would like to try a new orchid any suggestions. - Orchid Board

kindrag23 · #1 08-20-2013, 03:43 PM

I live in the central Texas region. I have 5 phals and one mine phal hybrid, a cattleya and a vanilla vine orchid (plantefora?).
I have to say gardening is a love of mine passed on from my grandmother who recently passed. My house looks like a nursery exploded every winter...
I would like to branch out into another type of orchid one that may be a little cold hardy. We have some insane weather around here and have been known to have some freak snow storms here that last a week. So my wintering spots for my plants get slightly cold.
Anybody have a good suggestion? I'm also from a severely small town so with the suggestions as to where I could get them would be vastly appreciated.

Thanks

Kg

dounoharm · #2 08-20-2013, 03:54 PM

hi! I have a residence in Oklahoma, and use a light stand there for my orchids...I find that the lady slipper orchids do quite well there and would think this one would be a good one to try...I think firstrays.com, ray being the member here that is very knowledgeable, is a great place for paphs, as well as piping rock orchids too....good luck trying a new species!! good growing!

kindrag23 · #3 08-20-2013, 04:00 PM

Thank you I will look in to them. I am always up for a challenge.

---------- Post added at 02:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:56 PM ----------

Can you define light stand? I have reptiles so sometimes I think more towards that direction then others do.

Kevin_PR · #4 08-20-2013, 06:57 PM

I recently bought Platanthera ciliaris which I think would do great for you. It is a native US orchid and its natural range includes parts of texas. I only had it for about 2 months so I am no expert. The plant can grow in bogs and roadside ditches. I grow it in a shallow bonsai pot in a saucer that just reaches the bottom of the pot. It is in full sun. I use a mixture of equal parts limestone chips, sphagnum moss, and promix. Note my plants are practically growing in bog like conditions. I did pull one out to see how it is doing and can see a new growth coming out. Here is the vendor I bought it from 2 Platanthera Ciliaris Orange Fringed Orchids 3 Plus Years OLD Bare Root | eBay These guys r supposed to be cold hardy as they grow up into Canada if you grow them in pots you may need to mulch them if you leave them out though. I grow mine wet all the time but they can dry out as long as it is not bone dry during the growing season. It will go dorant for you in the winter, I'm not sure if it will go dormant for me since I do live in the tropics. I figure that since it grows into Florida it may be able to do without the rest. I hope you find this helpful. There are so many more interesting orchids than Phals(which surprisingly out of ~300 chids I only have 1 Phal, go figure.) An invaluable website is the IOSPE an internet encyclopedia of orchids Internet Orchid Species Photo Encyclopedia Its free and for the most part accurate. Its always good when buying a species to google for Pics of the species in-situ so you can see for yourself how the surrounding area looks like(a picture is worth a 1,000 words) As far as being winter hardy there are not many commonly offered orchids that could take a frost and you might be better off taking the inside. even if they could withstand a frost, the recovery may affect the quality and health of the plants and bloom over all. I'm rambling. Cymbidiums can also be grown in the landscape and many require drops in temperature to initiate flowering. some can withstand freezing with a layer of mulch.

Here are some really good suppliers based in the US
Andy's Orchids - Orchid Species - Orchids - Species Specialist - Orchids on a stick
http://parksideorchidnursery.com/
and the rest I get from Ebay or local shows. Most seller will have the basic culture requirements. Good luck

orchidsarefun · #5 08-20-2013, 07:00 PM

try a zygopetalum.
Blooms are spectacular and are fragrant. They also prefer it cooler than most.

kindrag23 · #6 08-20-2013, 09:09 PM

@eskivingo- phal's are what I have always been able to get my hands on. The more that I am on orchid board the more I am learning about orchids. Therefore I am working on getting my hands on different genus's that will do well in my climate.

I will also be bringing all my plants inside for the winter unfortunetly the area that I put them in gets wonderful sun but does get cold. Because of propane costs I am unable to keep their room overly warm. Though the large windows warm the room up to bearable.

@orchidsarefun where might I find a zygopetalum? Is that the usual name for it? I am searching several sites and am thus far coming up empty. The pictures I googled of them show that they are absolutely beautiful!

Update: I have a Cym. Sussex Dawn ‘Wintergreen’ HCC/AOS x Cym. Poetic Fair ‘#1’. My guess a hybrid? Coming in. as well as a bare root phal hybrid. That I am waiting on to come in. I am looking for one or two more orchids to add to my growing collection so that when it does finally get cold enough here that they should be happy and situated.