Your orchid collecting habits question...

[cb977]

YAY! Have any others you hate???



to my best friend

[Royal]

QUOTE: [Anyway, tell me more about what you mean of seedlings? You mean me crossing them myself, or could I purchase from others via online? What are some sources for this that you recommend? ]

What I am referring to has more to do with the method of propagation, not really the maturity of the plant offered for sale. Seedlings are like children - they will probably look similar but will each have their own sublte characteristics that vary from child to child (or seedling to seedling). You can get flasks or compots, but you can also find more mature seed-grown plants for sale. Look for plants labeled with a cross (plant a x plant b) instead of a clonal name in single quotes like 'Clone'.

Like NOIDS, clones are not bad, they're just more common. Huge factory breeders raise millions of quality plants, selct one or two "colors" to be cloned for the potted plant mass market. These clones are exported by the thousands - all genetically identical, and usually unidentified.

As for NOIDS: It cost a few cents to print a tag. If you're exporting a million plants, tags are just an extra cost unless the importer demands it. The importer won't demand it untill the customer demands it. My reason for not buying NOIDS is more about using my purchase power to support good nurseries that grow plants they love, and are not just in it for the $.

[KHaze]

I'm liking this thread...a lot of interesting viewpoints here.

I am new to orchids and I don't think that three orchids can be counted as a collection! But they are all noids.

I started with them because they were cheap and I figured that if I killed them with ignorance, I wouldn't feel as bad about it.

Well...really I should have known better. I tend to get very attached to anything that depends on me to care for it. I love my little noids!

Anyway...what I was going to say is that personally, I find that what attracts me to an orchid is about 50/50 leaves and flowers. The flowers are always beautiful and interesting, but it's the leaves that you are going to be looking at for most of the year.

I love the unending variety of leaf shapes, sizes and colors! That is just as exciting to me as the flowers...which of course get me going too...

I'm not sure if I'll ever care whether I am buying named orchids or noids...as long as they are healthy and exciting to me!

[LauraN]

Originally Posted by cb977

YAY! Have any others you hate???



to my best friend

Thank you!
There are actually a couple that are getting on my nerves as we speak!

[Lady Tottington]

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

Just out of curiosity.

Why do you want to know about people's orchid collecting habits?

I have the feeling that someone frowned upon you owning NOID's (maybe not).

This kind of stuff is really subjective. There are going to be many different collecting styles and reasons that go with it.

No one collection is the same for a reason (that'd be creepy if it was).

Good question King... good question. And honestly I think its that I'm relatively new to collecting, and I was looking for some insights as to points to consider, in case I hadn't. I received a lot of great insights. : )

I didn't get the sense anyone frowned on no-id's, as it seems that is how all started out, and most still have some in their collection, including myself, and given that I won't be able to part with them for sentimental reasons, I hope I can continue to keep them alive

Thanks for your comment and question, you have great insight... it is all subjective isn't it? Thank heaven for that

[nutgirl]

I started with a gift Phalaenopsis that endured years of neglect and still kept coming back for more.
I bought and killed several other types and finally decided to find out what I was doing wrong.
Enter OB. At last the light bulb lit up and I started getting a handle on the basic orchid types and their requirements.

Now I buy whatever catches my eye. It started out with the Big Box Noids but is progressing towards species and named hybrids.
I’ve also gotten a couple of collections off Criagslist and I have a wonderful nephew in Fl that brings me goodies. I’ll try anything just to see if I can succeed with it.

I don’t have the time or personality to delve too deeply in orchid growing but I do get a lot of enjoyment out of learning the great variety of growing techniques and conditions that can be applied to the orchids I have or would like to try. (Thank you OB members!)

In short, I find it to be a very rewarding hobby.

Maureen

[slipperfreak]

Personally I almost never buy NOIDs and I prefer to buy awarded plants, but can't always afford them and/or they aren't available. I also like to buy line-bred material from reputable breeders. This is something I get the opportunity to do a couple times a year, when they visit my area.

I collect almost exclusively slippers, with only a few others such as small Dendrobium species and Neos. If I had more space I would grow a wider variety of orchids. I have grown just about every major genus (and some less conventional ones) at some point though. Within slippers, I collect every genus (except Selenipedium, which is very difficult to find). I put an emphasis on species and primary hybrids, especially Parvisepalous Paphs, Phrags from section Micropetalum, and Cyps. Cypripedium is my favorite genus, but it is one of the rarest and most expensive orchid genera, so I have less than half the number of Cyps that I have Paphs.

I think that anyone who is building a collection should 1) Buy what you like and 2) Buy what you can actually grow. I'm the type of grower who goes to great lengths to attempt to grow something if I really like it, but I also know when to quit. I think that an orchid grower should be fearless in trying new things (within reason)*, but if something doesn't work, move on and learn from your experience; don't waste money on continued feeble attempts to try to grow something that just doesn't like your conditions!

*I say within reason because I do think it's foolish to go shopping without doing some research first. Find out what the plant you're interested in likes and determine if you can feasibly provide for it. Once you have a game plan, go for it!

I think that as growers we all change in the way we grow orchids over the years, so you can always revisit a genus or particular plant a few years down the road, and try it again when you have more experience. Your experience might give you an advantage you didn't have last time, or maybe you moved or changed growing areas and now your conditions are more suited to that plant. Orchid growing is a hobby that evolves with us as we age!

[Andrew]

Interesting responses. For hybrids and line bred species I mostly buy unflowered seedlings. I generally want to know the parental clones used in the cross before I buy so I know what to expect. I do grow some clones and divisions of good to award quality plants. However, clones tend to lag significantly behind modern breeding trends and you're left waiting a long time until the new crosses you see in the orchid mags are cloned and sold in the nurseries. With species that have been propagated from plants of wild origin, where possible I try to collect plants where the original collection location is known.

[shadytrake]

Well this doesn't qualify as my collecting habits, but just wanted to say that I found another source for browsing and possibly buying.

One of our society members passed unexpectedly on Friday and I was searching for a nice arrangement for the visitation. Of course, any good florist with orchids wanted to charge me a minimum of $60 for a few little sprays of Cymbidiums.

So anyhoo, I decided to walk over to Whole Foods for lunch and what do I find....a very nice selection of named and noid orchids. From Brassias to Wilsonaras...at least 30 to choose from at a price tag of $17. As a bonus, all of the foliage on the chids looked GREAT!

I picked out a precious Phal Nobby's Amy 'MP-0311 CR' with 3 blooms open on 2 inflorescences with 11 more buds to go.

Here is a representative picture of the bloom. Mine has a little more blush.

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...006-small-.jpg

I'm sure that her daughter, (also a member of the orchid society), will just love it. I wish there had been 2 because I would have purchased one for myself.

Anyway sorry for going slightly off topic.
I'm making a mental note to check Whole Foods periodically for my orchid habit...you never know what you'll find.

[butterfly79]

I have had at least 4 orchids before the 2 I have now. I am determined to be able to not kill these 2.

I look for really pretty flowers first but I make sure that the leaves are healthy, no rot, no mold, and I look at the visible roots. I love these flowers, I am nursing one and plan on getting another so my collection is growing