Anyone successfully grow orchids?

[masraum]

I've had a few orchids over the last 10-15 years. They've bloomed, then I usually manage to keep them alive (barely) for a year or two, then they die, no reblooming. I tried to give them what they want, but it was, I think too little or too much. Times when they didn't get water often enough followed by times when I over watered. I didn't know what I was doing and was too distracted by life. The missus has talked about wanting orchids, but she's just going to enjoy the flowers. I'm the one that's going to learn to not kill them, and hopefully, keep them healthy enough to bloom again.

I'm trying again, but this time I'm older, with more time and more commitment. I've had one now since Nov. I was doing OK with it, then I think it get over-fertilized, but I've corrected the issue before it got too far. It's putting out a fair amount of new growth. I'm hoping that it blooms again in the next 6 months, but I may have set it back a bit. And with the amount of new growth that it has, it may need a break before it's ready to flower again.

When I bought it.
Cattleya Lc. Chyong Guu Swan 'Ruby Lip'


Then because I was doing pretty well, I bought another.
Oncidium Bnfld Gilded Tower 'Mystic Maze'


Then my mom was in town and bought me another. This is basically the same type that you would get at many/most grocery stores and big box stores.
Random Phalaenopsis.


Then I went to a local orchid shop for supplies. They were having a 20% off sale, so I ended up with this.
Grammatocymbidium Memoria Nathan Newman 'NN'


I should have looked that one up before I bought it. It's currently about 2.5' tall and was in a 4.5" pot, but now I'm having to repot it into an 8" pot. I'm afraid it's going to end up being 4-6' tall. Someone on an orchid board told me that I have a St Bernard puppy.

I was doing well with the first one, but then ended up over fertilizing. I have repotted it into a larger pot and gotten advice on fertilizing.

The Phalaenopsis is still blooming and is doing pretty well, but it was in the potting media that they come in which is good for the nurseries that grow them and sell them, but actually bad for the plant. I was hoping to be able to wait to report it after the blooms had fallen, but they are fairly long lived and it has put out new buds, so I had to repot it anyway.

WHen I lived in a house, I had yard plants. I have a slightly greenish yellow thumb. I'm smart enough to let mother nature take care of plants when I can, but in the apartment, that's not an option for me. These seem like they will actually be fairly easy once I get the hang of them. They should be attractive and interesting, and the learning curve and attempting to master the method will stimulate my interest.

[cstreit]

Ive had the same experience. ONE time I managed to get one to start re-blooming. Then the flowers dried up and the plant died. Love them. Hate them.

[id10t]

Wife doesok with 6 or so above the kitchen sink. They bloom every year or so, one of them typically has a bloom or three.

[Don Ro]

Yours are beautiful!!!
.
I hear they're a difficult plant. I bought mine at Home de Pot and it bloomed constantly for several months...grew and grew and bloomed and bloomed.
When I watered my other plants I'd give the Orchid only a slight drink...
and sometimes some weak fish emulsion. I noticed the other day that there is Orchid food by Miracle Grow.
It's now w/o blossoms and still alive.
I need to Google about them and learn.
.
My Sun Room Orchid. Hope this is right side up:
.

[greglepore]

Low soil moisture high relative humidity. They love sink windows and very little water


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[wdfifteen]

Mrs WD has multiple orchids growing all the the time.
I'll ask her the secret.

OK

nighttime temps no less than 45 f
bright, but diffused sunlight
humid air
roots would rather be under watered than over watered
she waters them buy dropping an ice cube in the pot every 4 days
They need a very light growing medium, you can buy soil just for orchids
biggest problem is root rot, from the roots being too wet.
Expect them to bloom about twice a year blossoms will last months.
cut the stem off when the bloom is done

[Scott Douglas]

Our neighbors invariably give us one for Christmas. We try to replant them outside but I don't think they've done so well.
I use them as photo subjects. They pose well and don't move either.

[wdfifteen]

Great pics Scott!!!

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Don Ro

Yours are beautiful!!!
.
I hear they're a difficult plant. I bought mine at Home de Pot and it bloomed constantly for several months...grew and grew and bloomed and bloomed.
When I watered my other plants I'd give the Orchid only a slight drink...
and sometimes some weak fish emulsion. I noticed the other day that there is Orchid food by Miracle Grow.
It's now w/o blossoms and still alive.
I need to Google about them and learn.
.
My Sun Room Orchid. Hope this is right side up:
.

Yes, most folks think they are delicate and hard to grow. What I'm hearing/reading on the various orchid boards is that they (most) aren't delicate or hard to grow. I think the deal is that they are so different to grow from most other plants, but people treat them like other plants.

If you want to learn more about them:
This seems to be the PelicanParts of Orchids.
Orchid Board - Most Complete Orchid Forum on the web !

