Bad habits and what have you learned this year?????

[peeweelovesbooks]

An ongoing challenge with a phal species that I purchased has made me reflect on my orchid bad habits. They are as follows:

1) I tend to overpot. I have no idea why I have this tendency. I hate to see orchids climbing out of pots and so I choose pots that are too big. I know I'm doing this but I can't seem to help myself. SIGH. Can you help me find a cure?

2) I'm obssessive with cleanliness. Nothing sets me on edge more than dirty leaves (except perhaps dead leaves ha!), and dirty plants. UGH.

3) I have become somewhat disorganized. By that I mean that my records are not up to date. They used to be but then I got sick and kept buying plants and I sort of lost control of my inventory. I have been trying to get every plant re-catalogued with new tags, but I feel as if I'm always behind (it doesn't help that I keep buying plants).

4) I need to focus focus focus, but at the same time I feel I'm a one trick pony with such a narrow collection. I struggle with this issue.

WHAT I have learned thus far this year:

1) Smaller pots ARE better.

2) I suck at mounting and need to practice. LOTS.

3) My Phal violacea does NOT like moss. It is currently making nubbies, mounted onto a slab of wood with an ITTY BITTY amount of moss.

4) I buy a lot of cool mounts but never use them--they are often impractical or too large. For example, I bought this HUGE cypresswood mount 2 years ago, perhaps in the mistaken belief that I live in a mansion so that such a mastodon would not be out of place. It cost a lot of money and it's wrapped up in tarp beneath my table.

I need to work on #4.

5) I love how catasetums look but I'm too chicken to try them. I'm sort of obssessed about this too.


So, what are your BAD orchid habits, how are you curing them and what have you learend as an orchid grower this year?

[Junebug]

I'm still a sucker when it comes to rescueing noid chids. I've gotten much better, but every now and then I just can't help myself.

I need to stop procrastinating about dividing large chids and overcome my fear of topping Vandas and/or removing their keikis.

Something that I've never done, but should do is sign up as a member and attend meetings of the local orchid society. I don't have many problems when it comes to growing chids, but I'd really enjoy interacting with people who have similar passions for growing them.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Summer is my bane.

I get way overheated in a house without good A/C, and certain things can slip...

Lepanthes and Acostaea tend to be the smallest population of orchid I own because of how intolerant they are to drought.

There are certain parts of the house, where I place my orchids that I don't frequent often. These orchids tend to receive quite a bit of neglect. Again, especially during the summer months.

I have been fairly good at watering my orchids even with this crazy, insane schedule of mine, during the summer, so far. Discipline is key.

I still need to work on frequenting certain parts of the house where some of the most neglected orchids stay.

[Wrebbitrocks]

i learned that i shouldnt hold back on repotting. as soon as their done flowering get them into new media. this i learned the hard way after leaving about 6 catts from kawamoto's in the mix and they got brown rot. only 2 left

vandas MUST be in pots here in tucson, az. i love seeing them hanging with their large root systems like in everyones pics but here the air is way to dry and my plant larger vanda is halfway dead. i potted it and hopefully with some superthrive will come back i hope,

i need to buy fertilizer. i dont have a regime to stick to and i havent fertilized since maybe last year, even longer. im just to scared to use it but i know i have to. im also deciding what i want to use and its hard. hopefully il get them in the following week to strengthen my plants' growths because theyre nowhere near the older growths' size :/

phrag besseae WILL NOT tolerate my tap water i killed 3 plants. gotta get 3 more and buy os water

miltoniopsis dont like me wont keep me from buying more (same applies to cymbidiums, intergenerics, and paphs)

slugs are terrible creatures

never will i move my orchids outdoors so fast. acclimating is a must. i burned some pretty large sections of leaves so alot of my plants look cripple from the missing areas :/

i cant get my psychopsis to bloom. all the buds keep falling off. i think its a humidity problem. its growing a 2nd spike now and i hope this one will tolerate the conditions more. my alba variety almost dies because it was too dry. ive been watering it much more and bam new grwths.

sphagnum moss is a wonder for phals here but its hard to find and i desperately need to repot D:

dont reuse the same pots unless theyre sprayed with bleach for 30+ minutes

dont tell mother how much each plant cost (usually i tell her the price BEFORE shipping so she wont freak as much)

trader joe's is my best friend

dendrobium aggregatum is one fiesty plant and its been bloom size for 3 years now. it better start blooming soon or ima have to sell it

repot before new root growth but barely before so they get tailored to the potting mix. going from spagh to bark can be fatal at the wrong time. also must have bark soaked for at least 24 hours or il have to water the plants 2 times a day to keep them from drying out

im spending much more than a healthy amount on this hobby lol but sorry im addicted

i guess i learned alot and im sure theres many things more i dont rememeber but il reflact on them this year for better results next one

[Mira-Claude]

I've discovered many thing this year:

1) I'm an impulsive buyer! If the orchid is t my taste I'll buy it, then discover the care and pray to that I won't kill my new baby. It is stressful and unneeded, I need to research first buy later.

2) I must be able to provide a winter rest to some of them. It's hard but I must resists temptation to water in winter! I must! And I failed last winter... They need it or they won't flower! Now I have to keep telling myself that!

3) Giving any orchid a bigger pot as soon as they get home is the worse idea ever!!!

4) Some orchids really HATE being disturbed.

5) When one is sick isolate immediately, if you can't isolate it, throw it out. It's better for the whole collection.

