Greetings from Amsterdam

[YetAnotherOrchidNut]

No I haven't. Amsterdam is full of expats, so much so English is an official language of the city. The Dutch are very welcoming of outsiders provide you bring something to the table with you, be it skills, education, artistic or sporting accomplishment or whatever. It is a very open, outward looking and intellectual society in my experience.

[tmoney]

Originally Posted by YetAnotherOrchidNut

No I haven't. Amsterdam is full of expats, so much so English is an official language of the city. The Dutch are very welcoming of outsiders provide you bring something to the table with you, be it skills, education, artistic or sporting accomplishment or whatever. It is a very open, outward looking and intellectual society in my experience.

totally agree with you, they are some of the nicest people i have come across in europe. that’s why i love spending time there! and sitting in a terrace on a canal on a sunny day, sipping coffee and watching the cyclists is one of my greatest pleasures in life....

[bcnRobert]

Originally Posted by YetAnotherOrchidNut

Hi All,

I am YetAnotherOrchidNut, Canadian expat based in Amsterdam. I have been growing orchids for the last 15 years, most of the time not well. Thankfully the internet has changed that. :-)

Amsterdam has a very plentiful supply of no-id orchids, phals, oncidium alliance, and dens are available in the grocery stores, one chain, "Albert Heijn" often sells two for 8 euros or other loss leader sales. So I have a dozen or so of those. (They sell them so cheap people throw them out after they bloom!). I try to focus on ID plant nowadays, but every now and then I am in the shop and I see one I just have to "save" from the garbage heap. :-)

At some point I purchased a no ID Cattleya and got the bug for more serious orchids, and through various context got exposed to growing them from seedlings or clones, which I have obtained from various suppliers in Asia and Europe along of course with a selection of adult ID species and hybrids that I have purchased online. Lately my interest has been towards species Phals, but i have an eclectic taste and own a bunch of different types. My current count is probably close to 80 plants I guess, although some of them are seedling size (second decantation or so).

I don't claim to be an expert, I have killed a lot of plants in my time, I am just learning still, although i have managed to keep most alive and even sometimes thriving. I have been putting a fair bit of effort in and I have an engineers mind so I tend to test and measure when I have the time. I have tried experimenting with semi-hydro but for my lifestyle found that bark and other normal soil additives produce much better results and recently migrated all of my SH back to bark, and now everyone involved is much happier. :-)

I have in the last year been very influenced by the user here_butnot. I find his collection of orchid postings to be one of the more useful around. Reading his stuff has definitely upped my game. No I don't know him, but he is one of the few people active I have encountered who seems to think like I do. I probably wouldn't be posting this if it weren't for him I guess. I was very pleased to see he is a member here. Check him out.

Looking forward to learning more from the folks here, I have over the years read the site many times but never felt up to joining the fray directly. Thanks for having me.

Hello! Orchid serial killer here , but I think I´m getting better in the last years (maybe due to lockdown and hours reading posts from herebutnot and missorchidgirl?)...and Amsterdam is definetly a nice place to be for a plant enthusiast! I too have about 80 plants, mostly phals and primary hybrids - some are doing quite well, others are...taking their time.

[YetAnotherOrchidNut]

Originally Posted by bcnRobert

Hello! Orchid serial killer here , but I think I´m getting better in the last years (maybe due to lockdown and hours reading posts from herebutnot and missorchidgirl?)...and Amsterdam is definetly a nice place to be for a plant enthusiast! I too have about 80 plants, mostly phals and primary hybrids - some are doing quite well, others are...taking their time.

The problem with Amsterdam is one is continually faced with the problem of deciding if you should buy that nice cheap Phal from AH for 4 euros, or use the space to buy something with provenance. :-)

FWIW, I am visiting my PILs in Singapore, and the same orchid AH sells for 4 euros costs 23 Sing$. About 18 euros or so. The dutch are so spoiled! I love it. :-)