Orchidboard is a wonderful community...lots of information about orchids, friendly and generous orchid-lovers willing to share what they've learned over time.
If you are new to forums, please check out our informational thread on getting around:
http://www.orchidboard.com/community/about-board/15195-new-forums-some-tips-get-you-started.html and read through this article for more tips...

• Forum thread
• Read more

The genus Cochleanthes is a small group of orchids which they seem like pescatorea because they haven't pseudobulb and the inflorescence is pendulous or erect.
About the colture, they want high humidity ,warm-intermiedate temperatures , and the keep the plant moist but not too wet, to avoid rotten roots.
The flowers may appear in every period, but mostly in autumn or summer.

• Forum thread
• Read more

Here you are a wonderful species that it'a ideal for beginner because of its temperature tollerant and his showy flowering.
The flowers may be female or male and it depends by the quantity of light and humidity.

Few light+high humudity: male
Lot of light+low humidity: female

• Forum thread
• Read more

I've been keeping a few orchids for about five years. Recently, as my interest has shifted toward the smaller, humidity loving varieties, windowsill culture has become less suitable. In my climate (northern MN) it gets cold (it's -20 today) and extremely dry. In these growing conditions, a haven for my plants became necessary, so I built one.

• Forum thread
• Read more

I live in an apartment condominium in Northern Virginia. When I got interested in orchids I realized I had a desirable true east exposure from the windows. I fortunately also had 6 inch deep window sills. The apartment also has a whole house humidifier that runs at about 40+% humidity full-time during the heating season. Direct downdraft from the heater/air conditioning vents has been diverted so as not to strike the orchids. The few orchids with which I began seemed to thrive. Then one day my wife and I were at the National Capital Orchid Society show and she was captivated by a large, dark blue flower that we discovered was called a Vanda. On further research it seemed these orchids were particularly fussy in their cultural requirements. I read that most are grown bare root in hanging baskets, often outdoors in places like southern Florida. That the roots required frequent watering or misting. That they would not tolerate being too wet, nor too dry but demanded relatively high humidity. The also preferred bright indirect light but preferred only short periods of direct sunlight. These did not seem to be conditions easily met in a relatively small condominium where the growing spaces also doubled as bedrooms.
Being at a stage in life where I can afford to experiment, I decided to try to adjust the plants purported fussiness to the realities of my environment.
The first thing that had to go was the idea of a hanging basket. It had to grow in a pot and that had to be of modest dimensions.
Next it could not require too frequent watering. Orchids are my joy not my masters. I decided it probably would not like usual bark mixtures since they held too much moisture. Being willing to be avant-garde I decided to try EpiWeb imported by First Rays Orchids (www.firstrays.com) from Scandinavia. It is a firm foam-like plastic material made from recycled milk containers. It holds no water except what might get trapped in the tiny spaces in the foam. It is available in sheets for mounting but also in 1 inch cubes which was what I used. This material seemed adequate to support the roots and plant but I needed something to retain some moisture to fulfill the criteria of not requiring daily attendance. Again from Rays I decided to add in PrimeAgra which is a Light Expanded Clay Aggregate (LECA) of which there are several similar on the market. This product remains moist after soaking and is often used in semi-hydroponics culture. I mixed this about 3 to 1 of EpiWeb to PrimeAgra.
The lucky plant was a Pakchong Blue purchased mail order from Hausserman’s outside Chicago. It arrived in excellent condition on 11 July 2008. It was much larger than I was expecting being 16 inches tall. It was in a 6 inch clear plastic pot with a bark mixture that appeared rather old. On unpotting I found a 2 inch plastic basket with the original plant placed whole in the outer pot and then surrounded with the bark mix.

