What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

My next orchid

yay i have now found a nersery with a stock of 100 orchids, im new
to orchids and now i adore them! ( thanks to star man, btw im not nikky who is nikky?) I want to buy a new orchid to add to my one plant colection. does anyone have a favorite orchid who just love to flower? or a stuning easy orchid. I have heard of a vanda which is sopose to be a good choise, or this oncidum papilio who never stops flowering. dang, who came up with these names, i can learn the classification and identification of all eastern us trees in existance( you name it acer, quercus, populus, salix...) but i cant learn these orchid names!
confused.gif
well anyway any information or guildance would be apreatiated.
 
ooooooh Vandas are a bad choice for begginers............but somebody will most likely attack me like they did in the Vanilla thread if I say that though so Il just say the easy ones

Pahleanopsis are the easiest tropical orchid if youre starting out.

Oncidum alliance is also easy but there are horror stories of them dying if the nights are too hot in summer

But if youre complete beginner Id reccomend Phaleanopsis, then when you get the hang of it get a Cattleya an/or Oncidium and build your collection up, it just seems to grow without you realising it

smile_n_32.gif
 
Phals are a great choice.  Most of the hybrid Phals you'll see in groceries and building supply stores and so on will bloom only once per year, beginning in the winter, but the flowers can last for months.  They're almost pest-free, they like low light and their fleshy leaves tolerate low or fluctuating humidity without any problem.  That can't be said for a lot of those supposedly easy Oncid complex orchids.  Many (non-nursery) stores sell them for a fraction of their regular price after they stop blooming.  That's when I buy them and you should keep an eye out for them, sometimes at prices under $5.

Among species, a good choice is the cockleshell orchid, Anacheilium cochleatum - http://orchidspecies.com/orphotdir/enccochleatainsitu.jpg - which, until very recently was known as Encyclia cochleata.  I don't know why it's called a cockleshell because everyone thinks its flower looks like an octopus.  But it's a tolerant plant and some can bloom continuously.  There are many species of Encyclias and their close cousins, the Epidendrums, that are reliable bloomers even in less than perfect conditions.
 
Vandas arent a bad choice if yah lived in an area with really high humidity but they arent a very good for typical indoor growing. i have an unknown Oncidium hybrid that will bloom on every new psuedobulb even being abused, which works out to be 3 or 4 times a year. Phals are good but ive had so-so luck with them for some unknown reason but the hybrids you see everywhere are definatly a begineers orchid. some of the Dendrobiums are fairly easy but the supermarket ones generally take a crash on me when i get them and than "come back from the dead" to bloom again 8 months down the road or so. i havent tried the one Bruce mentioned but ive heard others recommend it as a beginners and Bruce has been growing orchids longer than i have. basically it comes down to are you just interested in growing orchids or are there certain flower shapes(Phal vs Cattleya, Oncidium vs Dendro, ect) that you prefer?
 
i had a vanda for my second or third orchid. i don't like them because they get so tall but they did great in the terrarium.

i have a soft spot for Bulbos and Paphs.
 
Colminara Wildcat would be a good one to try.  Although its not called calmnara anymore because of a name change, but I;m sure you can find it listed as that still.  I find gongora to be farely easy and I grew it indoors when I first got it.  Vandas I would say are not a beginer orchid.  Dendrobiums are farely easy and will do good in full sun most of the day.  Just work them in slowly till they are in it 4 to 6 hours a day.  They even rebloom on old canes when given enough light.  I have one that is producing 3 spikes 2 from old canes.  Hmmmm  I personaly didn't do good with Phals at first, but I have gotten better.  Cattleya alliances some people say are good, but need alot of light to rebloom.  Most do anyways.  My first cattleya hasn;t rebloomed in 2 years.  Hopefully it will now thatws its getting alot of sun.  Hmmm  Oncidiums are farely easy get a Sherry baby or a sweet sugar and they will be farely easy to bloom.  I have a NoID Brassia hybred from lowes that has 4 spikes this year because it been given enough light. Its hopefully will produce more than 4 new growths after this flower. The biggest thing I have found with orchids is light.  Not enohg and it will not bloom.  The two that I find bloom for me on a regular basis no matter what the conditions is my Gongora tricolor 'liveoak' and Colminara Wildcat 'ocelot'.  Just don't get discoraged if you kill a few and don;t get discoraged if you don;t get them to rebloom it takes time to learn what they like.  I am just now starting to get things to bloom on a regular basis after about 3 years growing.
 
Back
Top