Hello from Cape Town

[TracyLee9]

Hi, I'm new...new to this board, fairly new (but not that new) to Orchids.

My husband bought me my first orchid when I started a new job 2 years ago. Since then, I've fallen in love! I bought 4 more soon afterwards...3 of them are still doing really well...2 are just nearing the end of a 4 month bloom, the one had about 20 flowers! The 4th one...well I don't really like to talk about it...but hubby thought it would be a good place to stick his insence sticks. EEK!! Needless to say, it died a horrible death. Moving on...

I bought my 5th beauty a couple of weeks ago...twin spike, about 15 gorgeous white flowers...yay! Then last week I bought #6, #7 and #8, three of the best beauties I've seen around here in a while. And this is where the story turns upside down. Oh deary me... I uploaded a separate post about that...See
Transport disaster – sunburn & heat ruined my new phals.

On the positive side to this disaster, I've now done a whole lot of new research and found this board. And I'm finding out a whole lot of cool and useful stuff. And some not so cool stuff...like pests and diseases! This new info has led me to inspect all my orchids carefully and I think I've found a couple of problems. Oh no! See 2 other posts -
Phal: Black spots with yellow on leaves and Phal: Tiny hollow black spots on leaves

Oh my goodness, being a new mom can be quite stressful! But also so rewarding...about 5 minutes ago my dad bought me a cutie pie - miniature purple dalmatian looking spotty one - to cheer me up after the recent disaster.

And so as I grow my little orchid family, I hope to keep in touch regularly, learning all the way.

Thanks and bye for now!

Tracy

[Bud]

WELCOME ABOARD!

Sit back, relax and read posts from the senior members and learn from their wealth of knowledge gained from years of experience in orchid growing.

[OCRC_Dir_China]

Welcome to the Orchid Board from the OCRC in China.

[Optimist]

Welcome!

[Carpe Diem]

to the OB!
Sounds like you're well on your way to becoming an Orchid Addict. You're in good company.

[WhiteRabbit]

[TracyLee9]

Thanks guys...really excited about my new hobby I'm thinking a greenhouse with home grown different varieties may be on the cards for future...but first, baby steps!

[RosieC]

Welcome to Orchid Board

[Discus]

Welcome to OrchidBoard, always nice to bump into others from South Africa here

When you decide you need more or-Kids, take a look at this page on my blog: Orchids on a Balcony: Where to Buy

When you fancy a trip to Franschoek, don't forget to pop into the Exotic Plant Company at Moreson.

If the bug bites really hard, find your local SAOC-affiliated club. Orchid Societies Affilliatedto the SAOC

Oh, and the World Orchid Conference is in Sandton later this yeat!

[TracyLee9]

Thanks, that will be really useful! So far I've only seen orchids at Woolies, PnP and nurseries, but always the same ones (phals). Would be keen to get a bit of variety going.

Just to get your opinion on our weather quickly - it's been stinking hot in CT lately, late 20's up to mid 30's...and I've moved into a new house which is way warmer than our old place. Do I need to pay special attention around this time or do they cope fine? (I have one cool room, but I love having them displayed all over the house). And those pesky mosquitos that hang around this time...will coils or plug-ins do any harm to the orchids? I know they didn't like my hubby's incense sticks!

Thanks!