My very first orchid - hello to all :)

[bbs]

Hi everyone
I've been spying here for a few days and I'll flood you with newbie questions and pics of my first orchid now ...

I visited an orchid show with mom and grandma to celebrate the international women's day on the 8th of March (a week ago). The result was ofcourse orchids for all of us ... (If you'd like, you can see some pictures I took here: Fotoalbum > 2009 03 08 Botaanikaaed, Loodus, Orhideenäitus 2009 ) I have managed to grow only cacti and bamboo so far, so this is quite a challenge for me. I, as a newbie, made my choice on the basis of "it's pretty - I want it" .

It seems though that I didn't fail with the choice - as far as my research has shown, it appears to be Burrageara Nelly Isler, although it only said Cambria on the tag (please correct me if I'm wrong about any of this, terms and all). Upon closer look there is only one visible damage, a little black spot on a leaf, my guess is sunburn. There is also two beautiful spikes, one (65cm/about 25inch?) had four blooms + 4 buds, the smaller (40cm/15inch) has at least 6 buds and another spike below the lowest bud(?). The bulb (which appears to be growing green hair/new leaves from the top, no idea ) or any of the leaves are not wrinkled or yellow or mushy or anything. There is also a new growth from the base of the plant and probably a new spike holding close to one of the leaves.

I have placed it on a window facing north-east (only choice) and I'm quite worried about the amount of light it gets... there has been only one slightly sunny day during this week and there is no direct sunlight reaching the plant for atleast another month or so (til the sun starts rising earlier and going higher). The room is also quite dry (central heating and all that). I've thought of a humidifier or a tray, but will this make it worse, since the air is standing still?

After the first and so far the only watering/soaking (Britta filtered, room temp) Nelly seemed to appreciate that enough to open one of the buds for the next morning! Felt like Christmas... , esp cause I was told that it might not open any, if it doesn't like my home.

I haven't checked the roots because I don't want to traumatise the poor thing after the change in environment and it's blooming wonderfully... should I? When would it start to show signs of not-good-enough conditions? (You can have a look at my album for more detailed pics). I was also told not to fertilize it while it's still in bloom.. is that true?

Well, that was a long one, I hope I didn't bore you to death... Any comments and thoughts are very welcome!

[Amanda L]

Welcome to the Orchid Board bbs and to the wonderful, crazy world of orchids. Your new baby appears happy. The media appears, from the picture, to be breaking down, though. Media that is breaking down will hold more water and increase the chances of root rot. Hopefully, someone with more experience will chime in. For me I get a good look at all my chid's roots once they get home. I have re-potted without loosing any blooms so far. If you decide that re-potting is the best thing, after others have given their feedback, don't worry about loosing any if you do. It's far better to have a healthy plant than not. As far as fertilizing goes, I really don't think that feeding a balanced fertilizer weekly, weakly will harm it while it's in bloom. But, since I'm still kind of new at this, I would see what others say.

You certainly made a good choice. Your baby is beautiful.

[flhiker]

Hi bbs and welcome. You sure picked a nice one. It looks happy and I would give it as much light as you can and allow the medium to dry out between watering also weakly weekly fert. should be fine. Some use fert. at a rate of 125 ppm's at every watering. You can cut that leaf off just below the burnt part and dab the edge of the leaf with cinnamon. To be safe since you don't know what's below the surface you might want to repot it with freash bark mix. But if your worried about losing flowers just wait they drop naturally. good luck.

[bbs]

Thank you for the responses!
I'm becoming addicted to this site ... I will consider repotting it as soon as some of the blooms have fallen of (just too fond of them for now :P ). Should I try finding a see-through plastic pot for it to monitor the roots, or is it meant for the thick-rooted orchids? (don't know how to explain better, I guess they were called phals..)
And for the good news: another bud opened on the spike (so it's now up to 5 blooms, 2 buds)

[flhiker]

Your welcome. Some people swear by the clear plastic pots so they can see the roots and medium also light can get to some, but you can use any pot that has plenty of holes so water doesn't sit and rot the roots and they also provides air flow. This is a great bunch of people its easy to become addicted to the OB and orchids. I predict that you will expand you collection. You may want to check out the new Spring of 09 project. We are just getting started. All members welcome. Although I just noticed that you in Estonia with might make it hard to find the chosen plant. Anyway Good luck and hope to see around the board.

[learning2letgo]

flhiker, YAY! I'm so exicted to hear someone else taking about using cinnamon when cutting their orchid. I heard about making a thin paste with cinnamon powder and water for use as a natural herbicide when cutting your plant on a video at the AOS website.

bbs, I'm so glad you have your first 'chid and like everyone else is saying, it will become a fast growing addiction, so watch your wallet

[bbs]

hello everyone
I'm replying to my own post to share some new pics with you all!
First of all, I haven't repotted it, though I did get all the materials for it... (I'll post a subject/question on the matter in the beginners forum shortly). I did however get a fertilizer (Schultz) and I'm going by the weakly weekly (which means I've only used it once.. I think the small package will last me a lifetime at this rate ).

So no more babble, here is the progress !

P.S. it's gone from 4 blooms when i got it up to ...... 13!!!

[l.ania]

Progress can certainly be seen!
Another question: does estonian orchid stores (internet ones) ship to Poland? Do you know what are fees? Maybe you have some favourite shops?
In Poland are only about 4-5 good, worth attention internet shops...

[bbs]

well you're in luck with 4-5, cause we seem to have none... the ones that do deliver have wicked expensive prices (just checked: a normal phal, one spike: 45 dollars + delivery within estonia)... sorry about that
i got mine from an orchid show in the local botanical garden

[l.ania]

Originally Posted by bbs

well you're in luck with 4-5, cause we seem to have none... the ones that do deliver have wicked expensive prices (just checked: a normal phal, one spike: 45 dollars + delivery within estonia)... sorry about that
i got mine from an orchid show in the local botanical garden

Wow! so I'll stop grumbling about polish shops