Amateur mistakes--got one to share?
 

This summer I ordered a Dendrobium Hibiki that arrived looking gorgeous and healthy in coconut husk chips. My rookie mistakes: I didn't check the condition of the medium below the surface when it arrived and I didn't do any research on coconut chips, something I'd never grown in before.

I unpotted it a few days ago. The plant wasn't looking as robust as before--not a red alert issue, I thought, just something to check on. No surprise what I found. Coconut husk chips mushy as marshmallows. Massive root loss. Just a few, small, live roots left. Ouch, ouch, ouch.
There may already a previous thread that pools the collective rookie mistakes of OB members. If there is, please point me in that direction!

What amateur mistakes have you made, recently or otherwise? Hearing about them would help me, and I might bypass a few mistakes in the future.

Thanks!

I think the biggest mistake most of us make whether new to orchids or experienced is changing our culture practices too often and/or too radically.
Lots of light-- little light.
Heavy doses of fertilizer -- light feeding.
Continually moving them around looking for the perfet space.
It goes on and on and on. Every new thing you read makes you want to try it.
I've found over the years that the plants are highy adaptable and do best, even in less than optimal conditions, if left to grow. Change in culture if fine but it needs to be done in baby steps so you can gauge the reactions.

Bill

Orchids have been here for many more years than "civilization" . Just make sure of the mix.and let them grow. Epi type orchids live with their roots exposed, hanging on trees. They will grow in a pot full of rocks. Just let them grow and keep away from, all the "fine tuning"
Enjoy them and good growing
Dick

I've been growing orchids for eleven years now and I still make amateur mistakes from time to time.

my biggest one was being unaware that mites and spider mites are the true unseen enemy of every grower. Your collection can be wiped out very quickly if you don't have a regular spraying routine, and more importantly if you don't quarantine and spray any new orchids. I lost 2 and am struggling to save a couple more.
Also be aware that orchids housed outdoors in Summer can also get mites.
I come into contact with orchids regularly - at shows, greenhouses and at meetings. It may sound paranoid but I think close contact with orchids elsewhere also puts your own collection at home at risk. So now I have a regular ( organic ) spraying routine for mites.
I have been sorry, and now I am going to be safe :)

I'm a newbie and I impulse purchased a dendrobium cuthbertsonii.

When I say newbie, I mean like the only house plants I've kept prior to my first orchid purchases in July, were African Violets... and now here I am with this touchy orchid and I'm plotting out how to build a terrarium for it, so I can get more light over it and get more humidity around it, something else that I've never done before.

My husband is chuckling at me behind my back, I know it. He knew this was going to lead to my wanting a terrarium. Thank goodness I married a guy that gets me. :D

The moral of the story? Don't ever buy an orchid that you're not 100% sure you're ready for.

Overwatering. For me that was my biggest newbie problem and I lost a good number of orchids because of it. Something looked limp or wrinkled, so I would hover over it and water and fuss. When really it was the roots were in trouble because I was already watering too much! I have learned that they are better off being a bit too dry than the risk of too wet. Of course there are a few exceptions to this rule but not many in my growing area.

My amateur mistakes:

I am still an amateur and still making mistakes. This is what I have learned this year:

So far, my orchids have been saved from big box stores and other places, as I navigate the rules of culture. So they have generally had lost roots and so on.

My main "dumb armature mistake" has been to not chose orchids that will do better in my local conditions. I realized that orchids with pseudopods, that are sympodial, that have thick roots and leaves do way better in the conditions I live in. Now, when choosing an orchid, I look at the leaves and roots and not the pretty flower. It must also be mid to hot, and mid to bright light. So, I have really narrowed down my choices.

I have also learned a few things:

Never soak roots in cinnamon. It may be good to put on cuts on the leaves, but it also stops root growth.

Air to the roots is more important than the size of bark. These are "air plants" and would not have any thing on them in nature except maybe a few lost leaves and bird poop. Planting medium for an orchid is mainly to "stand it up" in the pot and retain a bit of moisture. You can grow it in lego blocks if you want.

Orchids are a bit like cacti.

Orchids usually live in environments where they get rained on every day for part of the year, and get no rain for another part of the year. So, as long as the drainage is good you can actually water every day (when the weather is warm).

