What are the Best Indoor Orchids for a Beginner?
 

I'm wanting to start my orchid collection but I'm not sure which ones would be best suited to my home environment.
The temperature where I live ranges from cool to cold and very short summers. The average temp in: January is 8°c, April - 15°c, July - 23°C, Oct-17°C and It is usually very cloudy. The avg temp inside is usually between 18 and 23°C. I've converted part of an upstairs room (really a loft) with windows opening to the East and South into my "mini" garden. Since the light coming in is quite low I've supplemented it with grow lights and also use a humidifier and fan. I have a few cattleyas and Dendrobiums and now I'd like to add other orchids. Can anyone tell me which ones would grow well under the above conditions?

I do love:
Masdevallias
Lycaste
Angraecum
Anguloa
Angulocaste
Acineta
Vanda
Ascocenda
Laelia
Paphiopedilum
Cymbidium

Which of these is good for me? And please suggest others that would adapt well to my set-up.

I'm not sure about celcius (stupid american) so I dont really know your temp. range. Most cymbidium love the cold, but also need bright light.Very smart to ask though, I usually buy the orchid and then adapt my environment (backwards). I wish I had planned ahead a little more. I would think that vanda's are out as most need warm temps from my understanding.

Acineta
Anguloa
Ida
Lycaste
maybe a few of the Masdevallias

Your outdoor temperature range will support most orchids outside year round. I allow my plants to routinely go to 5 degrees C and for short periods of a couple of hours they can even go below zero.

Your description of cool to cold will mislead most members of the forum. 8 to 23 centigrade is 46.5 to
73.4F. This is a perfect range for growing outdoors. Your indoor range of 64-74 will support most orchids.

Growing orchids indoors is easy, but each type has a light level required to flower. You should concentrate on orchids that can handle your low light levels.

It would pay to buy a light meter they are inexpensive.

Vanda and Ascocenda want almost full sun (5-8000 foot candles) and are very difficult indoors without strong supplemental lighting. Cymbidium could be buried in the ground and left year round in the brightest light you can give them.

Since you say it is often cloudy you will do best with orchids that flower in low light.

Paphiopedilum (700-1000 foot candles) and Phalaenopsis (1000-1500) are the most common. I do not grow all the families you mentioned but concentrate on the light levels.

If the Cattleya and Dens are flowering for you in the light you are providing, then your supplemental lighting is up to at least 2500-3500 foot candles. these plants do not flower well in lower light.

It sounds like your mini greenhouse will support a wide variety of orchids.

Forget the Vanda and Angraecum.

yes forget anda, they are no go for noobs (like me) killed like 3 already - they are so hard

Thanks so much for your response. Which of the Masdevallia--I like rosea, datura, achrocordonia, lilacina, hieroglyphica---any of these? Lycaste schilleriana, brevispatha maybe? aerangis?
Will these work for me you think? Thanks again!

I suggest the
Laelia
Paphiopedilum (Maudiae-type hybrids, cochlopetalum, parvisepalum)
Cymbidium (only the Chinese species and their hybrids)

These three genera are commonly grown as indoor household orchids.

Your conditions are suitable for many different orchids.

I don't suggest Masdevallias. They are not easy for most

I have Ascda Su Fun Beauty thriving in a south facing window - if you can provide sufficient light, I don't know why you couldn't grow Ascda. Mine has a nice spike going now in spite of mostly overcast weather the past few months, altho it got lots of sun prior.
Some other of the small vandaceous plants may do well - Neofinetia and hybrids of. Sedirea. Haraella.

You didn't mention Oncidium - I don't know if you care for them but many Oncidiums and Onc alliiance inter-generics do great on windowsills.