Question for teenage growers
 

:hello

If you haven't already seen my previous posts, here's a little background info about me:

I'm 17 years old (turning 18 in a few days!) and I will be going to UC Davis this fall. I currently live in San Diego and have a moderately sized orchid collection (originally 39 plants, now down to 26).

I have a question for those teenage orchid growers out there:

What will you do with your orchid collection once you go to college?

My parents are not a big fan of orchids, so I really can't rely on them to take care of my orchids for me. I applied for a single bedroom, and I secretly hope that I will be able to take my collection along with me :biggrin: Has anyone given this much consideration?

I am not a teenager, but I am attempting to work towards a bachelor's degree. Even though, I plan to stay somewhat local, I still have to consider this issue as well, and I do have a similar problem as you, where none of my family members are able to take care of my orchids for various reasons.

The difference between me and you is that now that I'm an adult, I no longer have to worry about what my parents think or say when it comes down to dealing with the financial aid papers. I can choose to live in housing around the campus if I wanted or needed to and hope that financial aid will cover enough of the costs should that ever be an option.

So...yeah, the only thing I gotta say to you is, 29 orchids is a fairly good sized collection, but it shouldn't be too large of a burden as long as they are orchids that are not high maintenance or need lots of water, and that living off campus is probably a better bet rather than on campus if that is an option for you.

If I were you, if within your 29 orchids there were more than 5 orchids that need lots of water, that is already way too much. I'd keep those kinds of orchids down to no more than 5 individuals.

Btw, if your collection is mostly hybrids, you may want to consider trying to re-home most if not all your NOIDs.

Schoolwork is going to take up a lot of your time.

I'm not a teen nor am i going to school but you have possibilities.

1. Give your collection away to the local society or others who will like to have your plants and you kept a handful you truly cannot be without.

2. Research green houses. You can either rent space or ping your schools science dept about keeping your plants there. When I was in college I kept a few plants in the school greenhouse. I used them in experiments too but that was a front for keeping the plants I liked. :).

I've culled my heard of orchids from 75 to 40 and it will go lower still mostly because I have developed specific tastes in orchids.

Another option is to give to friends or post on the local Craig's list.

So you have a few options but sadly none involve you keeping every orchid.

What's in you collection?

Here's my entire collection:

Blc. Ju Shen "Pink Empress"
Pot. Shinfong Beauty "Tzu Wen Rainbow"
Blc. Mem. Anna Balmores
Blc. Shinfong Luohyang "Golden Tree"
Cattleya NOID (green?)
Blc. Hwa Yuan Grace "Cat King"
Lc. Purple Cascade "Fragrant Beauty"
Lc. Hsinying Excell "NN"
Blc. Pamela Finney "Bigger Ox"
Phalaenopsis NOID (red or pink)
Lc. Taida Swan "Taida"
Big white NOID cattleya
White NOID Dendrobium
White NOID Dendrobium
Purple Encyclia
Pink NOID Phalaenopsis
Pink Mini NOID Phalaenopsis
Purple Dendrobium Species
Oncidium Sharry Baby
Miltonidium Bartley Schwarz "Highlander"
Angraecum Veitchii "M"
Oncidium Wildcat(?)
Lady Slipper Orchid Yellow Species
Oncidium Lanceanum Species

I forgot, you may want to keep the smaller orchids in your apartment.

The larger ones you may either have to give away or have them in the science department's greenhouse, if that's an option for you.

I don't have any "small" plants. Here are a few pics of my collection. The only small ones I have are a few NOID phals.

I see. Lol. Maybe you need to get into Neofinetia instead of monster plants. Lol. Well good luck with whatever you decide. Good thing is orchids will exist outside of college.

having a single bedroom might give you enough room for your orchid collection. you'll need to also consider if all the tables will fit, or if the spare desk will be enough room for your plants to sit on. most college dorm rooms have furniture for two. I had a private room most the time years ago when I was in college, they never bothered to remove the extra furniture when only 1 person was staying in it. I don't know if a single bedroom is different than a private bedroom though. so if you have room then take your orchids with you, if not find a friend to care for the ones you feel you can part with.

