Orchid Growing (Indoors) What does a beginner need?

[Undergrounder]

I reckon first you need to choose your plants, and you need to do one of two things:

1. Either look for what plants you really like and see if its possible to adjust your conditions / care regime to make it suitable for them.

2. Or look at what conditions you have, how much time you can spend and choose what plants will fit.

Obviously 1 is great but will be a bit harder, 2 is great but you won't be able to choose from as great a range of plants.

AALLLLLL the decisions about what equipment you need (if any), what ferts, watering regime, potting medium etc. will stem from what plants you have.

[Lagoon]

I reckon first you need to choose your plants .......

I couldn't agree more
Find some eye candy - write those names down, and begin your research. If you picked out phals then you won't have to do the light set up for catts & dens. You can stick with more the basics.

I use different types of ferts for different types of plants. Some goes for media. Your watering maybe very different also - depends what your growing. Zones do play a role aswell.

The question "what does a beginner need" is too broad.
I have a feeling your finding that out tho'

[Graham]

Right then...I guess it's time to search for a plant! Now, where'd I put that Google?

____________
Graham.

[kiki-do]

Hi Graham, I would definitely decide my first orchid by your lighting conditions. For instance, everyone strives for the right light, temp, humidity, and air flow. I would get an easy growing orchid, such as a phalaenopsis to start. They are gorgeous and blossom for a wonderfully long time and do not require alot of light, plus I find them more forgiving than most. That to me is a good beginner orchid. You can get culture sheets of many of the basic orchids from the AOS website without being a member. Plus everyone here is more than happy to help. The book I love is "Orchid Growing for Whimps." Excellent illustrations and simply put. Above all this, be sure to check the plant before buying and make sure it is pest-free and the roots/leaves are in good health.
There are commercial brands of orchid fertilizer that work well. I wouldn't worry about all the rest for a while, but just give your new orchid the TLC that the culture sheets suggest, and your new purchase will reward you tenfold. Happy orchiding! kiki-do

[Undergrounder]

It's funny how people suggest Phalaenopsis, they're the only orchid that i've actually been able to (almost) kill. They're a good early lesson in what happens if you overwater though.

[shakkai]

Because we have such cool summer here, Phals are the most challenging orchids I grow! I find that the cool growing types are so much easier to keep here.

[Ray]

Graham - please read the article I linked-to, above.

The FIRST thing you must do is carefully analyze your growing conditions, including seasonal and diurnal factors. The second thing is to consider how much you are likely to "mess with" the plants.

Then get a plant that fits those parameters with no need to modify your conditions. Conditions modification isn't as simple as it may seem at face value.

Growing orchids is nothing like growing typical tropical houseplants, and you will stress them out until you learn more, so you're much better off starting with something that will not already be pre-ordained to stresses from the incorrect environment you put it in.