• Forum thread
• Read more

am in my early 50’s and for the last 7 years have been getting more serious about growing orchids. My interest, however, goes back over 35 years to my late cousin, who is responsible for my love of orchids. I was in high school and my cousin, Charles Weigner, was owner of the Orchid Loft in Perkasie, PA. One summer in the early 1970’s he was going to South America on a collecting trip and asked me to stay and tend his orchids while he was gone. For three weeks I roamed the greenhouses, tended the orchids per his instructions and became fascinated with them. I went on to other things, however, and my cousin later died in 1985. While my fascination of orchids continued, and I tried an orchid or two (with no success) over the years, it was not until 2001 that I was in a position to give it a serious try. It was then, while searching the internet, that I discovered that my cousin had hybridized and named an orchid after his mom (my aunt) named Paph. Eva Weigner. That did it, and my quest to obtain that particular plant as well as other plants originating from him began, I guess in part as an attempt to preserve some heritage of what my cousin had done. I started

• Forum thread
• Read more

hile many people discover their love for orchids when they received their very first phal as a gift, I got hooked to orchids after discovering some of the native beauties of my region. I was lucky enough to do the first two years of horticultural studies in a small college in the alpine town of Chambéry. One of my courses involved a series of hikes in the Alps around Chambéry to discover the local flora. Hike after hike, I became more and more attracted to these small orchids that survive the harsh alpine winters.

• Forum thread
• Read more

am not an orchid expert by any stretch of the imagination. I can honestly say that I am passionate about growing them, but not an expert by any stretch of the imagination. I am good enough to get someone who is a complete neophyte started, and that is about it. But part of that mad orchid passion involves getting folks started. Let me explain.

I have several possibly eccentric behaviors attached to my orchid fascination. The first one is, I love to rescue orchids from the clearance sections of Home Depot, Lowes, and Wal-mart. Perhaps you have seen them there, lonely and pathetic. This stems from a Charley Brown-esque compassion for the underdog plant, (And the fact that I am limited by my pocketbook). There are good and bad facets to this, as I am thrilled when I finally get to see what color the orchid I have bought will be, and have been blessed with spectacular foliage and blooms from these orphans (Only one has never bloomed - a ya). I have also been saddened to be turned away by garden department managers who wouldn't reduce prices on a flat of orchids that are obviously on their way out, and in sore need of nursing.

The other behavior is, standing in the orchid section of the store, soaking in the beautiful flowers, and striking up conversations with other folks who wander over to do the same. You can tell the ones who have no luck with orchids, with their furtive vaguely embarrassed but envious glances. I have this thing where I like to encourage and coach those folks through the basics of taking one home and trying again. I live in Central Florida, so this isn’t a daft concept. There is nothing finicky or fussy about growing your average orchid here. The average ambient humidity outdoors is only about 145%. Okay, it FEELS like 145%, but is sufficient to keep most orchids pretty happy. It is actually tougher to grow orchids indoors here.

• Forum thread
• Read more

here is a little-known group of orchids, approximately one-hundred species in fifteen or sixteen different genera, that are all miniatures and all worth growing. The best known genus in the group is Ornithocephalus, and the whole group is known as the Ornithocephalinae. Ornithocephalus mean "bird's head," and the group is well-named, since the similarity of the column to a bird's head is striking, while the whole flower often resembles a bird in flight.

These miniature species are well-worth growing and produce large numbers of flowers. Many are very attractive plants as well, producing fans of leaves, something on the order of a Tolumnia. These plants come from Mexico and range down into Central America and northern South America, especially Colombia and Ecuador, though they are found as far south as Brazil, Peru and Paraguay. They are most closely related to Maxillaria and with only one or two exceptions are under six inches with many of them much smaller.

• Forum thread
• Read more

et’s admit it, most of us have been faced with a pest/disease problem at one point or another, despite the best care and attention we give our orchids. Do the words crown rot, mealies, scale or rot sound familiar to you? When I first started with orchids two and a half years ago, I naively thought that I would never have any problems with my orchids since they were indoors. Boy was I wrong! I have had minor problems like small spots of rot, and bigger problems, like a large scale mealy bug invasion. Reaching for the bottle of commercial chemicals products will usually get the job done, but why use those when there are plenty of useful, less harmful (to us at least) things in our own homes? There are many home remedies that can help the overly anxious orchid addicts rid their much loved orchids of pests and rot issues.

