Just Starting Out - Orchid Board

crazedflacca · #1 01-11-2009, 12:53 PM

Hello........

I am a newbie. I LOVE orchids. I am drawn to their beauty. They were my main flower in my wedding. I am also a newly wed. My love for them began long before the wedding. I want to purchase them to grow in my bathroom right by my tub in my window. It's a huge window with frosted glass and faces South East. It get a great deal of sunlight and I was wondering if it would not be bright enough for me to grow orchids. How much light does an orchid need to be healthy and bloom? Is there a particular kind that I should purchase for this place in my home?

I like that spot as well for many reasons. One I can keep my cat from them so that he will not think they are there for him to snack on. (He's a strange cat)

Also I think it would be beautiful spot for decoration seeing how it such a LARGE window sill. Big enough for a window seat.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Also how can I tell the health of an orchid when I purchase one?

cb977 · #2 01-11-2009, 01:26 PM

Hi and welcome

Congratulations on your marriage...may you have many happy healthy years together

Lots of folks grow orchids on their windowsills, you'd just have to choose one that would be happy with the conditions you can provide. I'm sure lots of folks will jump in with suggestions for you.

Do you have any orchids now?

If you need help with anything, let us know

crazedflacca · #3 01-11-2009, 01:30 PM

I have none right now. I'm dying to just go out and buy one right now. And thank you for the congrats. It's been wonderful!

camille1585 · #4 01-11-2009, 01:31 PM

to Orchid Board!

Your cat does not sound all that strange, there are many cats which like to snack on orchids!

Where are you located? The orchids you can grow in that spot also depends on where you live. In the northern parts a south-east facing frosted window will work fine for many orchids, but if you are in a hot sunny place like Florida, that window may be too bright for some things.
Large windowsills are nice! I wish I had one like that. Mine are narrow, so I can't put that many orchids there...

crazedflacca · #5 01-11-2009, 01:34 PM

I live in Texas. Near Galveston.

Amanda L · #6 01-11-2009, 05:47 PM

Welcome

crazedflacca to the Orchid Board. There is a plethora of information here, as well as people willing to help and answer questions. Congratulations on your new marriage!!! As far as the cat goes, doesn't seem strange to me at all. My cats chew on anything green, so I have to be careful what I bring into the house. I also protect my orchids from them fiercely, we have had some problems, but those are worked out now, with some punishment, they know I mean business!

As far as telling the over all health of an orchid at the store, if they are in a clear pot inside of a decorative one, it makes it a little easier to see what is going on in there. If there isn't a clear pot and the plant appears to be healthy from looking at it, then go for it!! There isn't anything that can't be fixed, well almost anything. You have plenty of support on this forum. Generally, I re-pot as soon as I get my new orchids home, blooming or not. I need to see the roots and get them into my mix. Good luck and happy growing, but allow me to offer a word of warning, if you buy one your house will soon be overrun by them. You will try to find a bigger space and your money will vanish. I have been growing orchids for only 4 months and my collection will be 12 on Wednesday!

crazedflacca · #7 01-12-2009, 02:37 PM

Thank you for all of your help! My cat eats anything green, including fake plants. (thought I would attempt that one, didn't work) He also eats anything plastic. Okay, so one more question, maybe two. One, when you repot them to your soil, is it a mixture that you use? Of your own? Or is there one that I can go out and buy? The only thing I have grown has been plumerias. Love them as well.

Gwenchanter · #8 01-12-2009, 03:32 PM

It depends on what kind of orchids you grow, but if you have a Home Depot nearby, you can easily get Better Gro Special Orchid Mix, which is good for pretty much any of the good beginner orchids, or, if you grow Phalaenopsis, you can buy the Better Gro Phalaenopsis Mix. I use both mixes all the time and have had good luck. I also use sphagnum moss which you can buy at home depot in a dried cube. It puffs up into soft straw-colored moss when you soak it. Sphagnum is best for orchids that like to stay pretty wet. Let us know what type of orchid you decide to buy so we can give you more specific info.

priz_m · #9 01-12-2009, 03:50 PM

Hello crazedflacca congratulations on your marriage!

Welcome to the OB!

Looking forward to hear about your final orchid purchases and their growth.

Ross · #10 01-12-2009, 04:20 PM

First of all welcome. It's great to have another Texas OB member! You aren't outnumbering the Florida members yet, but working on it!

The emoticon you need to memorize is

The one I send to you is

Now that we have that out of the way....

You have probably one of the most perfect growing areas for most common-grown orchids that I have ever heard of. I dream of such a location.

Here are some choices based on a few basic requirements:

Reasonable humidity (above 40% most of time)

Most grocery store or Home Depot Phalenopsis hybrids (the ones with the long arching sprays of beautiful flowers) Here is an example

Most of the Paphs you are likely to see in the same vendor locations. They are sometimes refered to as slipper orchids because of their shape. Here is an example of what one looks like

Drier humidity (say 30-40%, maybe lower)

Intergeneric hybrids. These are hybrids of typically Brassias, Cattleyas, Oncidiums and perhaps Miltonia. These might not be so easy to find unless you go to an orchid growing greenhouse, but they are extremely easy to grow in your situation. Many are very nicely fragrant. Every once in a while, you can find some really beautiful intergenerics in a grocery store or big box store shelves. An example of the flowers is

or

It's a rather larger plant, though, and for most people only blooms once each year.

In short, there are many, many choices. I would strongly recommend not specializing when you first get started. Try lots of stuff. By selecting a cross-section from Phals and Paphs, for instance, you will end up with a longer period of blossoms. As you learn what really "turns-you-on" so to speak, then you can delve into different species and crosses, within that group, to extend the bloom season. Once you have it "dialed in" it's possible to have something in bloom nearly every month of the year. As your collection becomes larger, that scenario is more likely. Mine right now is not really large, but it seems like something is ready to bloom or in bloom just about every month.