers alive. But thanks to OB it is so much easier and better to take care of them now!

[TOMMYMIAMI]

Thanks Paul, Hilarious comments, made me laugh:-)

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Thanks King. You know, there is hundreds of pages, hundreds of chats, and hundreds of opinions about each orchid. The more you read, the more confused you get. Different people suggest totally different methods for the same orchid - that being said, we already learned what what works for one does not work for others, what works for my Miami climate does not work for others in new york or Boston. Also, i found each orchid, even when the same species, kinda INDIVIDUAL, like people are. My friend in Key West grows everything outside, at her garden, having the same dendros I have on the FULL DAY direct sun, they are doing magic things, blooming like crazy nuts, she has her cattleya in the deep shade mounted on the palm tree, does not get any sun at all, even filtered no, and again, blooming nuts, however the same dendros i got in key west and put on direct sun at my balcony got total burned, and my cattleyas did not ever bloom because I had them in shade, GO FIGURE. You are absolutely right about dendrobiums, I got into them this year, and i found out, that they are so wide range, from cold growing to hot growing, the ones needing only full shade to ones needing nearly full sun. I am glad for this forum, and for the knowledge I got by reading books and articles, I learned many lessons and since July I do order only orchids that can actually make it here in Miami, so that is great progress for me:-) My issue with cattleyas - over water, till this summer, when I switched some to hydroton marbles, and got some mounted, and they are doing JUST FINE! my Schomburgkias is on full afternoon sun, mounted, the same conditions that seller had, and it is loving it! Even my Brassavola, that again we read somewhere should NOT BE on direct sun, is getting full speed late afternoon sun from 5pm till sunset, and is growing like magic! My friend in Key West put the same plant on direct evening sun, and got toasted. Maybe Key West is again different than Miami, but i do not follow everything I read anymore, I am more TRY AND LEARN kind of guy these days, watching the new spot and how they are doing at that spot, and if I see it is not working for them, I do switch:-)

[theroc1217]

I lost a ferociously growing Eria globifera this year to accidental sunburn, and some experimental terrestrials to dessication and rot (It was 30 orchids for 20 bucks, so I'm actually happy that about 11 of them survived). I've lost my fair share of Pleurothallis alliance plants to heat over the summer, about 3-4, as well as my first leafless (My other 4 are drowing well, with 4-9 active root tips and a spike).

I've killed every tuberous orchid I've tried, with the exception of my current Thelymitra and Calypso. I lost a few seedlings as well, but those were not important to me.

[TOMMYMIAMI]

Originally Posted by theroc1217

I lost a ferociously growing Eria globifera this year to accidental sunburn, and some experimental terrestrials to dessication and rot (It was 30 orchids for 20 bucks, so I'm actually happy that about 11 of them survived). I've lost my fair share of Pleurothallis alliance plants to heat over the summer, about 3-4, as well as my first leafless (My other 4 are drowing well, with 4-9 active root tips and a spike).

I've killed every tuberous orchid I've tried, with the exception of my current Thelymitra and Calypso. I lost a few seedlings as well, but those were not important to me.

Thanks for sharing, now really anxious to know, WHERE I CAN GET 30 orchids for $20 bucks, PLEASE SHARE! Cause that's usually minimum price I pay for one, even tiny little ones or terrestrials!!!

---------- Post added at 11:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:16 AM ----------

BTW, to add, I have never had Miltonia at my collection, I bough one as a gift for my friend last year, and it died for her, I decided to TRY one this year as well, got one from kawamoto Hawaii in July, and it is definitely kicking the bucket in few, I did try to save it with re potting to hydroton pebbles but I guess it was too late. I also might have screwed my Masdevallia Copper Angel, it was looking good in its tiny little pot, but than I though I would go for that COOLING POT and mount it, which I did week ago, since than it is rapidly turning yellowish brown every single day. Roots look pretty goods still so not sure If I will loose nearly all the leaves and it will still make it. It cam from up north over month ago, and it was really doing good till I de-potted it and mounted on that cooling pot. I got another Masdevallia at the same time, Red Wing, I did put that one into basket and it is doing great so far. My Dracula hates our summer weather also, tips are browning much faster these days, but I see new growths all over, so I think it will get better once summer is gone, it is also mounted on the cooling pot. Both Masdevallias and dracula are going through cooling process every night, when I set up alumni tray with ice, put wire net over it and sat them on the top, plus I do add few cubes of ice to the cooling pots. Will see:-)

[vmax3000]

I giggled as I read. I have been successfully growing (and killing) orchids for almost 20 years. I see two modes of death: the black mush variety and the ever popular pot o' sticks.

Easy orchids are easy for the grower advertising them! I find that mine survive on benign neglect. Also, I have to remind myself that it's about the roots. If the roots are doing well, typically the plant is, too* (*even the leafless varieties).

I moved from the overstocked window sill to an ever improving greenhouse (going on the 4th one - my spousal unit builds them as a kindness). In the summer of 2010, I had a horrible experience that almost killed me, as well as many of my orchids. A rat moved into the greenhouse AND, the plants contracted a fungal infection. Super gross and more educational opportunities!

Long story short, I have never stopped learning. I, too, hold on until the bitter end with a plant (I have a catt NOID under one of the benches now fading, despite my efforts). I have one that I posted about a couple of years ago (Slc. Dark Waters "Scherherezade"). It limped along for what felt like an eternity, then, as my skills improved, it recovered and is now one of my favorite bloomers. Others have gone on to the compost heap of my education.

I have recently gotten the terrarium "bug". Back to the killing fields as I figure the best methods in my environ out! Sometimes it's the plant (some unseen situation), but mostly it's me learning what conditions are optimal for a specific plant.

Stay tuned for more....and don't surrender, yet!

[TOMMYMIAMI]

Thanks bunch, I must say "spousal unit" made my day!!!

[theroc1217]

Originally Posted by TOMMYMIAMI

Thanks for sharing, now really anxious to know, WHERE I CAN GET 30 orchids for $20 bucks, PLEASE SHARE! Cause that's usually minimum price I pay for one, even tiny little ones or terrestrials!!!

I find them on ebay from people where they grow natively. Goodyera grow naturally in the Pacific Northwest, so it's easy to get people who have large beds of them in a garden. The other two I got were the Putty root orchid (Aplectrum hymenale) and Cranefly orchid (Tipularia discolor). I'm in the process with setting up a group order with King_of_Orchid_Growing from an east asian grower, where average price is $10, even for such orchids as Chiloschista and Porpax.