• Forum thread
• Read more

mean, of course, "What's in an Orchid name ?"

I've noticed in the short time that I've been a member of the Orchid Board the confusion that beginners have with orchid names. The information they find on the tags that come with their orchids is a complete puzzle to them. I can sympathize. I remember the confusion I felt at the totally incomprehensible names and abbreviations I found. I was so confused that I threw away the tags that came with the first orchids I owned, not knowing how important they were. Not only did I consider their plastic ugliness a detraction from the flowers, but the information on them was meaningless to me.

Knowing the names of your orchids makes you seem more knowledgeable, but knowing the name can also get you a wealth of information about culture and care. Without a name a plant can't be entered for judging at an orchid show and ordinarily won't be considered for AOS awards - no name, no fame! Without a name no one else can envy you enough to find the orchid you have for themselves. It's in the hope that the following information will help beginners sort out the names of their plants and understand better the importance of these admittedly complicated names that this article is written. Don't throw your tags away; learn to read them.

• Forum thread
• Read more

rchids seem intimidating to grow for most beginners. But take it from this beginner (for the second time) they are easy to grow. The thing you need to watch out for is over/under watering and over fertilizing those are the main killers of plants of any kind. Another consideration is where to grow them. Some grow in windows, some under lights, some on their porches/lanais, some in green houses (if they have the area and money) and some like me a shade house. I have the warm weather here so year round shade house growing is the ticket. Of course even in more temperate climates it will work for late spring to early fall or into winter in south Texas/Florida or where you can maintain a good humidity say 45-55%.

Shade Houses can very simple lean-to’s to elaborate setups with concrete floors with wood or metal framing. Depending on the intensity of the Sun in your area the shade cloth can be anywhere between 30-70% here in Hawaii I use a 50% cloth with great results. I am using a metal frame made from 1 inch EMT conduit and fittings I got from ACE Hardware see list on bottom of page to find the parts on the web that they sell for Shade/Tents made for the EMT so any size you want can be assembled Mine for example is 8 by 10 feet and can be expanded at any time with little cost. I stretch the cloth over the pipe and hold it in place with plastic wire ties (zip-ties) see photos.
I built benches that are 6.5 by 2 feet out of treated pine (redwood was way too expensive here) that are at waist height (see photos and drawings) so there is no bending to exam plants.

• Forum thread
• Read more

ave you seen a photo of an orchid that made you say, "I wish I'd taken that"? Have you ever wished for photos of your own orchids that were not just average, but showed these exquisite flowers to their best advantage, photos that would remind you of your orchids when they were not blooming? Perhaps you've had such thoughts but have you somehow gotten the idea that really good photos are beyond your capabilities or financial resources? In this article I want to dispel some myths about orchid photography by way of showing that good pictures can be taken by anyone with a minimum of expense and expertise.
Good photographs of the orchids we grow are a record of the blooms and plants that provides a memory of their loveliness and of our success as growers. Good photographs give the grower and photographer an opportunity to show his or her success far beyond the local orchid society and visiting friends, and can even give the additional thrill of being published. I can remember the thrill of having my first photo published and remember as well the owners of orchids that had just been awarded hanging breathlessly over my shoulder to make sure that their plant was properly photographed, hoping that “their photo” would be published in color in one of the American Orchid Society (AOS) publications or the AOS annual calender. A good photograph can even be the only memory of a plant that has departed to orchid heaven.

• Forum thread
• Read more

few weeks ago I saw an episode of Nature on PBS that told a fascinating and astounding story about orchids, bees, rats, and Brazil nuts and their intricate ecosystem. Thinking about what I saw and learned on that show absolutely gives me goosebumps, even now.

Let me tell you about the Brazil nut tree – Bertholletia excelsa. In the Amazon jungle countries of Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador, the Brazil nut trees grow to heights of 200+ feet, producing nuts that many of us enjoy and that provide a substantial source of income for the people of these countries.