Another decent Orchid forum
OrchidTalk Orchid Forum

And this guy (who posts to both forums) has 40 years orchid experience, used to have an orchid based business, and is or at least was an engineer of some sort, so he tackles stuff from a how and why does it work perspective. He also gives talks on Orchids. He's got lots of good stuff in the "Free Information" section of his website.
Treat Your Plants Right! - First Rays LLC

Also, this girl has a very well done youtube channel with good, well thought out information. She's got lots of videos of various orchid based subject matter.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC84mfcCFGDPeeBhKbG8dijQ

Originally Posted by greglepore

Low soil moisture high relative humidity. They love sink windows and very little water


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah, that's mostly true.

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

Mrs WD has multiple orchids growing all the the time.
I'll ask her the secret.

OK

nighttime temps no less than 45 f
bright, but diffused sunlight
humid air
roots would rather be under watered than over watered
she waters them buy dropping an ice cube in the pot every 4 days
They need a very light growing medium, you can buy soil just for orchids
biggest problem is root rot, from the roots being too wet.
Expect them to bloom about twice a year blossoms will last months.
cut the stem off when the bloom is done

Very nice. She's doing very well.

I've read that there are something like 25,000-35,000 species of orchids and another 65,000 hybrids. As you can imagine, that means that the range of environments and growth habits can vary a lot. But yeah, that seems to be a pretty good summary for most.

FYI, if you visit any orchid forums, you'll find that everyone says the ice cube thing is a very bad idea. Most orchids are tropical, so the cold temps can be bad for them. I think the key may be to not put the ice right on any part of the orchid. Obviously, it's working well for the missus, so I'm not suggesting that she change anything.

Just one more tidbit. Some orchids will grow a baby (called keiki) on the stems after they bloom. Some will also grow another branch of flowers on a stem that all of the flowers have fallen from so if she doesn't cut them, she may get a surprise. Most of the folks on the forums recommend waiting until the stalk turns brown to cut it off. Again, if she's getting good results the way she's been doing it, she probably doesn't need to change anything.

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

Our neighbors invariably give us one for Christmas. We try to replant them outside but I don't think they've done so well.
I use them as photo subjects. They pose well and don't move either.

Great shot. I love it in black and white.

Most orchids are epiphytic, they grow stuck to the outside of a tree (some are lithophytic and grow stuck to rocks) so the roots like to get lots of air. Those types of orchids can/probably will have their roots die if they are grown in regular potting soil, earth or the ground. The common media to grow orchids in is bark chips, kind of like the stuff that you'd buy to use as mulch. My mom who lives in coastal FL on a pond just straps them to a tree behind her house.

Most are not going to do well if the temps get below 50 or 55° although some can do OK with cooler temps since some grow at high elevations in the mountains. Of course, those don't usually do very well with high temps.

They usually also like very low levels of fertilizer. Especially when you consider that they don't get nutrients from the trees or rocks that they grow on and they only get rain water which is fairly pure. They generally get very little "food".

There are some terrestrial orchids that are grown in soil or more ordinary potting mix stuff, but those are certainly not as common in stores as the epiphytic types.

This is how many of them grow in the wild.


I took these pics in the Amazon in Brazil.




A lot of folks mount then when growing at home. They need to be watered more frequently this way, probably once or twice a day.



I'd like to do something like that some day, but I'm thinking more about a fern stick or the kind of thing that you'd let a pothos Ivy climb in a pot.

[dennis in se pa]

I have 10-15 of them. Sequoia wood chips as a medium. Water about 4 oz once a week. No lower than 60 degrees. When the bloom falls off trim the spike off 1 node (bump) below the last bloom. If it does not regenerate in a month or so trim it off near the base. In a few months it will grow a new spike. The biggest reason they don't make it - over watering. Second biggest - many stores have them in the wrong medium. They must be in orchid medium in pots that breathe.

[nota]

''Most orchids are epiphytic, they grow stuck to the outside of a tree ''

that is how the wife grows them
they are tied to trees in the yard with cotton twine
twine will rot away but the orchids attach on their own over time
it helps we are in miami where it never gets too cold or above the 90's
there must be near a 100 scattered about [we have lots of trees]

there are lots of different kinds with varying water sun food requirements
most seem to do well with minimum water sun and food so doNOT over do any of that

inside orchids require much more care as most inside homes tend to be dry
unlike our high humid outside environment

[cbush]

A topic I actually know something about The trick with orchids is that the term orchid encompasses a huge variety of plants- that all have different needs and requirements to survive and bloom. It helps to have a greenhouse, but it isn't required.

A good source of info in addition to the ones mentioned above is the American Orchid Society. (AOS.org). They have culture sheets for different types of orchids that tells you what they need to do well, as well as tips for growing indoors. I joined a local orchid society, and get a lot of information from the folks that grow in my area.

I enjoy orchids due to the challenges of growing them, and then the satisfaction when they bloom. This is one of my favorites.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by nota

''Most orchids are epiphytic, they grow stuck to the outside of a tree ''

that is how the wife grows them
they are tied to trees in the yard with cotton twine
twine will rot away but the orchids attach on their own over time
it helps we are in miami where it never gets too cold or above the 90's
there must be near a 100 scattered about [we have lots of trees]

there are lots of different kinds with varying water sun food requirements
most seem to do well with minimum water sun and food so doNOT over do any of that

inside orchids require much more care as most inside homes tend to be dry
unlike our high humid outside environment

Nice. It sounds like a good setup and would be my preferred, surround myself with them, but let Mother Nature take care of them.

