What should my next orchid(s) be? :)

[Jenn4a]

Originally Posted by Leafmite

Andy's is great! I buy directly from their site and they ship REALLY fast. If you have really cold weather, they might have you pick the box up at the Fed-ex place, though, as they are really careful. I have ordered three times from them and the orchids are really great. I am already plotting to make another order for this spring.

You are welcome to check out what I am growing. I try to grow orchids that are easy...most are fragrant but some are not. All but the ones from Andy's are in red lava rock or LECA and basket pots...or mounted. The only ones I do not recommend growing from seedling size is bellina and violacea but they are easy if bought mature.

I am sorry about your Cattleya seedlings. I have found that Cattleyas are really easy to grow if you put them in LECA/red lava rock and use a basket pot. I even have a few in plastic Vanda baskets (the mounted ancepts will be put in a vanda basket this spring). They like to be watered well but dry quickly/have plenty of air around their roots.

I forgot to mention that I repotted the seedlings in LECA, about 3 days apart. I can't imagine what I would have found if I never repotted, or even if I didn't unpot them to check. They both came with growing black, sunken spots on the leaves, I didn't know the roots were also being affected. I only found out about the first repotted seedling rotting because I watered it, and the Pbulbs just kept shriveling, very fast too.
Now I just have them sitting on the LECA with only their root tips in the moisture. It seems to work, it's actually perfect, I think! The roots still are very exposed to air, but the root tips still draw up water, it's cool to watch. The Pbulbs are regaining some plumpness; I know they probably won't go back to normal.
I'll be back on tomorrow!

[Leafmite]

Setting them on top of the medium, with only the roots going into it, is perfect!
It is too bad that they did not arrive in better condition. It is always nice when the orchids start out healthy so that they just take off growing right away, instead of being set back a couple of years.

[Jenn4a]

Got 2 new orchids from Hilltop Orchids!
I went to visit today

Seedling phrag. Fritz Schomburg

Darwinara rainbow? It was done blooming and he said that they're white flowers.

I will have to post about the all orchids I saw! Some of the flowers were bigger than my palms. A lot of their orchids aren't listed on the website.

[Leafmite]

Looks like you had a fun expedition! The best way to buy orchids is certainly to go to the vendor.

[Kevinator]

with your conditions, I have to say any Phal cornu-cervi variant suits your needs (there's quite a few of them). I have heard some are fragrant but mine certainly isn't. They can be grown like any phal although I have to recommend medium light for these. The reason for this is their sequential blooming habit. Each flower spike continuously grows and produces three or so flowers at a time. If temperatures drop to around 65 or so, they may stop producing flowers but will promptly resume if they go up.

[Jenn4a]

Originally Posted by Kevinator

with your conditions, I have to say any Phal cornu-cervi variant suits your needs (there's quite a few of them). I have heard some are fragrant but mine certainly isn't. They can be grown like any phal although I have to recommend medium light for these. The reason for this is their sequential blooming habit. Each flower spike continuously grows and produces three or so flowers at a time. If temperatures drop to around 65 or so, they may stop producing flowers but will promptly resume if they go up.

Are those a type with "waxy" thicker flowers? Hilltop has some with waxy flowers, and they were fairly compact.. I'm going back next week for a waxy phal I saw one that I liked before I left, but didn't get it.. should have just gotten it anyways.