Orchids will always lose their roots when you change their medium, but the roots grow back.


I finally got my orchids to grow-- they are giving me spikes, leaves and new root growth now-- by removing all bark mix and planting them in rocks.
Orchids thrive on deprivation.

I remember reading something that went (to paraphrase) If you want air roots to grow, stop watering the roots and only mist the air around them. They will figure it out or die. They are tough plants.

My flagship mistake (and I was no orchid rookie by any means) relates directly to BillC's post: I burned my orchids! (with the sun, that is). I had my ever growing collection in a small plastic sheeting greenhouse on the front patio shaded by trees. Around this time about 10 years ago I decided the sunlight hours were getting short and the trees gave too much shade and I wanted to prolong my plants' growing season sooooo....I moved the whole contraption and orchids up on our flat roof. Just like that! From deep shade to (what in my defense I didn't realize at the time) a spot on the roof that got some 5 hours of direct sun. Not only did I burn my orchids with the hugely increased light levels, I also managed to cook them in 100+ degree heat in my plastic enclosure. When i checked on them 2 days later I nearly fell off the roof! A good 40% had major burn spots.

My punishment for not thinking was the finding that burned orchids recover extremely slowly, I think much more slowly than losing most roots to overwatering. They just stop growing for about a year, then finally start again but the new growths are about half size or less of the pre-burn ones. And forget flowering for a year or 2.

Never again.....right?:blushing:

My biggest mistake was not looking to see how large those cattleyas and aerides eventually get. Oops.

Mine has been over/under watering causing near or absolute death. Oh and Frying my leaves in the sun on accident due to sun direction change. Whoops...

Testify!:waving

[QUOTE=silken;624781]Overwatering. For me that was my biggest newbie problem and I lost a good number of orchids because of it. Something looked limp or wrinkled, so I would hover over it and water and fuss. When really it was the roots were in trouble because I was already watering too much! I have learned that they are better off being a bit too dry than the risk of too wet. Of course there are a few exceptions to this rule but not many in my growing area.[/QUOTE]

:agree: best lesson I ever learned too! :D

O gosh...my gramm wallisii was a goof. I had no idea that they are such huge growing orchids!

My first Paph, which was fairly expensive since it was like 15 years ago, came with six fans. Because I was super wise and intent on turning my 50 dollar investment into much more, I split it into six plants and put them each into their own separate pots.

Of course they all promptly died... except the one I gave to a friend as a gift. It was an expensive way to learn about the leading growth habit, the rule of three, and that back growths need extra love.

Probably the biggest mistake I've made was buying orchids that I'm not completely in love with! If you don't love it, you won't water, feed, or care for it as well as something you do love. So make sure you absolutely love it before you buy it! No doubt, the more you love a plant, the better you'll care for it, the better you'll be at watering, and the better it will grow.

Amateur mistakes--got one to share?
 

The biggest lesson I've learned: the more orchids you own the less inclined you are to worry over any specific plant.

Biggest mistake ever- Not adding at least 2 travelling companions for every orchid I order! For an orchid to travel alone, it's basically the worst thing that can happen.

Definitely! I made that mistake once, and the plant arrived so beat up, I thought it was a goner. It was packed well enough. Ever since that experience, I always buy two additional plants--one to drive, one to play with the GPS, and the third to back seat drive, complain, and ask, are we there yet? :rofl:

Gaaah I have just figured this out myself. I tend to be a fusser...but it took me over an hour last night to soak all my orchids. I now have 11, which is a lot for a small computer desk, but now I don't fuss over the one or two I used to have.

Perhaps a mistake I'm making right now is that I only have three plants?

Self-control expert here, people ;)

(Don't remind me of this in a couple of years)

Not really orchid related, but I think a few members might be able to relate...

I was going to germinate Nepenthes (carnivorous plant) seeds, and forgot to soak peat moss..The moss was powdery and bone dry, and ended up sucking all the moisture out of the seeds..OUCH

Dude! I have more plants than that and I have been at this for less than a year! Get thee to an orchid grower's website and remedy this situation at once!

