Orchid Burn-out

[tucker85]

I try to keep my collection manageable. I don't want so many orchids that it's a full time job to take care of them. I'd prefer to have 10 orchids that I really enjoy rather than 100 orchids that are OK but not great. It's taken me about 10 years to put together a nice little collection of plants that I would never want to get rid of. I'm pretty quick to give away anything that doesn't impress me.

[quiltergal]

I got rid of anything that did not thrill me, plants that only bloom once in a blue moon, flowers that don't last very long. I've got it down to 50 plants, but there are a couple of duplicates that need to find a new home. I also specialized and now mostly grow species Phals & Paphs. I'm feeling a bit better about the collection, but I don't think I will ever get back to the orchid fever stage.

[Sharry]

"It wasn't the winter. Winter was mostly in the upper 60's. I actually went to the beach in January" Okay okay rub it in....

As to burn out, orchids bring out the OCD in me. So every so often I take stock; Am I enjoying this or am I being compulsive again?
If its the later some are given away, or donated to Bambi in the backyard or to the compost heap. That way I have more time to enjoy the "keepers" .

Growers who specialize have my admiration. Auctions are too fun for that to work for me!

[nikkik]

Interesting thread. The key to making sure that I don’t burn out is much like what others have mentioned, grow what you love. As soon as your hobby feels like a chore or a list of must dos, it is no longer a hobby. I understand nothing is enjoyable all of the time, but once the stress outweighs the joy it may be time to assess what about your collection is causing the burnout.

I will also say that I lost a ton of my favorite hard to find plants last year in a storm and I lost almost my whole collection when I moved from one state to another, I felt burnout both of those times and I considered quitting the hobby. So I think some burnout is normal in this hobby because you are dealing with plants that parish or may get aliments that are out of your control, which can be stressful.

In any case, I hope you feel relief from your burnout soon.

[terracotta7]

Some days when I am trying to juggle things here and I have to take part of a day to water everything all over the house, I question what I have gotten myself into, too.

Right now I have determined that I cannot handle any more... space or time wise. The orchids that I divide I give away to friends that are starting to enjoy their own orchid collections. And I feel free to give things away, too. Just now, I took a NoID phal that I had rebloomed to my Hospice patient. You would have thought I brought her the moon. I promised that I will water it each time I come for a visit and she wanted me to leave it right on her bedside table when I left "so it could be properly enjoyed".

Right now I don't feel too bad about orchids. They do bring me a lot of joy and I can spread the joy around. Like others have said, though, I want to be good at growing what I have (I am sure my collection is nothing compared to theirs, though )

The sun is shining here in NY and we even broke 32*F today...45!!!! Feel like spring at long last!

[AnonYMouse]

Thanks all for the convo!

I'm no longer stressed over care since I last killed a pleuro alliance plant. I still have a couple of them left. The collection is of a manageable size, mostly species miniatures. As limited as my space is, i still have a southern window sill I could make work (This kind of statement is when the brake screeching occurs in my head).

I'm not dissatisfied with plants waiting for blooms since a big chunk of my collection is about foliage or playing-with-not-so-conventional growing methods (watching a Neo hybrid's roots climbing lava rocks gives me thrills ).

I don't want a difficult plant. Been there, stick a spork in me, etc.

So, I think I'm NOT specializing in Dendrobiums. But I saw a bicolored (orangish and megentaish) part spatulata hybrid at TJ's.

I did not pick it up. Recited my mantra, "Stick with species, stick with species". I'm not quite right.

---------- Post added at 07:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:24 PM ----------

A few years ago, I ended my orchid dabbling by getting rid of all my plants (tiny collection compared to now). They were not BBS plants but weren't that special either.

I came back to the hobby with my first ever Masdie. Killed every one since.

[Gthumbz89]

I totally understand being burnt out. I have a small collection and half of them have never bloomed. I started collecting orchids after my last reef aquarium crashed (the heater broke). Sometimes I go down to the aquarium store and I dream of trying out a salt water tank again. Then the reality of how much time and money to maintain a reef sets in, or something in my modest collection blooms again. Long story short I have experienced multiple burn outs or moments when I realized that my hobby was getting routine, but I have so far managed to snap out of it.

[AnonYMouse]

Thinking about Neo roots and sudden Masdie death (bacterial rot), this hobby is an oxymoronic slow-rush!

---------- Post added at 09:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:29 PM ----------

Originally Posted by terracotta7

Just now, I took a NoID phal that I had rebloomed to my Hospice patient. You would have thought I brought her the moon. I promised that I will water it each time I come for a visit and she wanted me to leave it right on her bedside table when I left "so it could be properly enjoyed".

Thank you for being a caregiver! Especially for being a hospice caregiver!

[IcePenguin]

I tend to feel burn out by late winter. This winter especially. I'm pining to be able to get my plants outdoors again. The chore of watering 300 plants indoors gets me thinking why I'm doing this. But once I see a plant blooming for the first time or a difficult plant to grow show new growth, I perk up a bit. I have culled the herd a bit, but gooing around judging I find new ones to pick up. Ebb and Flow mentally.

[mujacko2002]

Mabuhay!

I guess, it's part of the orchid hobby. There would be a lot of factors why people just leave the hobby for awhile (or totally) and get back on board again. I've been there a lot of times. Though, one thing is sure that i can never get it out of my system. I love plants in general. I love how water plants, ferns, orchids, trees benefit each other in the garden.

and i guess for me having a goal of preserving or saving endemic species really gives me direction where i want my hobby to go in the future and somehow helps me with the burn-out thingy. I think the important question to answer "why am i into this hobby?" And just like the others here, when i share my collection to my friends or strangers and brings them smile, it brings more meaning why i am into this hobby.

God bless everyone.