Keeping track of cultural needs

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by D_novice

Dennis Olivas, a famous Bay Area grower with, I think, 10s of thousands of orchids, has said "I treat all my plants the same. I don't have time to figure out individual needs." I'm sure that's an exaggeration, and that he does group plants by light / temp / watering / dry winter needs to some degree or another. He doesn't have to deal with extreme conditions, by and large, which helps.

It could well be an exaggeration.

But maybe he just means - in general.

We know that particular kinds of plants will grow optimally under particular conditions.

You're right about not having to deal with extreme conditions. In my part of Australia, I'm pretty sure that a lot of us orchid growers here in this region are fortunate to have good general growing conditions. No extreme conditions - no frost, no extreme heat, no extreme temperatures, reasonably good humidity --- not too high, not too low.

I can understand the challenges faced in other parts of the world --- especially in snow countries or relatively cold winters. And people living in apartments of certain types.

Regardless of where the orchids are grown, it naturally becomes a case of providing conditions needed for the orchid to grow well. Practical constraints may require compromises to be made. Sometimes - there can be no compromises.

In general though - if the orchid grower follows some basic golden rules associated with orchid growing, and has a fair understanding of what most orchids need in terms of staying healthy ----- then that's usually enough to keep most mainstream orchids alive and healthy.

It certainly does help to know the natural habitat of some kinds of orchids ----- just as it is to know the same sort of information about other plants that require particular sorts of conditions (temperature etc) to grow.

For example, tulips don't grow well, or at all in my part of the world -- northern australia. We can't grow peach trees or cherry trees well here. So ----- not surprising that certain kinds of orchids might not do well here - even though lots of orchids (tropical type) do really well here.