I’ve been buying only miniatures in order to keep the size of my collection under control. I’m up to about 80+. Many in 1.5” (3.8 cm ) to 3” (7.6 cm) pots. I have a reasonable good success rate with re-blooming, but like you have decided that I need to get serious about culture and understanding my orchids.
Being an engineering type, I made a spreadsheet with each orchid listed by its genus and name and included its basic cultural requirements. Much of the information was gleaned from the AOS (American Orchid Society) culture sheets, this forum, growers’ catalogs, and any other source I could find.
My goal with the spreadsheet is to provide a quick reference guide (QRF) that I can easily refer to as I am handling the orchids. When I move all my orchids back inside for the winter, I will use my QRF to create micro climates and group orchids according to their needs. I’m hoping this provides my best display ever.
Here are the column headers in my spreadsheet. Happy to share the template if anyone wants it.
Genus Abr., Genus, Name, Purchase Date, Purchased From, Bloom Description, Bloom Season, Last Re-Pot, Pot Size, Medium, Bud/Spike Date, Bloom Date, Light Req't, Medium Req'ts, Water Req'ts, Temp Req'ts, Other Cultural Req'ts
The Genus Abbreviation is then looked up for the Genus Name. This way I learn the correct abbreviations
.
Spreadsheet Quick Reference Guide
Threaded Mode
