How do you limit your collection?

[estación seca]

Not many people have unlimited growing space, nor unlimited money.

I limit my collection by not buying things that are cold, cool or intermediate growers, since they will certainly be unhappy with me. I further limit myself by trying to buy only plants with fragrant flowers if that is an option in the genus/nothogenus. These two rules make it much easier to tell myself, No.

How about the rest of you?

[Skycat]

I only buy minis now (relatively cheap minis, as I'm trying to conserve money as well), and also I'm getting better at refraining from rescuing clearance Phals by reminding myself that I now have better methods (OS raffle, ordering online) to obtain orchids and that I can get a much better variety with the other methods.

[My Green Pets]

Love this topic!

1. I am not fond of spending money, so that helps.

2. I do not want my plants touching each other (keep your leaves to yourselves!), which means only a certain number will fit in my growing space.

3. I like BIG plants. No minis for me! This also makes space a limiting factor.

4. I take a long time to think about whether or not I want a plant. No impulse buying. I will visit a nursery, check out all the plants I am interested in, and go home without buying anything. I'll research online, look at pictures, and think about them. After a week or so, if I am still in love with the plant, I will buy it.

5. I would rather have a smaller collection of plants which I absolutely adore than a huge collection of impulse buys. Unidentified Phals and Oncidium types lose their novelty very quickly. I am always considering which plants I can get rid of and have a mental list of candidates. No sense wasting space on a plant I'm not crazy about.

[bil]

1. Money
2. Space
3. Interest.

[DeaC]

Cambria,I so agree with you. Will not try to impress myself by having plants I know I couldn't grow before and can't grow now,which only comes with experience and lots of book knowledge. I've no g/h and rely on windowsills,lights and putting appropriate ones outdoors in good weather.More $ would help!

[dangerouseddy]

1) space
2) the effort needed to water that many plants especially if your an indoor grower
3) not enough light (indoor)
4) money

[Subrosa]

Winter space, heat tolerance and money.

[Raqsharqi]

You lost me at "limit."
I have officially reached the point at which my greenhouse emits a loud belch as if to say "That's it for me!"

[Plodde]

I try not to limit myself... haha no just kidding.
It's hard for me to limit myself when i see something i really like.
For me the biggest limit is space.
When i get my greenhouse i bet i will go crazy ; /

[Joseia]

I live in a small condo with lousy windows, so I grow exclusively under lights and in terrariums. So when I look for orchids the main criteria is that the orchids be small. Secondly, I look for fragrant orchids when possible. And since I have such limited space, I really like orchids that can bloom several times a year. Since Latouria Dens can rebloom from old canes, I find myself buying Latourias lately, and they are definitely my favorite orchids to grow right now. Several of my Dens spend most of the year in either bloom or in spike, so when friends come over, I always have flowers to show off.