Buying/ Growing trends

[Jennyfleur]

As I was reading through the comments on Maria's 'Bored' thread, I had a flash of inspiration - As growers, I'm betting that we've all gone through phases where we love some plants and then, a little while later, move onto something else. These changes can be for all sorts of reasons, such as introduction to species not heard of before, more confidence brought about by experience, different growing conditions from moving house or just simply a change of taste relating to colour and form.

So, I thought it'd be interesting to see where we started and how our collections have evolved over time

In doing so, it'd also be interesting to see just how many of us started with Phals!

For the record, I started with Phals. After having some for a while and having them grow nicely, I was curious to see if I could get any fragrant orchids, so I did a google search. From there I got a real mixture as fragrance was my goal and, to a certain extent, still is. Therefore, my collection has never really had a focus (though I have more phals and coelogyne than anything else), although it could be said I'm in an Angraecoid frame at the moment. Not the most exciting story to kick off with, but never mind!

[tucker85]

Yours sounds like a good story to me. Someone gave me a big white phal about 15 years ago. I still have it today. But when I decided to grow some orchids I started with cattleyas. Here in south Florida you can throw a cattleya out in the back yard and do nothing to it and it will grow and bloom. Then I noticed that anytime someone saw my orchids the first thing they did was smell them. So like you I started collecting fragrant orchids. As a cattleya grower I began to get frustrated that the plants (with a few exceptions) only bloomed for about a month each year. I then started growing small novelty phals. There's a wide variety of colors and many of them are fragrant. I have some that bloom six or seven months a year. Now I've discovered ascocendas and vascostylis. They love the south Florida weather and they bloom several times a year. Only a few are fragrant. A couple of them bloom almost non-stop in this hot humid environment. Along the way I have kept the best plants from each genra and given away those that I'm not thrilled with. So now I have this mixed collection of orchids that I really like and enjoy. Happy growing!

[Paul]

Started off with a phal and some mini dens -- all noids from Lowes. Thiswas YEARS back. (At that time the Lowes I was patronizing also had paphs.)

The plants did well for me in that apt. But as the selection was limited, my collection held fairly constant with only occasional acquistions.

Then my chiropractor introduced me to another patient who was a long time orchid grower. This gent and his wife had been growing orchids for 40 yrs or so, and had a small, well-filled greenhouse attached to the house which they invited me over to see. This was my first exposure to orchids other than phals, dens, and paphs. He then invited me to visit the orchid society of which he was a member. There I was exposed to even more type and varieties of orchids and learned about orchid shows. As a result I soon had my first minicatts and compact catts.

My collection had quite a few phals and dens at first. But as time went, I got bored with phals and, when I move, the dens did not like my new place so I got rid of them. Most of my collection became minicatts though I had a few mini species of other genera (due primarily to expose at shows) that I had acquired. Currently I still have a preponderance of mini and compact catts, but species orchids also make up a significant part and I have even (recently) allowed a couple hybrid phals into my collection.

[FairyInTheFlowers]

Well, my collection started with three Phals, a standard, an art shade, and a mini. I then went in the way of catts in general, and then liked the Brassavolas, bought a few, caught the rupiculous Laelia fever, never bought any as I was afraid of killing them, then ended up where I am today, novelty Phals, of which I have 15, a good chunk being species of the subgenus Polychilos. I am also interested in Tolumnias, while I only have one, I want to expand and buy more, seeing that I can easily bloom them. Now, if I wasn't limited by money, space, and environment (I grow my plants under lights, in my closet, in the second story of my non air conditioned house, so right now I am getting on average 28.5 C days and 21 C nights), I would be growing MANY other genera, such as Vandas, Dendrobiums, Masdevallias, Draculas, Porroglossums, Phragmipediums, and rupiculous Laelias.

[Leafmite]

I have always had plants, ever since I can remember. When my parents went off to Hawaii eight years ago, I asked for some plants from there and they brought back Blc Lady's Favorite 'Morning Mist' and a noid vanda from a gift shop. I wasn't really interested in them, sad to say, and they struggled along for years until I read the Rex Stout mysteries. Then, I wanted orchids. I found a rescue dendrobium and a rescue Catt, a sick Sharry Baby, then discovered Hausermann's. I bought a bunch of popular fragrant orchids and pretty Cattleyas then decided I was finished. Then, one day, I happened upon a picture of Angraecum Magdalenae and had to have it. Added a few more angraecums, some more Catts and a few vandaceous orchids (traveling companions). I have about thirty-seven orchids, not counting a few backbulbs that won't count until they put out new roots. I'll probably get a few more in the years to come but I am content with what I have now. And, yes, I still have the original two and they are doing quite well now.
Leafmite

[Goods14]

I started off with a no name Catt. hybrid from a local garden show when I was 7. I bloomed it not long after. I would pick a plant or two here and there from a local nursery or Lowes/HD. I could never keep a Phal alive. Then, I started going to a local where I'd buy a couple plants per year. I didn't really care about the name then, just got what I liked (I was 10). I gradually shifted toward warm growing species, mostly Vandaceous. Now, twelve years later, I have mostly mini oddball Vanda alliance plants, some Catt alliance, and Pleuros in an indoor terrarium.

[Jennyfleur]

Thanks for these everyone, I think they're really interesting! (and it looks like the phal-starters are winning so far!)

[Ray]

I was given a cattleya hybrid as a "thank you" for helping with the orchid collection at what-is-now (it wasn't then) the Atlanta Botanical Garden. My next acquisitions were paphs.

Although I have gone through a wide range of genera over the years - Chinese cymbidiums, catts, vandaceous, phals, ocidiinae of all sorts, etc., etc. - I am moving back into slippers more heavily than ever.

[Kelo]

I bought my first orchid, I think it was a Laelia anceps, when I was 17 ears old. As is my nature it took me about 6 months to assemble quite a display of catts, cyms etc. The reason it took so 'long' is because there was no internet at that time for the public. I've never really gone off any particular genera but there have been individual plants that, when finally blooming, I didn't like so they were quickly sold to a nearby florist.

Now that I'm 52 my tastes haven't changed one iota! Lord that's an obscure word LOL! I've made up wish lists of plants that I would like but then a few days later when I re-read them I take this and that out or totally start over. Once I have them though I'm glad that I got them.