Finally Springtime In Northern Ontario :D

[CeilidhTime]

Hi Everyone,

I'm completely new to the beautiful and fascinating world of orchid growing. I have 3 very pretty Phals given to me yesterday for mothers day *gulp* now it's up to me to keep them alive. I've been swimming through heaps of info online and have started trying to make these lovelies feel at home.

Since I heat with wood I've already got them on a humidity tray and sitting slightly off to the side of a south window, no direct sunlight on them at all.

Hopefully with the help of the knowledgeable folks here my new kids have a good chance or not just surviving but thriving as well.

Looking forward to meeting you all,

CT

[My Green Pets]

Hello and welcome to Orchid Board!

Congratulations on your new Phalaenopses and happy Mother's Day as well.

I hope that they last several months for you, but don't feel discouraged if the buds or flowers drop earlier than you expected. The road between the greenhouse where these plants were raised and their arrival at your home was most likely a bit traumatizing for them, and the stress of changing temperatures, light, and humidity levels could cause them to abort the bloom phase early. No worries. They'll just require attention and patience as they adjust to their new growing conditions, and when the natural time for them to bloom comes around again, they will grow new flowers for you.

I wish you good luck, much patience, and happy growing

[RosieC]

Welcome to Orchid Board

[bellini girl]

and from Super Natural BC

[lexusnexus]

Welcome to the boards, CT. You have great orchids to own. They are really pretty easy to grow, much easier than other flowering plants. Their care is easy. Don't give yourself headaches trying to educate yourself. What type of medium are they planted in? The key to your orchids is water them only when they are just about dry. I feed mine every other watering. When you get the required number of posts please post some pictures. We love to ogle over pictures.

[CeilidhTime]

Thanks for the welcome. Happy Mothers' Day to all.

Hopefully the blooms will stay but if they don't that's okay too. I plan to put them in proper pots and medium as soon as the blooms are done and the spike has died back. One has yellow blooms with veins or deep purple, one is pure white with a hint of yellow in the centre and the last is all deep vibrant purple and lighter purple at the edges of petals. I'll have to dig up my digital camera, lol. When I do I'll post up a couple pics of my chids.

I went out today and bought Schultz Orchid Food and Schultz Orchid Medium. The medium has fir bark, agricultural charcoal and lava rocks. The only other choice in this small town was pure fir bark. I have a rain barrel so will be using rain water.

Also this morning we used the last of the pineapple in the deli container and I thought with a few holes and some slits on the sides and it would be a perfect clear orchid pot.....and it did. Love re-purposing things, especially packaging, so wasteful.

Well, off to scan the forums for more great info and gorgeous pics.

[WhiteRabbit]

[lotis146]

Yeah! Happy Mother's Day to you, what great gifts. Cheers to you for being interested in caring for the chids long term. From the sounds of it you're off to a good start. Keep in mind when you do repot that if they're currently in moss the switch to different medium can also shock them. I repotted two into coconut coir & bark mix similar to what you listed and at first I thought they were going to lose all their flowers but instead dropped a couple then went back to living. These mixes also dry out faster.

But welcome welcome, can't wait to see your pics. I've learned A LOT from all the helpful, knowledgeable folks around here in just a matter of months. Oh yeah, and um, don't be shocked if you become addicted to Orchids... (you've been warned ;-))

[Leafmite]

Hello and welcome!