Confession
 

I have to confess. I have not been so caring to my orchids for the past few months :dumb:. For about 3-4 months they haven't been getting the proper water, or fertilizer and all around have been forgotten. That's not to say that I won't care if any of them die. I have made the resolution to take care of my orchids like I did when I first started. The good news is, only one died, but I had been struggling with that one since I got it. The others have new growth, 2 phals flowered and 1 paph had a bud that blasted when I watered it, go figure :( . My orchids have survived the horrible neglect that they received, even my mounted bulbo. I will now reward their resilience with the proper care. I have also resolved to get involved in the orchid board again :waving . The OB had gone to the wayside along with my poor orchids. It feels good to be back and it feels good to be a loving caregiver to my chids again. I'm not sure where it all went wrong, but I am now correcting it. When my chids reward me with more blooms I will share the pictures of my amazingly strong chids! :biggrin:

:waving Welcome back! we missed you ..
Lots going on here daughter was in the Hospital with Rocky Mountain fever I was meeting myself coming and going ,it is hard to get things done sometimes ..
Glad you decided to resume the addiction :)

glad you're back Amanda!

Good to see you back here Amanda :cheer:

Thanks, Gin. I hope your daughter is okay and doesn't have any lasting effects!

Thanks Wabbit! I'm glad to be back!

Thanks Rosie!

Orchid addictions never go away. I found that you can take a break, but the orchids always call you back!

Hey Amanda! Welcome back. Missed you!

Welcome back Amanda. :) And yup, orchids are very forgiving of neglect! My orchids suffered like yours for a few months last year, from life getting in the way and a general lack of motivation to care for them. Some got pretty beat up from lack of water (I also lost 2 :() but they kept blooming for me.

Thanks Shady and Camille!! Orchids never cease to amaze me! I said that my orchids were only blooming to beg me to water them. Well, they are finally getting what they asked for.
Camille, I fall into the "lack of motivation" category on this one. I'm finally motivated in the new year! Let's hope I stay that way.

I fear I'm in a similar boat. My collection expanded very rapidly over a short period of time. I think I have about 80 right now. My problem is it takes all of one day on the weekend to water everything, so that leaves one day to get everything else done. I find myself feeling resentful that I'm chained to the sink for the weekend. The plants don't look as good as they used to either. Some of that could be due to overcrowding.

If I can just hang in there for a couple more years when I retire I'll have more time for my other hobbies and regular life stuff. I still think the collection is too big. I've been selling and giving plants away.