Easiest orchids
 

Just looking for a couple of the easiest orchid to grow!
Thanks,
Connor

I think anything with a pseudo bulb is crazy easy to grow. So you oncidiums, wilsonias etc. if you're environment gets enough annual rain some of these plants will grow on a sidewalk!

Well phals are supposed to be the easiest orchids you can grow but phals dont seem to like me, I have better luck with paphs :D I only have one paph but its doing great much better them my phals.

I really don't think Phals are the easiest orchids to grow despite what is tossed around in the hobby.

The longer I've been in the hobby, the more I question certain conventions in the hobby.

I have a difficult time generalizing it down to, "plants with pseudobulbs tend to be the easier orchids to grow". I know plenty of orchids with pseudobulbs that will kick a beginner's butt.

I think epiphytical Laelia species are a good start if you haven't gone that route yet. Rupicolous (aka lithophytic Laelias) are a bit more of a challenge.

Many Cattleya species or hybrids are good to start with.

Cymbidium species or hybrids are a good one to go with.

I find phals to be the easiest in my environment.

Next up would be cymbidium, and oncidium.

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See and I can't grow a Catt to save m'life. It's all relative.

I think one of the most important things that helps to make orchids easier is having knowledge! I know so much more now from being on orchid board than I did when I bought my first orchid last summer.


Christy

How much light can you give? I think one reason Phals are considered "easy" is because they don't require as much sunlight as some of the other orchids.

Do you have a southern window, a skylight, or the ability to grow outdoors year-round? That'll give you more options.

Personally I've had a lot of luck with Phals and I don't exactly have a green thumb. They're usually cheaper too (in my area at least) so it's a great way to get into orchids

I know you will be a bit overwhelmed by what has already been posted, but please bear with us all. I think we need to know a few things first, if you can provide the info.

1: exactly what city in the US do you reside in?

2: Where do you plan to grow this? (Ie, south, north, east, west windows, greenhouse, office or otherwise?). Unfortunately, this question also comes with a slew of others, so be on guard, lol... For example, how bright does this area get and for how long?

3: What orchids are you particularly attracted to and thinking about?

4: How much care are you wanting to give?

5: Do you know about what the temps and humidity would be like for your specific growing spot? (Humidity is less important as we can all work to find something more tolerant of humidity, but temps, both day and night, may be a factor).

6: Are you ready to enter the exciting world of orchids?! There can be many things you can grow, and many each of us can't. It really boils down to trial, error, patience and learning. There can be a learning curve, but once you've got it you'll be sold! LOL...

What's easy for one person may not be easy for another.
I'm one who has had trouble with Phals. They do seem easy to bloom if you get the watering right.

I had early success with Oncidium and Onc alliance intergenerics.

Many Dendrobium hybrids (the ones that don't want a winter rest) can be easy growers.

Mini-Catts are another type to try ...

I live in Emporia,KS


I have an East facing window in a 3rd story apartment gets around 4 hours of bright direct sun then its just medium to lowish light.

I really like cattleyas, Miltanoias both new and old world, and dendrobiums. Haha I know how broad each class/genus can be...


Im gone on weekends but other than that I got nothing but time to kill.


Temps now hover around 70 F may go a lil bit lower at night. I have no Idea what the humidity is I would guess 40% ish


haha, yes I have Commited I have spent way too much time and money to call it quits

Miltoniopsis and Miltonias are both New World orchids. There are no "Old World" Miltonias or Miltoniopsis, unless you're talking about where they may be cloned from.

My vote would be mini-cattleyas or compact cattleyas. There's a wide variety of colors. They don't need as much light as the big standard cattleyas. They often bloom more than once a year.

You could maybe try some of the easier species Phals.

Maybe even, (I might get flack for this suggestion, but whatever), Stanhopea, Acineta, Paphinia, or Peristeria.

Acineta is the easier one of the bunch, imo. They're low light. They're big and showy. They're fragrant. They're unusual. They're also cool - intermediate growing and can tolerate some warmth.

Stanhopea is the second easiest of the bunch. They tend to be intermediate to warm growing. Again, big, showy, and unusual. Some are fragrant. Low light growing.

Paphinia and Peristeria are kinda tied.

Whoops! I must have misread!

The most important criteria is what you like. You aren't going to succeed with an orchid you don't like no matter how easy it might be.

Make a list of those you like then ask, "can I grow this, how will I grow this?"

Andy's orchid has a selector tool that may help.

I agree with all of the advice you have been given. This forum is filled with very kind and knowledgable people.

If you could tell us a few you'd be interested in trying (full name), we might be able to help you determine your success with it. However, as WhiteRabbit stated we each of things we can and cannot grow or can and cannot have success with. It does take some trial and error, but if you are committed, then enjoy the journey! I know I have!

