orchids
 

Anyone here into growing them? I can keep them alive and occasionally one will bloom but man they are fickle buggers.:mad:

Yes, there's another thread that I started a year or two ago. I've had a few over the years that I managed to keep alive for a few years (but only just barely), but never bloomed again.

Where my mom lives, she can strap them to a tree in her backyard and they grow and bloom year after year, but then she does live in south Florida with a pond behind her place.

About 2 years ago, I bought some more over the course of 9 months or so. I have about 7-8 on a window sill. I did some research on a couple of Pelican-like Orchid forums and then found something that helped me, a growing method called "semi-hydro". And what was even better, was the guy that "invented" the semi-hydro method of growing orchids something like 20 years ago, was active on one of the forums that I had been researching on. He's got a website. he used to sell the stuff to do it, but recently moved and shutdown 95% of his business. If you're curious, here's his site that's got tons of info on semi-hydro. There's info under the "semi hydroponics" link and under the "free information" link.

Treat Your Plants Right! - First Rays LLC

Found my other thread about Orchids

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/961281-anyone-successfully-grow-orchids.html?highlight=orchids

Terrific! Thank you!SmileWavy

Mom's cousin grew orchids. His house had rough rock walls and flagstone floors with a drain. i stuffed sponges between the rocks and grew orchids from that. When he watered he used a sprayer and watered the whole wall.

They love growing in spagnum moss. My wife loves them. We have two growing in pots indoors that just keep flowering

Sphagnum can be tough to grow in. A lot of the stuff that you buy may be growing in sphagnum. The problem is that it's usually packed in so tight that the roots don't get air and they stay too wet and they rot. Some folks have figured out a way to grow them in sphagnum.

A big part of it is how will Orchid X grow well in your environment. THe guy that invented the semi-hydro method, grew lots of stuff that way but had certain orchids that just would not grow that way for him. Other folks grow the same orchids just fine in semi-hydro.

I would love to have mounted orchids, so they were growing the way they do in nature, clinging to a bit of wood, but since I grow inside and my place has the AC running almost year 'round, it won't work well because my place isn't humid enough. I'd have to be here to water mist, probably multiple times a day every day.

No Orchids but I have grown....ahhh well forget about it...i have.

Orchids come from many different climates
each has their own needs and requirements
some are very very picky esp about flowering
other flower often

there are few universal rules for sun food or water for all of them
pick one type and learn what it needs hopefully one that is near your climate
or at least can tolerate it with care

their are a few that can thrive in dry indoor low light
but not the spectacular ones