6) It is worth it paying more for good quality medium, the orchids pay you back ten fold by growing faster and better!

7) I really don't like the Oncidium familly. Why? I don't know, I am just finding myself disliking them in my collection... They are very pretty though!

8) Even though I have my own place and my mom lives an hour away, every time she comes she knows when there has been an addition... she also disagrees on the prices, must keep those quiet. Or as quiet as I can...

9) I really hate summer! I hate the heat that makes me sick, that dehydrate my orchids way faster that I sometime have problems watering them enough for their taste... On the other hand it brought with it a bunch of new growth!!!

10) Having orchid addicts as friends is fun because you can talk about you addiction together and trade and all. The problem is you worsen each other conditions... TheBlazingAugust, CallmeBob I really love you guys, but you'll make me broke!

11) I really, REALLY, hate bugs. No need to extrapolate here.

[RosieC]

Too many things to remember... So maybe I've not learnt very well

One thing is that unlike other comments above, summer is when I do well and winter is when my plants suffer. They spend most of the summer recovering from poor winter treatment.

Main problem I think is winter mornings making me sleep later and never having enough time to water and they all suffer as a result, especially those in the Onc Alliance.

[NatalieS]

I continuously forget what my fert/water schedule is. You wouldn't think I'd have this problem with so few plants but every time I go to give my plants a drench I can't remember if I fertilised last time or not. I know I need to write this down but when I'm rushing around watering before work there is just never enough time...

I am too ambitious. I have a tendency to start with the most challenging orchids instead of working my way up to them. I need to start teaching myself the benefits of 'baby steps'.

My imagination gets away from me and I experiment too much. Sometimes they work out, but sometimes the tried and tested methods are indeed the best methods.

Things I've learned this year:

Vitamins and minerals are just as good for plants as they are for humans.

Patience is indeed a virtue - especially when it comes to slow growing orchids!

Imperfections on leaves and bulbs are not necessarily anything to worry about. Closely observing the overall growth and condition of the plant is a better way of gauging if there's something wrong.

Ordering orchids online is seriously fun! And incredibly dangerous...

[Cattleya17]

Ok this is a great idea first off!!!! I have learned that I truly am addicted to orchids! I actually crave them haha!

Never repot a bellina growing in moss into bark when there is only ONE new root......big mistake instant death lol

I am more focused in the winter as regards to watering and fertilizing on a consistent schedule! And my humidity zonks out even with a humidifier running 24/7 in about end of November 30%. Scary!!!!

I need more room!!!

Always check for bugs (especially SPIDERS before we bring the plants in for winter lol!

I tend to overpot especially with Catts. And I remove too many roots and they don't stay in the pot and then They fall out in the middle of the night. And I can never get the oldest pseudobulb against the edge of the pot and then It settles in the middle of the pot and then the new growth is too Close to the edge and I have to start over and then it happens again and AGHHH I HATE REPOTTING CATTS!

I have too many winter bloomers

Don't have enough summer bloomers.

My phals love moss but moss don't love me back

I really love species types

I have kicked my impulse buying habit and now only buy orchids that I truly can't live without....... Yeah right!!!!! But I'm on my way.

I have expensive taste when it comes to orchids. Bigleaf Orchids and Orchids limited.....seriously consider dropping 300 on a plant sometimes.

I can't seem to avoid sunburning a Catt every summer.

Biggest lesson!! Watch out for wet humid summers it is crown rots best friend on phals! I now grow my phals on a porch so I can control the moisture that gets on leaves. Only my toughest phals are out side in the main growing area only 3.

Also I need more lights.

Hide new orchid purchased from parents I have three coming next week and two came last week. Yikes I'm in trouble.😖

I hate leaf hopper nymphs!! Freakin ninjas is what they are!!!

It's ok to be addicted to orchids! You. And one Phalaenopsis Schilleriana is never enough! Nor is one novelty phal!

Never give up on an orchid that you can't seem to grow properly it's is the greatest reward when you do get it right especially after great difficulty and several tries! That first bloom is worth all of it! On to the the next orchid challenge HAZAH!

[james mickelso]

I never worry about when I fertilized last. I just fertilize at every watering. Weakly. Orchids in nature don't get much. Bird poop and lightning are all they get.

[JaneEyre]

Hmm... The year isn't over yet, so I have some time to redeem myself
This is a great post. Reading everyone's "lessons learned" reminded me that we all have similar problems.
Anyhow,

On to the bad habits:

1. Buying phals and immediately move them from tightly packed moss into bark, which brings me to my next bad habit

2. Not soaking bark for longer than 2 hrs. Not only it takes too long but it requires some planning in advance and my re-potting schedules are usually non routine

3. Using tap water. Depending on the season our water can be bad. Maybe in the future we will get RO but for now orchids have to suffer

Things I have learned:

1. My east facing garden window is not for orchids. It gets too sunny and too hot. I was so excited to have it when we moved in but not sure what to do with it now. The only plant enjoying it is my tiny cactus.

2. Our local Trader Joe's orchids are beautiful and cheap but full of crawling things. All of them.

3. Pleiones can't handle strong winds we get here.

4. Oncidium type orchids (and anything that has dangling leaves) don't stand a chance with my cat.

5. Over-care is just as bad. Some things would be better if I had just left them alone... like my vanilla that I decided to pry off a small stick (despite everyone's suggestion here not to do it) and attach it to a bigger stick - which I managed to do without hurting it, but it never reattached itself.

All in all it has been a good year for me and my 'chids.