Good Miniature Species for Beginners?

[RandomGemini]

All right… I've been bitten. I've had my orchids for just a couple of months and here I am, shopping for a new mini.

I would like to do a window garden of miniatures. I'd like the plants to stay relatively small so that I could set them on a shelf that's just suction cupped to the window glass in my office. I keep looking online and seeing these beautiful species that I would love to grow and I'm not sure that they're suitable for a beginner, or for my house, which is mostly phal level light.

Any suggestions for suitable species? Should I stick with the phals for the time being? I prefer spotted blooms or multicolored blooms and would like some interesting foliage. I've looked at jewel orchids and really, really love the leaves, but am not sure that this would be a good fit for my window garden idea.

[kindrag23]

Ummm I really am not sure, I'm sorry, but have fun, I am adding to my window sill garden everyday.

[RandomGemini]

I want to keep it to a small collection so I'm thinking minis will allow me to have more plants.

[kindrag23]

O well I have huge ones. Gramm max etc.. so its a hanging basket affair

[Paul]

That all depends on what your conditions are.

Temp range?

Humidity?

Light (intensity and duration)

Do keep in mind that mounted minis will generally require much more frequent watering. If that would be an issue, then hold off for now.

[nikkik]

I have a Capanemia Superflua that does fantastic in my kitchen window. I bought this orchid as a beginner many years ago and it has thrived for me. It is cute, very small and the flowers sparkle.

I think that if certain minis catch your eye, do you homework for that particular plant to see if you can meet its cultural requirements and if you can then you should go for it. If you're still unsure if that particular plant is suitable for your growing conditions, contact the vendor and ask them. I find reliable vendors love to pass on their knowledge and help fellow orchid growers.

I don't believe that just because you're a beginner you should only stick with phals. If you would like to start a mini garden I think it's a fantastic idea! Everyone has to start somewhere! You'll learn to become a better grower through research and experience!

Good luck with your garden! Keep us all posted on your progress.

[kindrag23]

Ooooohhhh the Superflua is prettttyyyyy

[TOMMYMIAMI]

Originally Posted by kindrag23

Ooooohhhh the Superflua is prettttyyyyy

It really is pretty let's get some:-)

---------- Post added at 06:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:12 PM ----------

RandomGemini, I got my new mini's today, from Andy's, right now working on unpacking and on my hygrolon cyclinder, but once done, I'll take some pics and post plus add few mini's that are awesome:-)

[kindrag23]

@TommyMiami NEXT YEAR NEXT YEAR!!

[RandomGemini]

Oh WOW! nikkik I love that orchid!!! I like that in some of the photos I found, it looks sort of like a little pot of grass before it blooms and then all of these blooms crawl out between the leaves. The way that a lot of them were pictured seemed so much more natural looking than my phals! It's just beautiful and that would be very different from my mini phals for sure.

I was figuring, since I have blinds in my office, that if I needed more light, I could supplement the light that they will get on the window with a grow light. I've got one picked out that should work in my space.

I would like to grow them in pots for the time being. I'm not considering mounting orchids unless I do a terrarium type setup, which is something I'm researching doing. I have a couple of spare aquariums as I got out of the reef keeping hobby a few years ago so the expensive part of the terrarium is already sitting in my garage just taking up space. Just not sure DH is gonna go for it.