How many orchids have people killed?
 

Hi everyone! :hello :waving I am relatively new to orchids, and have killed several orchids trying to learn to grow them properly. Well I guess I learnt the hard way!
:_( lol

I would like to know how you guys started out... did you lose any precious orchids while learning how to grow them? Is this one of the 'normal' processes of learning how to grow these plants?

It was for me. I started primarily with Phals and learned by killing several. I have learned that most Dendrobiums don't like me.

When I was a freshman in high school I got my first real job dividing and repotting showy Cattleya hybrids in a privately owned orchid greenhouse. The greenhouse owner gave me numerous huge garbage bags full of very nice divisions. I didn't have a greenhouse and even though I tried setting up humidifiers I managed to kill every single one of them.

Since then I've killed 100s of orchids trying to get them to grow outdoors mounted on trees. During the process I eventually came to the obvious conclusion that the survivors were coming from climates that were closer matches to my climate.

So now I try to spend a good amount of time researching the native climate of an orchid to see if it might survive in my climate. Also, you can avoid reinventing the wheel by seeing what orchids other people with similar conditions as your own are having success with.

Well I don't like to brag but I never killed an orchid, but I sure had a lot of them commit "suicide". Just kidding I know what your talking about it's all a learning process. Jim.

I have killed more then my fare too! I killed my very first orchid which my sister raised from a seedling and gave to me....I have killed several others too....but I partially blame the seller (bill_asia) for selling dehydrated orchids and being a beginner just dipping my toe into the water the poor seedlings never stood a chance with me...lol, well a few did make it.....

I killed the first orchid I owned, which was a gift, but that was what started my obsession. After it died, I actually looked into culture, etc.

I have only been growing for about a year now, and I've killed a few more, but it's all a learning experience and I agree with epiphyte78, it's better to stick to plants that fit your growing conditions instead of constantly trying to fit your growing conditions to your plants.

Between my sister and I, we've managed to 'kill' 28 orchids over a ten year period, must of them phal's and more recently due to an epsom salt experiment that I subjected them to. :roll: And many plants didn't do well and I'm not the type of person who keeps bad performers around.

My first orchid was a slipper which died due to my lack of knowledge, and that is the only slipper that we've killed yet. So far, hope I didn't just jinx myself.:lol:

Guess it's a learning experience!

I sure hope you have some time, friend!
 

I killed some simply because I could not provide the right environment for them-I just didn't know it when I bought them (I just liked the way they looked) Now, before I buy an orchid, I pretty much know whether I have the right environment for them or not. That still has not prevented me from killing them due to a variety of reasons-electrical problems, weather, etc. In any case I know that I have certainly killed my share and that is why I try to be as concise as I can when diagnosing problems. :badh:

I like the poster who said theirs committed suicide! That's what mine did, too! Others have been banished to the trash bin!

I've killed 3 in the last 2 years (out of a modest collection of 8 orchids at the moment) I killed 2 identical ones from the same vendor because I should have repotted when I got them. So now I'm hesitating to try that one again!
I am also in the process of killing a mini phal type den that I got only 5 weeks ago. Don't know why nor how.