Hey! Thanks for posting this thread and thanks for all the responses and advice!! I had no idea these guys were "cool growers" I have been just a centimeter away from buying them for a while now but decided to stick with learning one type of orchid at a time and that's why I haven't!

BUT this will definitely help me to understand what I'm getting into before diving into them when/if that day ever comes! They are just so pretty and always catch my eye!

Thank you for sharing your experience and I am in love with your Lillian nakamoto!!! Ill be on the hunt for one once I am confident I can keep these guys alive

---------- Post added at 01:07 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:03 AM ----------

My moms milt got this rot which spread from the base of the bulb. I tried to help her save it and couldn’t and now it’s my worst nightmare! I searched online to figure out what it was, but it seems like no one really knows for sure. I saw some people say it happens because it’s too dry but intuitively rot happens when it’s wet!? Ughhh the orange rot is a mystery to me.

My first one, now deceased, developed the orange rot too. I don’t think it had it when I purchased it but it developed shortly thereafter. It had been super dry in the store so it could be that it developed because I was giving it too much water. I don’t know if one could halt its advance by cutting out the affected pseudobulbs? I didn’t try any heroics and it ended up being the start of my plant’s death spiral.

Awwww Alice! A plant death spiral sounds terrible! I'm sorry! Lillian Nakamoto is the one I almost got too! Beautiful plant! BUT, this thread may have scared me from trying for quite sometime!

After my loss, when I decided to try again, I did the following: checked carefully to make sure there weren't any orange pseudobulbs already present, checked to make sure the media wasn't bone dry (I wanted to stay away from dry stressed plants that had been sitting in the store awhile), and repotted immediately and just did just did a cursory spray off with the hose to remove all of the loose Pro Mix while disturbing the roots as little as possible.

I saw some posters on here that had really nice plants that they'd had for years that motivated me to try again. I really think I set myself up for failure with my first one by picking a plant that was already in poor condition and not doing a thorough enough inspection before purchase.

I'm not ready to declare myself successful yet, but they're very pretty and some have a lovely scent as well. With cheap plants showing up at box stores, I think they're worth a try. I'd be leary about spending big money on one though.

VERY helpful advice! Thank you!!