While we're discussing plants - anybody into orchids?

[spark]

It seems the next natural move for me, really. I mean I have fruit and veggies, I have garden flowers, I have herbs, I have cacti/succulents, and I have carnivores... what's left but orchids? :D

Just curious if anybody here grows any. I've poked about the internet a bit, but it's a MUCH bigger hobby than carnivorous plants, the number of sites and the amount of information out there is kind of overwhelming, not to mention the number of plants! I hardly know where to begin.

[RootedPhoenix]

I like orchids, but I hear they're really really hard to take care of. I haven't gotten any for this reason.

[spark]

Well, from what I've read so far some are easier than others. Over all they're supposed to be a little bit easier than carnivores, so I'm hopefull I'll be able to keep some alive.

[Kittish]

The only sort of orchid I've had any experience and/or luck with is an oncidium. They're the ones that do the sprays of little yellow flowers that have the dark red/brown spots on them. And I lived in central Texas at the time, so it was pretty easy for me. Hang them in a shady spot during the warmer months and hit them with the water hose every day or every other day, then take them inside for the winter and spray them with my mister every day.

From what I recall, most orchids like fairly bright but indirect light and do need frequent misting or spraying. They do NOT like direct sun, it will fry an orchid pretty quickly. When they're happy, they'll bloom their hearts out for you, and the flowers last quite a long time.

I don't recall that I ever did anything for feeding it, and I had the one oncidium for several years and it bloomed almost every summer. I do remember that it was planted in some sort of bark mulch, not potting soil. I've also seen orchids that were attached to sheets of bark, but I don't know how difficult it would be to maintain an orchid set up like that.

[Taboo]

I love orchids.

Unfortunately, I've killed every plant I've owned so far (even tomatoes and cacti!) so no orchids for me.

[sms001]

I hardly know where to begin.

Well Spark, you've prompted me to post pics two times in as many days. :)

My wife has been an avid orchid grower for quite a few years. Doesn't seem like they are especially high maintenance care-wise, but they DO seem finicky in regards to location/setup, as mentioned by Kittish. I'll ask her and post here about good prospects for beginners.

[spark]

Ooo. Awesome plants!

[sms001]

Ok Spark, my wife said much along the lines of Kittish.

She said probably the easiest were (And forgive any misspellings - I ain't gonna google something I'll probably never type again :) ) dendrobium, oncidium, and phalanopsis .

She said the "hard" part was getting over the cliche of orchids being delicate tropical rainforest humidity lovers. She did have to tweak where she put them (hence their all being gathered on the set of shelves in the photo). They HATED our walkup in Chicago; way too much pollution. :( Most of the other particulars you can probably hunt down online, but if you have any questions, I'd be happy to pass them along.

She gets good flowers often throughout the year it seems.

Good luck and have fun.

[spark]

Thanks!

The same "delicate tropic" myth thing happens with carnivorous plants. It's funny because most of the common ones you find in cultivation COME from the usa! Venus fly traps, temperate pitcher plants, sundews... you get some of them all the way up into Alaska, they're not tripical at all.