Easiest phal for novice grower?

[estación seca]

Many supermarket orchids here come with these pots. Remember they're considered decorative flowers to be thrown away afterward, and not something to get the table wet.

Also, the instructions say to put 2 ounces of water into the plant per week, so there is a small amount of water in the bottom at all times. The potting medium is large chunks of bark and coir, so this probably works adequately for people who don't regularly take care of orchids.

[tmoney]

we here in north rhein westphalia in germany have it pretty lucky. we have the dutch border a mere 25 minutes drive away, and we all know how the dutch are with their greenhouses and mass producing flowers. but there are of course also many german mass producers of noid phals.

but, honestly i feel the same way about orchids here as i do about beer. and that is that even though the germans are known for great beer and perhaps high consumption, you can pretty much only get like 2-3 types of beers at the true german places. by types, i mean, you get a pils, an alt (or kolsch), and a weisbier. not a whole lotta selection.

same with orchids at grocery stores. same 2-3 phals (often mini) in purple/pink, white, and yellow. less than €10, and often more like 5....

[WaterWitchin]

If one can get a nice cache pot along with a non-in-bloom orchid, I’ll buy it for $5-7 anytime!

[tmoney]

yeah, im raising this horse from the dead to brag a little about our grocery orchid situation. the girl picked this up at aldi for €4 today. she liked the flowers and is a sucker for noids! i like the flowers too

[Shadeflower]

that's a cambria Nelly Isler 'red velvet'

Now your No'id has a name

[tmoney]

hahaha, sweet, thanks! the tag did say cambria, which i had never heard of so when she bought it home some googling taught me a little orchid history about cambria-like orchid group. interesting stuff, but then trying to track down the plant on the growers site was an impossible errand. so, cool, at least now we have a basis for knowledge sake! it only has one small pbulb, so im assuming it’s like a mini variety? ill have to start googling a bit more now

edit, i just realized this thread was about easiest phals, and not grocery store noids! sorry, won’t post anymore in this thread....

[camille1585]

Originally Posted by tmoney

hahaha, sweet, thanks! the tag did say cambria, which i had never heard of so when she bought it home some googling taught me a little orchid history about cambria-like orchid group. interesting stuff, but then trying to track down the plant on the growers site was an impossible errand. so, cool, at least now we have a basis for knowledge sake! it only has one small pbulb, so im assuming it’s like a mini variety? ill have to start googling a bit more now

edit, i just realized this thread was about easiest phals, and not grocery store noids! sorry, won’t post anymore in this thread....

Cambria is not a real genus name, but a commerical name for the many complex intergeneric Oncidiinae hybrids. (hybrids between Miltonia, Oncidium, Odontoglossum, Brassia...) Your plant, assuming the ID is correct, is a Oncidopsis Nelly Isler, which, thanks to renaming within the family, used to be known as Burrageara Nelly Isler.

[Shadeflower]

and they are sold in supermarets dirt cheap to be tossed afterwards.

1 bulb is not right. What these nurseries do is they have a fully grown oncidopsis whatever it is called, camille is the expert on names.

and then the divide each flowering bulb to be sold indiviudually.

To get one bulb alone to flower is practically impossible and as a result after this flower has fallen it will be hard to keep it going. Might not be impossible but again don't feel bad if their one can't. My burraggaaraa whtever it used to be called is long gone too. The smell was nice (a healthy one will fill an entire room, an aldi one with 1 bulb probably won't produce much scent at all)

[camille1585]

I'm far from being an expert on names! When I first started growing orchids I had several Onc intergenerics (including a Nelly Isler), and learned a lot about official/commercial naming because of that.

[Shadeflower]

Originally Posted by camille1585

, and learned a lot about official/commercial naming because of that.

and it's all been changed again since