What now?

[Dollythehun]

I echo Cheri's concern. That seems like a lot of light. My phals thrive in a north facing window.

[eager2learn]

This is so complicated.

[Dollythehun]

It's complicated because you want it all to be perfect. It never will be. Just give it good light and water, the rest will come. We've all been there.

[eager2learn]

are you suggesting to me that perfection is unobtainable?

[Dollythehun]

Yes. But you can drive yourself crazy in the process. Excellence is achievable, perfection is not.

[eager2learn]

how do i obtain(attain?) excellence then

[Dollythehun]

When you learned to walk, did you do it perfectly at first? You learn by listening to our advice and sifting it. Don't over react. Most of what happens to orchids doesn't happen fast. Do you tend to overwater, underwater? Ask yourself some cultural questions and how mindful your care is. We've ALL killed our share and learned from it. And we've ALL broken leaves, spikes and roots, underwatered and overwatering.

[SaraJean]

Originally Posted by eager2learn

how do i obtain(attain?) excellence then

1. Know your growing conditions.
2. Know your orchids ideal growing conditions (research)
3. Learn how to provide those conditions (or close) to your orchid in your conditions- in other words, combine steps 1 and 2.
4. Patience. Don’t fuss with them too much.
5. Join your local orchid society. There will be members there growing under similar conditions and the wealth of knowledge you can gain will be invaluable.

[eager2learn]

Originally Posted by SaraJean

These are very slow growers and it can take weeks and sometimes months to show signs of improvement.

by this logic, it would also take weeks or months for physical symptoms of deterioration to appear would it not

[camille1585]

Originally Posted by eager2learn

how do i obtain(attain?) excellence then

By doing what you are doing now. Asking questions, learning, and trying to apply advice. Excellence can’t be achieved overnight, even with something like growing orchids, it takes lots of practice and experience. Even after 12 years of growing I still don’t feel like I’ve reached that level. I can now grow my orchids very well, but I see that there are still a number of aspects that I can improve on. And I certainly can't grow everything well either.

All the people who are the best in their field (athletes, singers, dancers, artists) didn’t attain excellence overnight. It takes countless hours of practice, and a willingness to try things and possibly fail. For us it means accidentally killing, nearly killing plants or not seeing them bloom or thrive by under/overwatering, by giving too much/ not enough light, fertilizer and so on. There is trial and error involved for everyone, because everyone has a different set of environmental conditions to deal with, and that affects pretty much everything.

The other thing is that orchid growing is supposed to be fun. If you enjoy your plants, are eager to learn and apply that knowledge, and try to do the best you can for the plants, you’ll see that THAT is the road to excellence. The journey is what’s important, and not actually getting there.

---------- Post added at 08:31 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:28 AM ----------

Originally Posted by eager2learn

by this logic, it would also take weeks or months for physical symptoms of deterioration to appear would it not

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I would say that if it's a root related problem (usually rot) then the symptoms are going to appear really fast. And also too much light, then you'll see sunburn quite quickly. But for most other things, underwatering, poor fertilization, not enough humidity/air movement, then the plant usually undergoes a gradual decline.