Beginner Grower - Things Learned

[Kruger]

I've been into orchids seriously for 2 years. I have made a lot of mistakes and corrections since I started; I thought maybe I would share them if they might help you along. I hope the moderators and experts chime to correct me or if they have additional advice. I still think I have many many years to go before I get good at this, but maybe my initial mindset is relatable to some out there and I hope you don't make the same mistakes I did. Also, I'm not an old man that is going to eschew modern technology, be drunk on wistfulness, or yell at clouds.

Things I learned:

1) You will kill a lot of plants in the process most likely due to your improper care, but you will get better. Don't sweat it. When you throw a plant in the trash, ask yourself what caused this plants death so you learn.

2) Don't try to overcome improper environments with an excess of something else. If a plant needs high humidity that you cannot achieve, over watering will not help and will likely just rot the plant. You need to have a good balance of everything.

3) Strive to have plants that thrive. Don't worry about the flowers (those will come later). Don't accept a plant that just gets by and didn't die. You should seek to provide an environment that your orchids explode in. Orchids are very robust plants and can reward you if you give them what they want.



At the risk of exposing you to an untidy room and my early photos that are embarrassing with my mistakes, here are the major steps I felt made me a better grower.


1) My first orchids, you gotta start somewhere. I still have one of the these today. This is a north window with insufficient light. It took me a few months to accept the plants weren't getting the amount of light they needed.