Wow! Memories!:biggrin:

Some 30+ years ago, I had the SAME issue! I was in Nursing school. I had some 40+ orchids at that time and wondered too about their fate. Keep in mind too that Nursing or Medicine isn't like any other college degree....it's total commitment. I'm sure you probably know someone in that situation. Back then, there was no internet either. I spent at least until 7:00pm in the library before going home to write papers, learn drugs and do care plans for the next day. I was up at 4:30am to be in clinicals by 6:30am...followed by class. That said...

I kept my orchids. I couldn't stand the thought of giving them away and it didn't take me long to realize that they were the only ray of sunshine I had left in life! To add insult to injury...I HAD to make A's because I HAD to have scholarship money or I was out. :shock:

So this is what I did. I picked a room that had great sunshine. The brightest I could get. I set up my small desk and had a TV tray for a side desk. I had a bed in that room and other than that....I had boards with cendar blocks as plant stands. My books were piled in a corner. During the day, I had a plastic shower curtain that I threw over the bed and some of my orchids were even on my bed until the sun went down. It looked like a jungle in that room....Wish I had a picture of it!

I watered them on weekends, hauling them to the sink in a radio wagon, that also sufficed as a plant stand. That was my weekend Joy. And I really mean that. I inspected them...fed them....marveled.

During long study sessions....I used my "break" to repot, organize, clean up. Sounds so stupid...but it was, like I said, my retreat from all those other school related responsibilities. Since there was no time to "go out", go to movies, and no money to spend....they brought me through. ;)

Not sure how many replies you'll get from teenagers going away to college worrying about what to do with their plants.

You're the same guy going on a month long vacation too...right?

Rent space from a local greenhouse, give away or sell...in my dorm room, I had a roommate who probably wouldn't have appreciated 10, 20, or 30 plants in the room

I already solved the problem with my vacation. The nursery where I bought the orchids from has agreed to let me leave the plants in their greenhouse for one month at no charge.

I'm in this situation right now. doing Pre-Med. going into med school next year... ... That up there is my life..


I use my break time when I can. to repot and so on.. they keep me happy and I use a misting system on some that require more attention...


However, I never want to let them go because they actually get me through school because of the little money I have... I also have to get A's in order to keep my scholarships and son on.. so .. its possible.. just harder... I have about 50 so far . so you'll figure it out... the moving part is the hard part

Only thing I have to add, is that when moving orchids, liquor boxes work beautifully! The (liqour, or wine) boxes that have the divided compartments (for individual bottles), r perfect for protecting each individual orchid, & mounted orchids can be hung from the divider slats. They can be cut, bent, or otherwise modified to fit larger orchids too. Most liquor stores (@ least in NC) on whatever day they get deliveries (have to either go ask, or stalk their dumpster area *nightly* :evil: lol) will throw their boxes out behind the store, and u can usually just go pick them up. If they compact their boxes, maybe u can go ask them to save some w/o breaking them down first? (kinda like volunteer labor :coverlaugh: offer to take the job off their hands... The box break-down... They won't let u touch the liquor :evil:... So don't get any ideas! Lol :poke: :rofl:) Good Luck! I really hope u get to bring all your orchids!! :biggrin: I don't think I could leave mine behind... :(

Well there you go....since you've only had the orchids for about 7 months maybe you can sell them back to the grower for a reduced price......if no other options available

Hehehe! You beat me to the punch on that suggestion. :lol:

Yes, check out some of the threads here:

Vanda Alliance - Neofinetia - Orchid Board - Most Complete Orchid Forum on the web !

You can pack a lot of Neos into a small, well-lit space.