I'm to the point I would just be extatic seeing positive new growth

I agree with Paul. Environment will usually determine the ease of growing certain plants.

don't get a cymbidium. they are a royal pain to water in an apartment environment anywhere that is not CA or someplace with similar weather that allows you to grow them outdoors nearly year-round. watering with a can makes a mess, particularly when the pseudobulbs have grown and filled the pot. they're top-heavy and will easily tip over in the sink, and they're huge and bulky to attempt to put in a sink and water without one of those attachments that can move the waterspout around the plant as opposed to tilting the plant into the spout. bathwater is too big and too unpredictable, particularly when it's in bloom and you're trying to keep the water from getting in the blooms - and again, you're tipping the plant instead of the water since they're so dang tall, and it's still a pain. get something that will stay small. my phals are very easy to water...I just found a spot they like in the apartment, near enough to the window to get bright light but far enough away to not get direct sun, and once a week I take them over to the sink. I mess around with other things sometimes such as humidity levels and applying keiki paste to flower spikes, and I'm probably going to start toying with different types of medium for the phals more, but that is all optional. they are as low- or high-maintenance as you want them to be.

that being said, here's my other suggestion: go out to your stores that sell orchids, and just find something inexpensive. it doesn't have to be the first one you see or something at the first store you go to even, just, when you see one you like, and if the price is right, go for it. continually soak in information about the type of orchid you bought, be it phal or catt or dendro, whatever, but overall, just grow the thing. if you got it on discount-wilted, shriveled and limp, give it a fair amount of water til its leaves get plump, and if it's healthy, just consider repotting it and start a watering schedule. when you're ready for it, start a fertilizing schedule - it took me a few months to get around to this, and while my phals may not look as pretty as they would have otherwise, they looked healthy the whole time while I was scratching my head and shrugging my shoulders over fertilizers. anyway, do what you need to, and then just sit back and watch it grow. watch it put out more leaves and roots. enjoy the hell out of the first flower spike. you're going to love it, y'know why? because you raised it, you grew it, you're reaping the rewards from your own efforts.
if you don't succeed, it's not a huge loss - you will learn what works and what doesn't for that kind of orchid, and whether or not you like growing that type of orchid, and you can try again. if you succeed and decide you don't like it, whether you sell or trade, I'm sure someone *cough getintouchwithmeifthathappens cough* uh, yeah, someone will be glad to take it off your hands... and then go try something different.
there are some that grow better in your environment, true, but the process of finding an easy to grow orchid doesn't have to be complicated.

EDIT: oh geez, I wrote an essay??


TL;DR: I suggest no cymbidiums, but otherwise just go find yourself one you like and roll with it. if it doesn't work out, try again.

There are smaller species Cymbidiums that can tolerate warmth really well. Not all Cymbidiums grow cool or are huge.

Cymbidium aloifolium is one example.

huh. those do look easier to manage...though still a bit top-heavy, and tall and leafy.

those do look awesome though....hmmmmmmm *starts hunting retailers*

I was going to say what Shae just did and make a suggestion: go to a Trader Joe's, or similar store, and buy 2 or 3 different kinds of orchids. Perhaps an Oncidium intergeneric, a Phal and one other. They are relatively inexpensive and you can practice growing them to see which you like and do well with.

I don't want to show you the plastic cup with all the tags from orchids that have gone to orchid heaven in the nearly three years I've been growing. I'm sure if I had those plants now, with what I have learned, they still would be alive.

It's kinda hard to recommend some intermediate growing plants that are low light to moderate light growing, because most of the ones I know of are not really what I'd consider great for someone looking for a plant to just take off with little effort.

Oncs might be a good start, but some of them need a little effort to go.

Idk, Isochilus linearis? I love this guy. Grows fast. Easy to grow, imo. Blooms reliably. Beautiful foliage, imo. Flowers are small but interestingly arranged.

Arpophyllum spp.? These are related to Cattleyas but don't need the high light to thrive. They're small flowered, but their common names of Candlestick Orchid says it all. Grows faster than a Cattleya. Easy to grow, imo. Idk, these are great plants, imo.

Aerangis spp., maybe?

Here are a few that would like your window: Burr. Nelly Isler 'Swiss Beauty', angraecum distichum, haraella rectrocalla, oncidium Twinkle, oncidium cheiroporum, and many zygos (zygo louisendorf is a popular one). Most of these are smaller and all are okay without a south window. The Nelly Isler is one I especially recommend. I used mine as a Christmas gift (and replaced it!) but it bloomed three times a year and is really beautifully fragrant. :)

For *me* Dendrobiums are the easiest. Then Oncidiums.

I am a Phal killer though. Killed 7-8 over the years, I stopped buying those.

Lots of great advice here! I especially appreciate shaelyn's thoughts. Get several different types that you find beautiful or interesting, and do lots of research on each of them. Some of mine I find are difficult for me to grow well, but I grow them because I love the blooms. Others I love the growth habit so much that blooms are just icing on the cake.

Some rewarding orchids (easy, for their respective alliances) I absolutely love:
Guaritonia Why Not
Oncidium Sweet Sugar
Vanda tessellata

Great and easy for mounting and very bright light:
Encyclia tampensis
Brassavola nodosa
Brassavola Little Stars

It really depends on the environment. If you're growing indoors, there are plants that will do better than if you are growing things outdoors. A good beginner orchid species in general is philanopsis, but as mentioned some people don't have the right environment to get them to grow well. I live in FL so I don't have any issues and they grow really well for me without much effort.