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

[My Green Pets]

Originally Posted by 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.

Testify!

[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.

[Mokeck]

Originally Posted by RandomGemini

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.

That's hilarious!

Good thread. I can relate to a lot of these mistakes. Now about 15 years into growing, I rarely make repeat mistakes but can make all kinds of new ones. I like the adage of long time growers, that you don't really know orchid growing until you've killed your weight in them.

My three biggest early mistakes:
- I did not sterilize cutting tools the first year my hobby went from a few backyard bloomers to 50+ orchids. This caused the loss of some special plants, a C. dowiana aurea and C. Maroni, the one orchid that permanently influenced my preference for labiate Cattleyas and now I can't find it anywhere.
- Mixes that contained bark and rotted half my plants after a succession of rainy days, back in 2005. I used progressively more inorganic media and now almost all of my plants are either suspended with no media or in pots with lava rock, clay pellets, and a little shredded tree fern.
- Getting too many plants too fast. 2005 again, I went to most of the shows an became an eBay shopper on crack. The hobby started to feel like an obligation, a job. I turned around one day and it hit me that I wasn't so in love with about a third of my orchids, so I gave them away to grateful friends and now have about 80 plants I have personal relationships with as I know them so well and for so long I think of them as pets and get a thrill every time they bloom. I'm in the process of constructing a new shade house with lots more room, so we'll see how well that holds.

Hmmmn, I wonder what mistakes I'm making now but don't know it yet?

Kevin

[My Green Pets]

Originally Posted by Mokeck

I turned around one day and it hit me that I wasn't so in love with about a third of my orchids...and now have about 80 plants I have personal relationships with as I know them so well and for so long I think of them as pets and get a thrill every time they bloom.

Now THAT is what I'm talking about

[Jinx]

Aside from over watering like we have all done somewhere along the way. My biggest mistake was going from 0- 60 ( maybe 70) plants in 18 months . And im remind of how much work it is every time i water them