Venting (with a brown paper bag)

[charlesf6]

Well my lost orchid list is now totalled up to be 15 plants tonight after only 17 months of caring for.

Time to give up yet?
[Charles kicking a stone...]



In memory to Henry~ 02/21/2018

[SaraJean]

Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that, and no don’t give up
Two questions though:
1. What types are you doing well with?
2. Do you know why the others passed on? I think this is just as important as figuring out why an orchid is thriving. A dead orchid, or a dozen, can be fantastic learning tools

[Mountaineer370]

I'm so sorry that is happening to you, Charles. I'm sure there are plenty of members here who would like to help or at least offer suggestions. If you feel like talking about it, maybe you could tell us what your growing conditions are and what types of orchids you have (or had).

[charlesf6]

Originally Posted by SaraJean

Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that, and no don’t give up
Two questions though:
1. What types are you doing well with?
2. Do you know why the others passed on? I think this is just as important as figuring out why an orchid is thriving. A dead orchid, or a dozen, can be fantastic learning tools

Sun liking ones that I brought onto my job in a SE clouded window are seeming to promote new growths + be happy
(Dendros, Catts, etc.)

---------- Post added 02-23-2018 at 12:09 AM ---------- Previous post was 02-22-2018 at 11:43 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Mountaineer370

I'm so sorry that is happening to you, Charles. I'm sure there are plenty of members here who would like to help or at least offer suggestions. If you feel like talking about it, maybe you could tell us what your growing conditions are and what types of orchids you have (or had).

At home my neo falcatas are holding their own with a little help from my friends here.

Phalaenopsis are green at home but will not spike or if they do they will not continue to produce?

Watering maintained carefully, temps 64-68 all winter, fert. stopped in Nov., not sure of humidy level, low light level in south eastern multi windowed room, circulating fans run when I am home.

[camille1585]

Dead plants happen to everyone, no matter how experienced they are, and it especially happens in the early years of the hobby. I've lost track of the number I've killed or lost to disease in 10 years, it must be approaching 100. Most people starting out try a variety of orchid types, and very few people can grow everything well at first (both due to the growing environment you can provide as well as your ability to care for all the different types correctly) and so of course there are losses. And I think that phase is needed to discover what your limits are.

If Dens and Catts do well for you, get more of those!

It doesn't mean that the other types are off limits (unless you really can't provide the temps or humidiy they need), just wait a while before trying again. When I started I used to be very very good at killing Oncs and Dens. So I stopped buying any. After a couple years I felt that I had a lot more knowledge and experience, and tried again. And this time they live and thrive!

What I did stop buying for good are cool growing orchids, No amount of growing experience will change my living room climate.

[Paphluvr]

Originally Posted by SaraJean

Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that, and no don’t give up
Two questions though:
1. What types are you doing well with?
2. Do you know why the others passed on? I think this is just as important as figuring out why an orchid is thriving. A dead orchid, or a dozen, can be fantastic learning tools

True! But one dead one is a lot cheaper than a dozen.

[Leafmite]

In the beginning, I never lost orchids. I gave away the orchids if I ran out of space and wanted to grow something else. That all changed about seven (?) years ago. I stopped watering with pond water, switched to rain water/orchid fertilizer and a few months later, I lost a large chunk of my collection to 'Black Rot' due to Calcium deficiency.

The next disaster began when the Maltese-poodle decided that, rather than just sniffing the orchids, she was going to attack them. Most of this involves shredding but it sometimes involves just jumping up on the shelves and knocking them off. Fortunately, the orchids are now kept on an upper shelf and she doesn't bother the other plants.

The third crises was the learning curve of growing under lights after always growing in the window. I am not certain if it was a lack of humidity (in the window, I always had grown the orchids with other plants), too warm, or just too bright, but I lost orchids I had grown for many years (including the Angraecum mag., my favorite).

Each experience has been rather frustrating but I now have a great bunch of orchids that are thriving for me. Most are seedlings and some of the others are still adjusting to the switch from moss or bark to red lava rock but I am still quite excited about all of them and I think that, in a few years, I should always have at least one orchid in bloom. And, if I still had all the other orchids, I probably would never have bought some of the orchids I am growing now.

Still, I am still looking for a certain Cattleya that I lost during the 'Black Plague' and a certain Dendrobium that I hope to replace that I lost due to a certain dog....

[Paul]

Phals tend to desire a 10-15F degree drop between day and night temps to initiate flower spikes. Temps of 64-68 all winter -- and I'm reading that as your day and night temp -- is low for phals. They like it warm. (No idea about the neos temp preference.) There is also the question of just how low your "low light" level is. Might be too low.

[No-Pro-mwa]

So sorry about Henry. Like others have said we have all lost plants and continue as in my case. One of my biggest losses was after I had my Phal mannii for something like 5 or 6 years then came my rather cold winters, which it had lived through many years but it needed to be re-potted and I didn't have time as it was hunting season and my plants are lucky if they even get watered then. I work at a meat plant that month and I work to long of hours to do much else. Any way being the really smart person I am I think rather than pouring water all over the roots because of it being so cold I will only spray the roots. Well it got on the base of the plant and because of the cold I guess, it rotted the plant. It still makes me sick, I miss that plant.

So put your big boy pants on and go back at it

[Optimist]

I have only been growing about 5 years now. I finally learned how to keep Hybrid phals alive. I also do well with cattleyas, and dendrobiums. I do well with only the long green- leaved paphiopedilums and I am okay with phragmapediums. I kill all oncidiums and bulbophilums so far, as well as the mottled leaved paphiopedilums.

This next year I am trying catasetums.

I generally buy 1 of a genera or type I am interested in. If it survives a year, I give myself permission to buy another one. I try to get a good sized near blooming or blooming size, or division orchid before trying to raise any seedlings.

I tend to think that young plants are weaker than well established larger plants. I may be wrong.
I also start with a hybrid first, because I tend to kill species plants more often.