here are my start 6 cataloged
 

thanks for the warm welcome from everyone in the introduce yourself forum

attached are my starting 6 in .pdf

Couple of questions:
1. my supplier said to leave them in the pots that they shipped in and put them in a pot, meaning do NOT replant them and let them get accustom to the new surroundings (sounds reasonable, any comments or suggestions?)

2. after you have had a chance to look at the attached .pdf, based on the Orchid species, is there anything in particular to do or NOT do with each individual plant, (meaning, I don't know what I don't know and what questions I should be asking?)

3. placement, watering, fertilizing suggestions or guidance based on the type of Orchid?

4. what am I looking for to promote healthy growth, other than the obvious stuff, like spots on the leaves, root rot from overwatering ect ?

thanks all, look forward to your guidance and help !

wongsta

wongsta, have you noticed there's a 2nd page left blank?;)

Now, joking aside, if you haven't purchased those plants yet (which I think you already did :)), the first thing to do is to know your environmental conditions so that you know which ones you can provide. That will be the basis for choosing which plants you can grow and prevent their loss, which otherwise will lead to frustration and, in the end, the joy of growing orchids is gone.
There are some orchids that I will never buy because I know that under my conditions they will not thrive and die.

That's also the source for the misconception that orchids are difficult to grow...some do, some not, it depends on your environmental conditions.

What are the conditions in the area where you plan to grow these? Temperature and light especially. All of these need pretty high light (but not Texas noonday summer sun..) Dappled filtered sun is about right. (Cattleya types need a lot more light than Phalaenopsis)
Catts in general want to dry out somewhat between waterings, but don't go bone dry especially when they're putting out new growth. (And any repotting should only be done when there are new roots showing... if there is adequate room in the pots and the medium is in good condition, you can, indeed, leave them to adjust, even for another year, don't rush to repot) Fertilizer is the least of your concerns. Orchids need some, but quite dilute. They grow slowly so they don't need much. Under-fertilizing is much better than over-fertilizing. Think of fertilizer as "vitamins" not "food".

The Grammatophyllum scriptum will need more water than the Catts - you don't want that one to dry out (but shouldn't be soggy). I hope you have lots of room, those can get rather large. (I don't grow that one, for precisely that reason, it likes to be warm... and my greenhouse is small, and stuffed)

For the future, do follow the advice from rbarata, evaluate your conditions first, then decide what will do well for you, THEN buy. An easy orchid is one whose needs match the conditions that you have without going to a lot of trouble and expense. A difficult one, the opposite. What is easy for one person may be nearly impossible for another . A lifetime of learning...

ahh, got it, I just told the supplier that I was new to the Orchid hobby and gave them my budget and matched it to my skill level (beginner).
So to be clear, Catts are #28, #4, #5, #3 & #26
So #179 is the only NON Catts

good to know, thanks,
mlh

Yup. The non-Catt is the species Grammatophyllum scriptum (and you can look it up on IOSPE to learn someting about its habitat and other characteristics), the Cattleya-tribe plants are all hybrids - combinations of different species (sometimes quite a few generations from the species), you can find information about their ancestry on orchidroots.com If you learn something about their ancestry, you can refine your culture - Cattleya-tribe species come from a wide range of habitats. For a start, you can probably do OK keeping all of them in a temperature range above 50 deg F and below 90 deg F. You are starting your trip down the rabbit hole... :biggrin: