Hello from Madison, WI

[pezmaker]

everyone! I'm Dave, and relatively new to Orchids. I got my first two last february - A lovely in bloom "odcdm catatante" (I guess odontocidium isn't the correct classification (is that the right term?) anymore?), and a much smaller dendrobium discolor mounted to at first a small cedar shingle. Now it's mounted to a small cedar shingle mounted onto cork board with sphagnum to help retain moisture.

That was just the start... Holy crap are these things addicting. And for me, the crazier, weirder, less common, the better! I have my girlfriend to blame for getting me started - she has 20 or 30+ orchids and bought my first one. Which I immediately paired with the second one, hah.

I only have one currently in bloom, a lovely vanda sansai blue that I picked up from a local orchid "house" in spike.

The full list or orchids I currently have (*s were recently given to me by a friend who has decided to "refocus" his hobbies, and fortunately for my GF and I, orchids were not it...)

Bulbophyllum echinolabium
*Bulbophyllum echino somesort hybrid
Dendrobium discolor
Dendrobium spectabile
*Dracula lotax
Encyclia (prosthechea?) cochleata
*Epidendrum cinaberum
*Paphiopedilum somesort
*Phalaenopsis somesort (dying )
Odontocidium catatante
Vanda sansai blue

The B.echinolabium, D.spectabile, E.cochleata, O.catatante and D.discolor all have new roots and new growth and are looking super happy. The ones my friend gave me were all quite neglected, having suffered no natural light (sitting in a garage with no windows), low temps, and no moisture at all for a long while. The only one that hasn't been coming back is the phalaenopsis. I'm going to create another post on that.

Anyway, now that my introduction is a novel, Hello! I've been searching google and hitting this forum through the results an awful lot over the last 8 months, and I figured it was time to join. Thanks for reading! HI!

Dave

[Cntry]

Hi Dave and welcome to the board where we all love orchids. Its nice you can share the love of orchids with a few friends as well as your girlfriend. Its a hobby we all share here. Its addiction can run rapid as one orchid is never enough. Next there will be to many for the space you have and you will find yourself looking at greenhouses. Enjoy.

[Daethen]

Hi Dave! I live about an hour away from Madison and have visited that orchid house. We are so lucky to have it locally. Maybe we can meet up at Orchidfest in Feb.

[Nepenthesguy]

Hello Dave! Welcome to the board, you've come to the right place for your addiction mate I'm also an oddball and rare plant collector and let me say that it is a slippery slope My room is a jungle all winter

[WhiteRabbit]

[PaphMadMan]

Hello from Madison WI.

We will endeavor to enable your addiction.

Originally it was Colmanara Catatante, then Odontocidium, and now Oncostele, and all since just 2002. Classification is probably a word best reserved for species and naturally occurring hybrids, a matter of botany. The name changes of man-made intergeneric hybrids are a horticultural matter that may or may not reflect the current science. They are assigned by the Royal Horticultural Society (in the UK), and Registration would be a good word to use instead of Classification. Changes in both classification and registration are an ongoing process and a fact of life when dealing with orchids.

[lotis146]

Hello & Welcome!

As you already know you've come to a great place especially for newbie collectors. I'm still less than a year old so to speak and my addiction when rampant, so beware!!! While I'm not a collector of all Orchids weird & wonderful I branched out quickly as it is such a wide wide world of Orchids. Will be looking forward to your pics and your journey with Orchids, as well as your GF's, presuming she's joined here too.

Best to yous!

[RosieC]

Welcome to Orchid Board

[The Orchidist]

Hello and welcome , enjoy your stay

[silken]

Welcome to Orchid Board. It sounds like you are already well under way to a great collection of orchids!