Newbie Obsessed Orchid Collector
Hello everyone!
I'm a new orchid enthusiast who is going wild over collecting orchids.
I've always wanted to have orchids but thought they were too exotic & hard to grow. I heard they needed high humidity & since I live in west Texas, our humidity can get into the minuses!
I became a Texas Master Gardener 2 years ago. There are 2 orchid enthusiasts in our organization. I talked to one & they said that growing them wasn't as hard as the wives-tales said. They suggested to me to go to a local improvement store who carried Orchids & buy one that was on sale. That way if I killed it, I wasn't out too much money & have a pot to plant something else in.
I went to the suggested store & looked around. I saw many beautiful ones & there were some large ones on the sale rack. I felt guilty about buying a big one but I spotted a small one that had 2 blooms on it. It was $1.50 -- so I grabbed it. The tag said "Dtps. Sogo Yenlin". The pretty pinkish-purple blooms eventually fell off but was doing quite well.
It went to one of my Master Gardening meetings because we had a speaker come in who gave a lecture on Orchids. he brought in many beautiful orchids, including some of the Vanas. They look like plants on a clothes line! He identified mine as a Phalaenopsis variety.
I didn't know that the pot drained, so I use an eye dropper to water it! I water it when the moss starts to get a little dry to the touch. It's one very spoiled Orchid & it loves where I put it!
I live in an apartment. One of the tenants moved out & gave the management a "Just Add Ice Orchid" (these are the "Wal-mart" Orchids). It was pure white & it's identified as a Phalaenopsis. I took care of it for a short while, then the secretary started watering it herself according to the instructions. All of the blooms fell off & they started to neglect it. I talked them into giving it to me. Right now, it's recuperating quite well & I'm hoping that I can get it to re-bloom soon.
Next, I walk into this grocery store, just before Thanksgiving, & they had some beautiful Phalaenopsis for $10! Naturally, I bought one. It was just starting to bloom. The blooms are almost as big as a hand & they are still in full bloom. They are a white to pink flower. I even have a new bud on it!
Then, Christmas eve, I'm in the same store & they are giving away their "Christmas season" plants; which were what the Orchids were a part of. They were going to give me the last Poinsettia, but I turned it down. Then I spotted one of their Orchids that had lost it's blooms & had one bud left. It looked a bit sad, so I said I'd take it. So, I brought it home & believe it or not, the last bud has just bloomed & it has another bud on it! This one is white with purple spots.
So, it seems I have a knack for growing Orchids!
In the meantime, I have many other house plants & my husband said "No more plants" when I brought home the 2nd Orchid! Now, after getting my 4th one, I promised him that some of my other house plants will be given away at the next Master Gardeners meeting. What he doesn't know is, I found a new "supply" of orchids at a local nursery. They sell the spent ones for $5! I spotted one that was $46. It didn't have an identification tag, but I may pick it up & see if I can't get it to bloom. The only thing I did notice about it, the leaves were thinner like crocus; not paddle shaped like the Phalaenopsis.
Even though my husband said "No more plants", he bought me the book: "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Orchids: Over 1100 Species Illustrated/Identified" Edited by Alec Pridgeon, forward by Alasdair Morrison: Chairman of the Orchid Community, Royal Horticultural Society -- for Christmas. He doesn't realize the danger he's in with this book!
I have all of my orchids on a large glass table in the living room. Since I have low humidity problems, all of them have a tray with pebbles underneath them. I also have some decorative planters that I put pebbles & water in, near the plants for extra humidity. I occasionally have spider mite problems on some of my other plants & use insecticidal soap on them. I inspect my Orchids in the sun everyday looking for any "critters" or other potential problems with my Orchids. I've been tempted, here lately, of getting a small room, cool mist, humidifier for the Orchids!
There are other plants on the table & they may be given away or moved & my table will become my "Orchid" table.
I also want to mention that I have a renown Orchid expert who lives in town & is a professor at the local university. Her name is: Dr. Jyotsna Sharma, Assistant Professor of Environmental Horticulture (Plant Ecology and Conservation) at Texas Tech University. The best way to describe her is: "Research Interests:
Dr. Jyotsna Sharma’s research focus is on the ecology and conservation of rare plants, especially those of the Orchidaceae. Both molecular and field methods are used to investigate pertinent questions. Current projects range from orchid ecology investigations in Texas and California to mycorrhizal ecology of orchids and of the genus Dirca in the U.S. and Mexico. "
She has a number of selected publications & since I can't put urls in this, do a search at the Texas Tech Website & you'll see what her publications are.
She came to one of our meetings and gave a lecture on Orchids. I'm very lucky to have her in my town.
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when I was looking at the bin & could have missed the identification. I'm always checking the original prices on an item before it was marked down. 
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