I would probably try to build a plant stand of some sort in your shoes. I have about thirty plants now in my little utility room on plastic shelves from Big Lots with T-8 shop lights (5 lights; 3 on top 2 on bottom over seedlings, totaling 10 tubes) and I am about to set it back up in a new place on this galvanized wire shelf I got so I can add another 2-tube light to the top and it will give some added filtered light to the seedlings, too. But we're talking about 5.5' x 4' x 3' of space taken up by a stand, that given seedlings mixed in, which would not outgrow the space very much if at all while you are in the semester...

But you'd still probably need a single or even an apartment for that.

Is there a greenhouse you might be able to sweet talk some professor into using some space in? Perhaps offer to clean and maintain things?

-Ceci

My suggestion, and I've done it many times with orchids I thought at the time I could not do without, is to put them up for adoption on Craig's List. When you are finished with school you can restart your collection. Orchids are just plants and there are always orchids to acquire. I have collected and then sold hundreds and hundreds of orchids. I've had large collections and small. At your age don't get hung up on things you have now. Get through school and when you are re-established, start another collection.

When you know more about the size of your dorm room, you will be able to better decide what to do. The one year I was in a dorm, if I had been in one building -roommate or not- there would have been no way to have any orchids in the room. The building I was in (should mention, NOT UC-Davis) the rooms would have held an orchid collection and two people no problem. I had 5 different places I could have put orchids in my dorm room, now that I think about it.

I don't know if that helps you out any, but that's my $0.02 for the day. :)

But sometimes some orchids have sentimental value, like my first orchid, a little spotted noid phal. I'm glad I'm not going to college! From what I could find, no one from our recent family tree has ever gone to college. I've spent lots of time looking for more uncommon ones and lots that I have need extra care and extra humidity. I can hardly leave some of them alone for a a long weekend trip.

Besides the sentimental value, I would not want to sell my orchids at reduced prices since I spent nearly $700 on them. The sentimental value makes them worth much more :)

Do you know anyone near where you are going to live in Davis that might have room for them, to help you take care of them, where you are still involved? Kind of like boarding them, without really boarding them. Then you wouldn't have to give them up permanently.

Wow! 17 and you're a serious orchid enthusiast!
Most 17yos would be busy chasing skirts, getting drunk, drugs, nightlife, etc.

I turned 18 today :)

:bdayparty:

Edited....sent you a pm instead

I remember when I was 18 seems like it was yesterday :)

Yeah, I spent between $800-$1000 on my collection, I really wouldn't want to sell at reduced prices. Drop out of college! LOL

Happy Birthday!

Me too, I try not to think about the fact I'm over 18x2 now :biggrin:

Hung,

I have been dealing with this problem for 2 years now. I am currently 20 years old and have been growing orchids in my single bedroom in my dorm. While my collection hasn't gotten as large as yours (parent-control from when I'm home), I still keep finding ways to make it work for me. Currently, I keep all of my orchids to miniatures, or compact-growers to try and help save with space. I just bought a grow rack to bring with me to school (my parents have been pretty understanding with it all).

In addition to getting my grow rack, I have to use supplemental artificial lighting for all of my beauties because even though my room has a window, I don't get near enough light to actually grow much of anything... Therefore I use some re-purposed fluorescent tube lights (17watt, 24", 65000K) and some additional clamp spot lights (23watt CFL, 6500K) for my higher-light orchids.

It can get a bit interesting in terms of finding room to fit everything in the dorm room, in addition to watering (I've been in a suite-style, so I share a bathroom with 4 other guys...).

Yet another factor that I have had to think about/deal with is the temperature aspect. Luckily, I have been in a single room that has always been controlled by its own thermostat (that I could adjust), but there are many that don't have that option, or you have to share the thermostat with another room, etc. This can be interesting with some of those that need chilling or anything like that- which is why I haven't really branched into dendrobiums because I can't really give them the "chill" that they need.

If you want to talk about it more, I am more than happy to share either on this post or via PM. Happy growing! :D

You forgot "addicted to video games"^^