Growing Orchids

i have never used mala for mites. it kills pretty much everything and it smells awlful. i do have experience with FORBID and FLOROMITE. in fact you can mix them together. AND it only kills mites. not any beneficials in your gh. like a stray lady bug. you would think the thick fleshy leaves would be enough to deter them but i guess not. so clivia only blooms when potbound? that's interesting. i know they're really expensive. i've never owned one.

For the growing orchid you have knowledge about that, grow orchid in a light but do not keep it direct from sunlight. It needs high temperature so grow it in these place where the temperature stay between 50 to 85 degrees. Do regularly drying altering and drenching rains. In the summer water it weekly. In the winter do not water it weekly, give it water monthly and keep it warm place.

There is an orchid that likes pretty much any environment. You just have to find the ones that like your conditions. Most of mine are NOT very happy but happy enough to provide some winter color in the greenhouse.

I have NO idea what this one is and the pics don't do it justice. It was a no label crap shoot that happens to still be alive. I do wonder what it is and danny I need some FORBID and FLORMITE badly. Until I looked at the pics I did not know the sap sucking little sob's were getting this one as well. The soaps just ain't cutting it!!!

I made a hydro system just for minature orchids because I love them so much. https://www.rollitup.org/gardening/502363-nft-orchid-tank.html

cannabineer said:

I have always admired how bulletproof Phalaenopsis are. I kept two of them alive and flowering for YEARS with a bare minimum of care. cn

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I started with them and I still have a few that bloom like clockwork every year! Probably the plant that most inspired me to get into horticulture.

I still have a phalaenopsis that I almost killed eight years ago. Ignorant of it's care I placed it in direct sun in the middle of july for an afternoon. I literally scorched every leaf on the plant and every leaf died, It lived as just a growth tip with amputated leaves and a root system for almost a year before it finally started to grow a new leaf. Now it has a full set of leaves again but it still hasn't forgiven me enough to actually flower again!!!!

hey everyone great thread, orchids are up there with my favorite plants to grow. Ever since I thought I killed my wife's orchid and threw it out 5 years ago, I have had an itch to get one again and so 3 weeks ago I did. Got one of them blue majestic orchids from silver vase and was quite disappointed to find out it was a blue dye injected into white phalaenopsis which I find to be quite cruel just to achieve a new color. Especially when there are so many beautiful colors out there already, and plus rep to you Danny for teaching me that orchids means balls. Next time the wife tells me to grow a pair, imma show up with a new orchid. lol

orchid=balls..lmao...i love to tell ppl that. it always gets a laugh..but it's true..more men than women collect them. i've found it to be true in my own travels. i'm going to a public garden next week. they have an incredible orchid house and i'll take a million pix. then post em

The greenhouses will be the balls. I don't know how they do it but the hanging, clinging, climbing stuff will be great and it will all look so good. A steamy greenhouse, a cold morning and a good buzz should be perfect.

That's an awesome idea I should go to our local greenhouse which I know has a testicle corner..daa mean orchid corner with a bunch of diff ones. Should also go take pics to post.

I hope you made it to the green house danny. It was cold and snowing here which would of made for a fine weekend to visit. If you did not make it don't forget next week end.
A bud just said I should head out to the arboretum at Smith college in North Hampton. Says it's worth the ride.

just got a blooming phaleanopsis today - i'll try to take some pictures before the inevitable happens (<-- ie it dies...)

mellokitty said:

just got a blooming phaleanopsis today - i'll try to take some pictures before the inevitable happens (<-- ie it dies...)

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Lol not very much faith in your orchid thumb? or should i say at taking care of testicles bahahahha. Great caint wait to see them pics, mine just finished blooming so there aint much to take pictures of right now. But I hope to make it out to our local greenhouse to take some pics of their orchid corner, ill probably make it out tomorrow.

smokey de bear said:

Lol not very much faith in your orchid thumb? or should i say at taking care of testicles bahahahha. Great caint wait to see them pics, mine just finished blooming so there aint much to take pictures of right now. But I hope to make it out to our local greenhouse to take some pics of their orchid corner, ill probably make it out tomorrow.

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lol, yeah, i'm still not sure if it's that i'm just bad at it, or if it's a self-fulfilling prophesy because i think i'm bad at it.

everything else grows fine for me but orchids are my waterloo.

Well kitty you should have plenty of time to post a picture before the STALK dies back. The noid I posted a picture of on 1/8/12 is still blooming. Not just the flowering stalk but the actual flower. I KNOW I have had a single flower last 6 weeks. At least it feels like that long. I am prone to exaggeration but I believe!!

if it comes with flowers, i can usually get them to last between a couple weeks and a month.... it's just getting new ones to form after that....

Never throw them out kitty. Mine are not always pretty but they live. Get them outside in the spring and let them get rained on. Come to think of it I guess I do have a FEW I should toss. (sigh). There are just so few things that give me winter color in new england,...,

Rottedroots said:

Never throw them out kitty. Mine are not always pretty but they live. Get them outside in the spring and let them get rained on. Come to think of it I guess I do have a FEW I should toss. (sigh). There are just so few things that give me winter color in new england,...,

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it's always with a heavy heart that i do....
and i'm in the same boat.... we grow KALE for winter colour around here

MIf your talking about a sweet bunch of cold season eating kale I will trade you two orchids and some snow covered parsley for a parsley sauce for over your boiled potatoes. The compost heap has to eat too.

Rottedroots said:

Never throw them out kitty. Mine are not always pretty but they live. Get them outside in the spring and let them get rained on. Come to think of it I guess I do have a FEW I should toss. (sigh). There are just so few things that give me winter color in new england,...,

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Agreed every time I thought my wife's orchid had died it shot up more shoots and flowers, till finally i was convinced it died, or convinced myself it was dead so we didn't have to care for it any more or was really high but either way I threw it out. 4 yrs later she still hasn't let me forget about the "murder of her orchid", I finally caved went out and got her a new one about a month ago now. Pollinated her which wifey was kinda upset about because it killed the flowers earlier but on the other hand it looks like 2 of her stems are swelling up with seeds, so babies soon hopefully i wanna fill a tank like the orchid tank thread on here.

Rottedroots said:

MIf your talking about a sweet bunch of cold season eating kale I will trade you two orchids and some snow covered parsley for a parsley sauce for over your boiled potatoes. The compost heap has to eat too.

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i forget what kind it is.... russian red, i think?