In fact, export sales of Brazil nuts are In fact, export sales of Brazil nuts are second only to those of rubber, adding $44 million annually to South American economies. We Americans chow down on $17 million of them every year. These amazing trees can live from 500 – 800 years and don’t start producing until they’re 10 to 30 years old! (And we thought orchids were slow!) The nuts are contained in a pod the size of a large grapefruit. When ripe, these pods fall like cannon balls from heights of 150 feet or more and reach speeds of up to 50 miles per hour. Look out below! Anything hit by one is quickly done in!

Amazingly, the pod is the proverbial “tough nut to crack” and doesn’t break open from this fall. For many years no one knew how the pods were opened so that the nuts could escape and start new trees. Recently scientists conducted an experiment to find out, thinking that it was some kind of animal with a powerful jaw that could crack them open. They cut some pods open, attached magnets to the seeds (15 to 25 per pod arranged like orange slices), and resealed them. Then they traced the little magnets with a big one. To their great surprise, they discovered that a large (rabbit-sized – up to 10 lbs.) rat called an agouti (of the genus Dasyprocta), with chisel sharp front teeth, was the sole pod opener! Since virtually all Brazil nut production comes from wild forest trees and wild harvesting, the agouti is essential in dispersing seeds to start new trees. Although cultivated Brazil nut plantations are being tried, they don’t do very well because of a dearth of pollinator bees.

Brazil nut trees have large, tough, complexly coiled, yellow flowers with a heavy hood. These flowers can be pollinated only by an insect that is strong enough to lift the hood and that has a tongue long enough to negotiate the complex coils. Pollination is accomplished exclusively by a specific type of Euglossine or
“orchid bee”, and only the female bee can do this. The males have other things to do. These bees are found almost exclusively in the wild, where they live solitary lives, with no hives that can be moved to plantations for pollination purposes. Hence the problems with getting plantation trees pollinated.

• Forum thread
• Read more

live in Southeastern PA and grow my plants indoors during the colder months. Because I have a manageable collection (my wife would argue about the term "managable"), I have adopted a few techniques that just about anyone can use to help save growing space and improve the growing form of your plants. Specifically I am referring to the cattleya alliance, but this could be applicable to other orchids with sympodial growth habit.

Materials needed: Raffia (from Michaels or other hobby store) [or coated wire if you prefer]; Bamboo skewers (from grocery store) [or bamboo or metal stake]; sterile (ie, new) razor blades or razor knife

When new growths are about 1/3-1/2 developed, I soak a length of raffia in soapy water or a weak physan solution (physan is a great surfactent); once softened up I will tie a knot around a stout pseudobulb adjacent to the new growth. I then loop the raffia around the emerging growth, tie a simple overhand knot (like tying your shoelace) and very slowly and carefully pull the raffia tighter until the emerging growth starts to straighted to a more verticle position. You need to be careful here - if the growth is too young, or if you pull too tight, you could break the growth. If you do this when you first obtain your plants, eventually you will end up with most of your p'bulbs and leaves rather perfectly upright. The limiting factor is the underlying growth habit of your plant, determined by its genetics. For example, I love the blooms of LC Marie's Song 'CTM 217'. However, the foliage is very sloppy and tends to "flop" over. For plants like this there is little you can do. But for plants with an inherently better growth habit, "training" new growths produces a neater looking plant and avoids having pseudobulbs sticking out at odd angles. You will be amazed at how much more growing space can be liberated by "training" plants like this. If you don't have a stout p'bulb to anchor your raffia, or if an existing mature p'bulb is not in the position you need, insert a bamboo skewer (or a more substantial stake if needed), tie a double overhand knot at the desired height, and use this as your "anchor" to pull the new growth into the desired direction. If, after the raffia dries out, you find that the knot you tied to the stake is loose and slides down, simply secure it in place with a bit of masking tape.

• Forum thread
• Read more