How do you know when you are not a "newbie" anymore?

[Jenn4a]

Originally Posted by Brownthumb10

Phals seem fussier about everything (light, water, ect). Maybe they just don't like me, lol.

Could it be the specific types you've had?

[tropterrarium]

Re not killing plants, you can stick to tried and true easy growers, but then there is this one you just have to have. It's known to be difficult, or even worse, nobody knows anything about it, so that is when things can go south.

I am obsessed with a highly marginal genus (Oberonia), so information, if it exists, is scant, and then most specimens are noID plants or are positively misidentified. Even the best care for the wrong species is not going to work out well.

That is when you cross over to doing research. If you ever done any research, it's a stony path with lots of missteps, and that means some dead plants along the road. On the other hand, the enjoyment of seeing that specimen bloom after all that ordeal, that is quite something.

I remember this summer I was at the SB orchid estate, and they had a plant that bloomed for the first time after 20 years. Not quite there yet, but it has taken me about 5 years to get one to flower.

On that note, maybe you are not a newbie anymore if you can do something that most others can't.

[Brownthumb10]

Originally Posted by Jenn4a

Could it be the specific types you've had?

Maybe? I have all NoIDs. One full size and 2 minis. I have killed a few othe NoIDs, full size and minis, in the past. The trio I have now is the best I have ever done with phals, but I am not holding my breath.

[Jenn4a]

Originally Posted by Brownthumb10

Maybe? I have all NoIDs. One full size and 2 minis. I have killed a few othe NoIDs, full size and minis, in the past. The trio I have now is the best I have ever done with phals, but I am not holding my breath.

I've read in some other threads that each phal can be different in what they like/need.
I wouldn't know since I only have one and I've only had it since Black Friday.
I just got 3 new cattleyas yesterday and might have already run into some issues


To the killing of orchids:
When you say research, like extensive research that cannot be found online?
I know you can find general knowledge of orchids online ( but not always very detailed )

[tropterrarium]

Re research, yes, the real-deal research into the truly unknown. Eventually with the goal of doing publications on it.

Once you go off the beaten path in orchid land, it gets very quickly highly adventurous. Consider that 90% of Oberonia plants sold in the trade are noID plants or are positively mis-identified. Culture information exists for possibly 5 of the 300 species, and that info is not terribly detailed either. I have obtained some 30 different species in the past few years, still a far cry of the true diversity, but a good start. Also consider that some of the flowers I got on loan from Kew Gardens were misidentified (I work with them on fixing that). Thus far I have some 250 references (as in books, and scientific articles), still growing quite a bit. You get the idea, its RESEARCH.

[terracotta7]

WOW! I never even heard of Oberonia! I will have to look that up!

@Jenn... Yes! Your cattleya will require different care than your phal! Besides the information here on OB you will find great information at aos.org. Go to the "All About Orchids" tab and look for AOS Culture Sheets. You can print them off from there and keep them for a handy reference. I have had a hard time with cattleyas myself, but through experimentation and dogged determination I have found that they like a certain window in my house that faces South and gets very good sunlight. That location is also pretty cool at night and thet really seem to like it there.

If you have the time also explore "monopodial" vs. "sympodial".

I am eager to hear how you do with your orchids! Keep the questions coming on OB...that's one of the reasons it exists!!!!!

[katrina]

Originally Posted by tropterrarium

On that note, maybe you are not a newbie anymore if you can do something that most others can't.

tropt - you are working on becoming an expert in the genus of Oberonia and that is awesome (LOVE them!) but I think one can move beyond the "newbie" status well before approaching your level of expertise.

IMHO, you've left newbie-land when you have successfully taken an orchid through an entire growing cycle. Meaning...you've grown that plant for at least a year (a full growing cycle) and it's doing well. And, ideally, you have rebloomed it. Growing them is one thing...if you can rebloom/bloom them then you have definitely left newbie land. At least for that plant.

Blooming something 2 weeks after you buy it (even a few months after you buy it!) has everything to do w/the care the plant received prior to your obtaining it and while you helped it along...one can't really take full credit for that blooming because it was initially grown by someone else. And many times, under ideal conditions in a g/h or other facility set up just for growing that plant.

I have been growing for several years now (7-8 now, I think) and while I grow some things very well...there are others that I have learned I can't grow if my life depended on it. I don't have the conditions to make them happy. While I don't claim to be an expert in all of this...I do believe I have moved well beyond newbie status.

I might one day become an expert in one area or another but the bottom line is that there will always be people who know more than I do. As there will always be people who know a bit less than I do. I think it's this way in everything.

This is just my opinion on the matter...but you know what they say 'bout opinions....

Tropt -- stay tuned for a pic of one of my oberonia I have bloomed for the first time. I've been growing this thing for a few years now and never thought I'd get it to bloom. It's not the best looking plant in the world but it's blooming nicely right now. Will be posting pics before the end of the month and I'd like your opinion on the ID. I know IDs in this group have been quite jumbled...to say the least. I bought it as a Oberonia oligotricha.

[PaphMadMan]

Nearly 40 years growing orchids, and a horticulture degree, and I would still consider myself a newbie if I started growing something distinct I wasn't familiar with, like Disa maybe. It depends on your comfort level and success, and your ability to learn, and your willingness to recognize when you still have something to learn. If you think you know it all you are definitely still a newbie, you just don't realize how much there is to learn.

Addict does not come after newbie. You will probably never get past newbie if you are not an addict also.

[Orchid Whisperer]

I think it is possible to be a newbie with some aspects of orchid growing while being a non-newbie in other aspects.

I consider myself a newbie with Dendrobiums, for example. I have never grown these well before, but I am trying with at least a few. I have gotten them to survive and a few are bigger than when I got them, but I still feel like a newb. I will consider myself a non-newb when I get a few to bloom. I feel the same way about Paphiopedilum and Bulbophyllum.

Cattleya alliance is another matter. I grow most of these well, though a few I still fail to grow. I re-flower them yearly, and have some that are quite old (a few 29 years in my care now). I have grown some from seed, at home, doing it all by myself, including making the flasking medium. So, I like to think I have a bit of skill, but I don't feel like an "expert".

[tropterrarium]

Originally Posted by katrina

Tropt -- stay tuned for a pic of one of my oberonia I have bloomed for the first time. I've been growing this thing for a few years now and never thought I'd get it to bloom. It's not the best looking plant in the world but it's blooming nicely right now. Will be posting pics before the end of the month and I'd like your opinion on the ID. I know IDs in this group have been quite jumbled...to say the least. I bought it as a Oberonia oligotricha.

I like your approach re taking a plant through the growth cycle. That's a nice way to look at it.

I did not mean to entail that not-newbie = research level expert. There are a couple of shades of grey in between. I just wanted to explain what I mean by "research".

Re O. oligotricha, I assume you got it from Andy in hanging basket. It is not oligotricha, but I don't know what it is. One of those in the pile of "deal with later". That species is one of my nemeses. I've tried it several times and over shorter or longer killed them all: intermediate warm with drying sopping wet deep shade bright light, nothing works for me. How do you keep it alive?