My mom lives about 140-150 miles north of you on the coast, so she does something similar.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by cbush

A topic I actually know something about The trick with orchids is that the term orchid encompasses a huge variety of plants- that all have different needs and requirements to survive and bloom. It helps to have a greenhouse, but it isn't required.

A good source of info in addition to the ones mentioned above is the American Orchid Society. (AOS.org). They have culture sheets for different types of orchids that tells you what they need to do well, as well as tips for growing indoors. I joined a local orchid society, and get a lot of information from the folks that grow in my area.

I enjoy orchids due to the challenges of growing them, and then the satisfaction when they bloom. This is one of my favorites.

Good stuff, Chuck.

I want a Catasetum (I think you've got a couple hanging in baskets on the right foreground and farther back, right?). Besides orchid blooms, I like that the plants are so alien looking like the bulbs on a Catasetum.

I used to have a pencil cactus. I think that's one a little bit back on the left, but it looks much taller than the one that I had.

Very good stuff. Yeah, I'm using humidity trays for mine since they are inside.

[gtc]

I've had a few. I quickly discovered that it is pretty important to determine the species and find out how to care for them individually.

I had a home depot phalaenopsis that absolutely thrived in the original moss/junk potting material with it's roots soaked, despite all advice to re-pot it.

[Superman]

Mine do okay. Bright, indirect sunlight. ZERO direct sunlight. I water them with ice cubes, about once per week.

[cbush]

Catasetum's are a perfect example of an orchid that is very particular about how it is grown. It gets zero water in the winter and all the leaves fall off, and then once the new growth in the Spring is a few inches tall, you water and fertilize them pretty heavily until they put out large sprays of blooms. The flowers last for weeks. Pretty cool, and then you start over in the fall.


The most common orchid you see is the Phalanopsis. They are sold in stores for not much more than cut flowers, and the blooms last for months. You can grow them in your window sill but they do like humidity so a gravel tray is good. I wouldn't recommend ice cubes as that cold water shocks the roots, but a good rule of thumb for orchids is that if it is working for your plant, keep doing it. Normally for an indoor plant, I just put the pot in the sink and soak with water until it is all wet and the roots are green and fat. Phalanopsis don't like to dry out completely, but don't like to be soggy either. Phalanopsis are low light plants- basically you don't want to be able to cast a shadow from the sunlight.

The other think about Phalanopsis is that if you want them to bloom they need temperature variations. So put them outside in the shade in the late summer/ early fall, so they will get the temp changes and set a bloom spike. Then you can bring them back in before it gets too cold (low 40s at night).

[masraum]

Originally Posted by gtc

I've had a few. I quickly discovered that it is pretty important to determine the species and find out how to care for them individually.

I had a home depot phalaenopsis that absolutely thrived in the original moss/junk potting material with it's roots soaked, despite all advice to re-pot it.

Exactly. They have varying needs for water, light, temp etc... Some grow in dirt, some grow in a very coarse media like bark chips (or balls of baked clay like the clay pots are made of). Some stay small and some can get enormous. It's important to either research after you buy (or even better, before you buy).

[masraum]

Originally Posted by cbush

Catasetum's are a perfect example of an orchid that is very particular about how it is grown. It gets zero water in the winter and all the leaves fall off, and then once the new growth in the Spring is a few inches tall, you water and fertilize them pretty heavily until they put out large sprays of blooms. The flowers last for weeks. Pretty cool, and then you start over in the fall.

I like the way Catasetums' pseudobulbs look after they've dropped their leaves, almost like something out of a sci-fi movie. I've just recently been reading a thread about their dormancy and how you don't water them until the roots are quite long.

The most common orchid you see is the Phalanopsis. They are sold in stores for not much more than cut flowers, and the blooms last for months. You can grow them in your window sill but they do like humidity so a gravel tray is good. I wouldn't recommend ice cubes as that cold water shocks the roots, but a good rule of thumb for orchids is that if it is working for your plant, keep doing it. Normally for an indoor plant, I just put the pot in the sink and soak with water until it is all wet and the roots are green and fat. Phalanopsis don't like to dry out completely, but don't like to be soggy either. Phalanopsis are low light plants- basically you don't want to be able to cast a shadow from the sunlight.

The other think about Phalanopsis is that if you want them to bloom they need temperature variations. So put them outside in the shade in the late summer/ early fall, so they will get the temp changes and set a bloom spike. Then you can bring them back in before it gets too cold (low 40s at night).

OK, what the hell is that ^? No, really, what specifically is that? I love the leaves.

[masraum]

And thanks to whatever mod fixed my title. I wasn't sure if formatting would work in the title, and then when I found out, it was too late.