Amateur mistakes--got one to share?

[bethmarie]

This summer I ordered a Dendrobium Hibiki that arrived looking gorgeous and healthy in coconut husk chips. My rookie mistakes: I didn't check the condition of the medium below the surface when it arrived and I didn't do any research on coconut chips, something I'd never grown in before.

I unpotted it a few days ago. The plant wasn't looking as robust as before--not a red alert issue, I thought, just something to check on. No surprise what I found. Coconut husk chips mushy as marshmallows. Massive root loss. Just a few, small, live roots left. Ouch, ouch, ouch.
There may already a previous thread that pools the collective rookie mistakes of OB members. If there is, please point me in that direction!

What amateur mistakes have you made, recently or otherwise? Hearing about them would help me, and I might bypass a few mistakes in the future.

Thanks!

[billc]

I think the biggest mistake most of us make whether new to orchids or experienced is changing our culture practices too often and/or too radically.
Lots of light-- little light.
Heavy doses of fertilizer -- light feeding.
Continually moving them around looking for the perfet space.
It goes on and on and on. Every new thing you read makes you want to try it.
I've found over the years that the plants are highy adaptable and do best, even in less than optimal conditions, if left to grow. Change in culture if fine but it needs to be done in baby steps so you can gauge the reactions.

Bill

[dickjo]

Orchids have been here for many more years than "civilization" . Just make sure of the mix.and let them grow. Epi type orchids live with their roots exposed, hanging on trees. They will grow in a pot full of rocks. Just let them grow and keep away from, all the "fine tuning"
Enjoy them and good growing
Dick

[tucker85]

I've been growing orchids for eleven years now and I still make amateur mistakes from time to time.

[orchidsarefun]

my biggest one was being unaware that mites and spider mites are the true unseen enemy of every grower. Your collection can be wiped out very quickly if you don't have a regular spraying routine, and more importantly if you don't quarantine and spray any new orchids. I lost 2 and am struggling to save a couple more.
Also be aware that orchids housed outdoors in Summer can also get mites.
I come into contact with orchids regularly - at shows, greenhouses and at meetings. It may sound paranoid but I think close contact with orchids elsewhere also puts your own collection at home at risk. So now I have a regular ( organic ) spraying routine for mites.
I have been sorry, and now I am going to be safe

[RandomGemini]

I'm a newbie and I impulse purchased a dendrobium cuthbertsonii.

When I say newbie, I mean like the only house plants I've kept prior to my first orchid purchases in July, were African Violets... and now here I am with this touchy orchid and I'm plotting out how to build a terrarium for it, so I can get more light over it and get more humidity around it, something else that I've never done before.

My husband is chuckling at me behind my back, I know it. He knew this was going to lead to my wanting a terrarium. Thank goodness I married a guy that gets me.

The moral of the story? Don't ever buy an orchid that you're not 100% sure you're ready for.

[silken]

Overwatering. For me that was my biggest newbie problem and I lost a good number of orchids because of it. Something looked limp or wrinkled, so I would hover over it and water and fuss. When really it was the roots were in trouble because I was already watering too much! I have learned that they are better off being a bit too dry than the risk of too wet. Of course there are a few exceptions to this rule but not many in my growing area.

[Optimist]

My amateur mistakes:

I am still an amateur and still making mistakes. This is what I have learned this year:

So far, my orchids have been saved from big box stores and other places, as I navigate the rules of culture. So they have generally had lost roots and so on.

My main "dumb armature mistake" has been to not chose orchids that will do better in my local conditions. I realized that orchids with pseudopods, that are sympodial, that have thick roots and leaves do way better in the conditions I live in. Now, when choosing an orchid, I look at the leaves and roots and not the pretty flower. It must also be mid to hot, and mid to bright light. So, I have really narrowed down my choices.

I have also learned a few things:

Never soak roots in cinnamon. It may be good to put on cuts on the leaves, but it also stops root growth.

Air to the roots is more important than the size of bark. These are "air plants" and would not have any thing on them in nature except maybe a few lost leaves and bird poop. Planting medium for an orchid is mainly to "stand it up" in the pot and retain a bit of moisture. You can grow it in lego blocks if you want.

Orchids are a bit like cacti.

Orchids usually live in environments where they get rained on every day for part of the year, and get no rain for another part of the year. So, as long as the drainage is good you can actually water every day (when the weather is warm).

Orchids will always lose their roots when you change their medium, but the roots grow back.


I finally got my orchids to grow-- they are giving me spikes, leaves and new root growth now-- by removing all bark mix and planting them in rocks.
Orchids thrive on deprivation.

I remember reading something that went (to paraphrase) If you want air roots to grow, stop watering the roots and only mist the air around them. They will figure it out or die. They are tough plants.

[JanS]

My flagship mistake (and I was no orchid rookie by any means) relates directly to BillC's post: I burned my orchids! (with the sun, that is). I had my ever growing collection in a small plastic sheeting greenhouse on the front patio shaded by trees. Around this time about 10 years ago I decided the sunlight hours were getting short and the trees gave too much shade and I wanted to prolong my plants' growing season sooooo....I moved the whole contraption and orchids up on our flat roof. Just like that! From deep shade to (what in my defense I didn't realize at the time) a spot on the roof that got some 5 hours of direct sun. Not only did I burn my orchids with the hugely increased light levels, I also managed to cook them in 100+ degree heat in my plastic enclosure. When i checked on them 2 days later I nearly fell off the roof! A good 40% had major burn spots.

My punishment for not thinking was the finding that burned orchids recover extremely slowly, I think much more slowly than losing most roots to overwatering. They just stop growing for about a year, then finally start again but the new growths are about half size or less of the pre-burn ones. And forget flowering for a year or 2.

Never again.....right?

[Leafmite]

My biggest mistake was not looking to see how large those cattleyas and aerides eventually get. Oops.