why do you grow orchids....?

[Connie Star]

They are sublime.

[Ben_in_North_FLA]

So here are some pf the the plants that triggered this post, first 2 are encyclia tampensis situ-ated (get the in situ pun?) on a bald cypress in a municipality south of Orlando on the side of a busy road... no more clues.
Note the fungus patches on the tree bark and I believe that is what the orchid seeds need to land on to feed on and start growing, first picture is a nice cluster of plants of which the larger hs already bloomed. Note2 that wild plants grow very slow as they are not fed regularly. Tampensis will do well in full sun, but they show the signs of surviving on the edge and most of the plants I have seen put out one or two bulbs per season until they are substantially older.
third picture is of a quasi native, originally from Africa. Oeceoclades maculata. Story has it that the plants' seeds hitched a ride on a hurricane and crossed the atlantic and is now well established in florida and the caribbean.
Last picture is a tropical oddity, the strangler fig seedling sprouted on a notch of a bald cypress that wil (eventually)choke the cypress and kill it. I ave seen this very unfriendly treatment done by stranglers to palmetto palms as the seeds start growing from crown.

[MattWoelfsen]

Originally Posted by Reeses

Dollythehun, I am at Ball State! I can only imagine how much harder it must be. I'm not sure I would be able to do it if I hadn't gone straight through.

Have you spent any time at the Rinard Orchid Greenhouse? Such a wonderful place.

---------- Post added at 06:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:16 PM ----------

I started growing house plants when I was a sophomore in High School when I participated in a 4H project. The project was to grow impatiens from seedling to flower, pollination, to seed pod, to seedlings. It was a year long project. My seedlings were used to provide plants for the following project year.

(In my junior year I participated in raising hens.)

My success in growing impatiens, moved me to growing African violets, but that was short lived because College got in the way. But four years later I “discovered” orchids. I bought an Oncidium mule ear. I still have that plant.

[Dollythehun]

Good to hear from you, Matt.

[MattWoelfsen]

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

Good to hear from you, Matt.

Thank you! I’ve been around, just haven’t commented.

[Dollythehun]

I get it.

[Zindaginha]

I'm not even a week into orchid ownership! But I'll answer, anyway.

Like a few others, I am also in grad school and growing things is part of my self-care/distraction routine--whatever. I've gardened for years, but didn't much bother with houseplants till recently.

I grow lots of things indoors now, but my shaky success with carnivores only recently led me to orchids. Now I have eight plants (6 species). I grow the plants I grow primarily for two reasons:

1. I am fascinated by their biology and enjoy the interaction that comes with caring for them and observing them. In particular, I enjoy plants that look outside organic soil for their nutritional needs or have adapted to other kinds of survival challenges, so I love carnivores and aroids and epiphytes. I also grow mosses and am attempting to keep windfallen lichen (not a plant, I know) alive indoors, just to see if I can.

2. I like the aesthetics, not just of individual plants, but how a particular plant looks in my home. This is why I have two D. lindleyi and two D. cucumenium. I am lucky to live in a climate that is humid enough for carnivores and (some) orchids, but dry enough for (most) lithops. I am also lucky enough to live in a large house that has some nice windows. These advantages and figuring out how find less ugly supplemental lighting solutions have allowed me to turn certain parts of the house into pocket jungles.

So, I like the intellectual challenge of growing plants, but I also really love spending time in a plant-filled space.