My idea is to master the ones I have before moving on to others! Also I have no space. See, I'm full of excuses :)

That's hilarious!

Good thread. I can relate to a lot of these mistakes. Now about 15 years into growing, I rarely make repeat mistakes but can make all kinds of new ones. I like the adage of long time growers, that you don't really know orchid growing until you've killed your weight in them. :biggrin:

My three biggest early mistakes:
- I did not sterilize cutting tools the first year my hobby went from a few backyard bloomers to 50+ orchids. This caused the loss of some special plants, a C. dowiana aurea and C. Maroni, the one orchid that permanently influenced my preference for labiate Cattleyas and now I can't find it anywhere.
- Mixes that contained bark and rotted half my plants after a succession of rainy days, back in 2005. I used progressively more inorganic media and now almost all of my plants are either suspended with no media or in pots with lava rock, clay pellets, and a little shredded tree fern.
- Getting too many plants too fast. 2005 again, I went to most of the shows an became an eBay shopper on crack. The hobby started to feel like an obligation, a job. I turned around one day and it hit me that I wasn't so in love with about a third of my orchids, so I gave them away to grateful friends and now have about 80 plants I have personal relationships with as I know them so well and for so long I think of them as pets and get a thrill every time they bloom. I'm in the process of constructing a new shade house with lots more room, so we'll see how well that holds. :biggrin:

Hmmmn, I wonder what mistakes I'm making now but don't know it yet?

Kevin

Repotted my first orchid (many moons ago) in potting soil. That was before the advent of the internet and places like OB when people had to get their information wherever and whenever they could.

Now THAT is what I'm talking about :)

Aside from over watering like we have all done somewhere along the way. My biggest mistake was going from 0- 60 ( maybe 70) plants in 18 months . And im remind of how much work it is every time i water them :lol:

I remember those days. To get any information or to buy any plants was next to impossible. Even getting what would be considered a ho-hum phal today was like winning the sweepstakes.

Bill

Besides the usual over- under watering,, Not knowing what mealy bugs looked like. I lost a lot of plants including my C.chocalate Komoda I still miss that one

Ugh, speaking of bugs. Not understanding that roly poly bugs in a cattleya I had still planted in bark was a sign of a problem...for the catt, AND me.

Worse... not knowing what praying mantis eggs looked like, when bringing in orchids to overwinter. Do you know how hard it is to catch a bajillion baby praying mantis in your house? :O

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
He thinks he's going to master them! Amateur mistake #1 right there. They are our masters!

Oopsy daisy....I guess you have some guests.

I brought a large toad in this fall. Thankfully, he still had plenty of time to find a place to hibernate. I wonder if it is the same one that came inside one spring...I guess this is another mistake I make. I need to look for the guard toad.

---------- Post added at 10:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:59 PM ----------

The mantis babies must have been real fun. :0

You guys crack me up.:rofl:

I left my cyms on the deck for 10 days or so before bringing them in in hopes any critters would leave

And just experienced another "amateur" mistake yesterday. How can one move outdoor shelving, only to find a shivering, wrinkled and crinkly catt lying BEHIND the shelving?

One that's supposedly a "favorite," yet somehow wasn't noticed :(( as walkabout when all brothers and sisters and cousins and nieces and uncles were brought in for their winter staycation?

Perhaps some day WaterWitchin will grow into maturity from her current junior status, and post a picture of it in her whoopsie orchid hospital setting. Sitting close by a red-eared slider who is in the same unit...sharing a heating mat. Misery loves company, dontcha know? :biggrin:

Benign neglect, I tell ya. Sometimes it increases the survival rate, and sometimes not.

Well get to posten girl :banana: wala no more Jr. statics. I absolutely love this banana.

I would probably not bought 3/4 of the ones I have. That's my lesson b/c i don't have much more room for the ones that I would like and I hate killing anything that has a chance. I have 10 phals spiking so I am glad that I have learned alot. My lesson don't buy cause it looks nice :( b/c you have no room later

Cheryl

I bet you could find some nice homes for the ones you don't really want anymore. Ebay, orchid club/society, friends, or even when they bloom you can give it as a gift!

One of my (many) beginner mistakes: Thinking my cats would share "their" windowsill with my orchids....

Catherine