How has your collecting/growing changed?

[lotis146]

So I'm curious, how has your Orchid collecting/growing changed since you first started (whether that's two days ago or 20+ years)?

[ALToronto]

Biggest change - quality over quantity. I used to buy mass produced phals, especially out of bloom, on sale. Never again. They're not worth the windowsill space.

I also found myself concentrating on the orchids that grow best in my conditions. For me, that's cattleyas and anything else that likes the same culture. In fact, most of my orchids grow in catt conditions. Adapt or die!

I'm making an exception for a Coelogyne cristata, which is growing on my coldest windowsill. So always some leeway.

[kimstwin]

I've been growing orchids for ten years. I think the biggest change I've had is looking beyond a pretty flower, and making sure the actual plant is a worthwhile addition. I feel this is hard to do as a beginner because flowers attract us to orchids initially.

Also, I am more likely to try and grow an unfamiliar plant, or a plant that has not flowered now that I have my feet a little wet!

Recently I bought my first bag babies, so I'm curious how I will do with them.

[Ordphien]

I very much took on the "adapt or die" approach.
I've found that I'm getting very specific with what I want now.
But most of all.. I've found I'm really into mini and micro mini orchids.

[Paul]

Much more finicky. I do not have a ton of space, so as my collection has grown I have switched to mostly minis and micro minis. In addition, while I still have a lot of hybrids, I find that species capture my interests more.

[LovePhals]

I grow more than just phals now. My favorites are now Vandas and Phals, although they have very different requirements and Vanda's take a lot of care with watering schedule. The blooms are worth it! I like full size plants and am not really into the minis, that hasn't changed. The few mini's I have purchased I am thinking about giving away or selling to get something else...

[Paul Mc]

I started with one Phal and a Dendrobium just to see if I could keep them alive. The Phal has bloomed religiously every year, so I started buying more Phals. After 4 years, the Dendrobium finally bloomed so then I started buying Dendrobiums and Oncidiums. After collecting quite a few of all of these, I started wanting something different and began seeing all of the different varieties on this forum. Today, I have 115 with quite the range, but since my space is limited as the original ones I bought were not small I have begun seeking out miniatures. Today, I don't really limit myself although I do prefer mini's. If it's small enough to fit in my space and I think I might be able to keep it alive after discussing/researching its needs, I go for it! LOL...

[tucker85]

I agree with ALToronto that quality has become the important factor for me. Over the years my collection has evolved a small group (maybe 10%) of very special orchids that I really enjoy both in bloom and out of bloom. I've slowly become aware of the qualities that I like about these favorite orchids and I'm always on the lookout for new orchids that display those qualities. It often takes three of four years to know for sure if an orchid has the qualities that I really like or not. That's what makes the hobby fun and interesting for me.

[HighSeas]

I've been growing orchids for a little over 30 years. I constantly evolve. When I first started, it was a hit and miss thing because there was no internet. The availability of online resources has helped tremendously with the learning curve!

I used to water with softened water too....actually, for years without any evidence of problems....

I have many more types of plants now and I'm more interested in better culture....which lends itself to experimentation!

I have evolved into growing different types of plants now than I did in the early years. I still love the Cattleyas but have added Angraecums, lot's of Vanda's, Dendrobiums, Oncidiums, Catesetums, Maxillarias, Aerangis, etc...and have more species than ever before.

I actually USED to throw away the tags! Can you believe that?

My daughter now has an orchid house of her own. I recently went in there and found a pile of tags....which prompted me to ask her WHY she would separate the plant from the tags. Her response: Well I kind of figured that YOU could match them all back up again one afternoon when you had nothing else to do! What goes around comes around!

[euplusia]

I fertilize much more, especially in summertime.
But still I am a notorious samaritian and have a repression to discard bad plants.