I forgot...

Bletilla striata has the added advantage of even having a total noob to orchids being able to grow them from seed without any special care.

Just grab a pot. Put in a little potting soil. Surface sow. Put in indirect bright light. Water when dry. And within a month, they'll sprout.

It's pretty much like sowing the seeds of your favorite small seeded perennials.

Beats having to grow orchid seeds in a sterile bottle any day! :biggrin:

I would not recommend Phals as a beginner orchid. Once you figure out their culture they are easy to grow and bloom. However, they have about zero tolerance for culture mistakes. Orchids that have pseudobulbs are a little more forgiving. If you screw up and the roots rot the big fat old bulbs will usually be enough to keep it going until it grows new roots. It's kind of a nice safety net. Phals don't have a safety net.

LOL I have bought Bletilla striata many times and never had one do well....might be they were in the pkg to long at the store ..whatever reason they have never proven easy for me ...easy is going to depend entirely on your grow area and your experiance with plants in general In my opinion.

As for phals never had one from home depo or Wal Mart fail on me but I had several years of experiance killing mail order dens and finaly discovering how to grow them before I tried a phal ......and that was with out a internet forum to turn to for advice....

The answer is truly pick something that is not too expensive that you like and try one ....

I found Phaius extreamly easy to keep alive and growing but it took 3 or four years before I rebloomed one,and that was entirely due to advice recieved from OB members on how to grow one.....

Quite a divergence of opinions here. One person's easiest is someone else's impossible, and that doesn't end up being very helpful for a beginner.

You really do need to research the requirements of various types and decide on something you can provide the right light and temperature for. Start with 2 or 3 different types, make sure you get printed instructions from the vendor, and take your time to pick out healthy plants.

At many orchid shows or garden shows you can find a friendly stranger who is more than willing to answer a few questions or help you pick out a healthy plant. Just break the ice by remarking on an attractive plant and ask if they are already growing orchids.

The most important 'anything else' you can buy is a book that gives basic information about a variety of orchids. You will be more confident going forward if you have something written to rely on and learn from. And don't leave the garden show without finding out what fertilizer you need and picking some up if you don't already have something appropriate.

Whatever plants you choose they should be in bud or in flower so you get some immediate gratification, take your time to pick out healthy ones, and stick to things well within your budget so it won't be too painful when you lose one - and EVERYONE kills a few sooner or later. Unlike some others I would still recommend Phalaenopsis as a first plant to consider. I would also recommend Paphiopedilum Maudiae types, Oncidium hybrids, Ludisia discolor, and Anacheilium and Phaius are good suggestions others mentioned - but it all depends on what conditions you can give and how much space you have.

Whatever you end up with the forum is here to help you along.

Hmm...

I've bought them from every place but an orchid nursery and they've done wonderfully more often than not.

The wholesale nursery that supplies these retail nurseries or garden centers is Van Bleom Gardens. Yup, the same company that sells tulips and daffodils and such to places like The Home Depot, Lowes, OSH, and just about every nursery or garden center in the United States.

I always pick out the ones with the most number of large shoots. They should look like a large dog's canine teeth.

If the tuberous growths show any signs of molding or rotting, I don't purchase them.

I grab a pot that's about the same size as the tuberous growth, and I put some woodland type potting soil, (with or without limestone, or dolomite, it really doesn't matter) and put it in bright indirect light. I put limestone in there because I know they're native to China, and China is "the limestone capital of the world". If the potting soil doesn't drain well, I just add more perlite or pumice to the mix. They're grown outdoors all year round. I allow it to dry out between waterings. I don't water at all when they drop their leaves. I resume watering during very late winter to early spring.

It has problems when it's grown too warm during dormancy. If they're kept warm during the period when they're supposed to be dormant, they just keep growing and exhaust themselves to death in the long run. But other than that they're really easy for me to grow.

They should not be grown out in heavy snow. They can handle very light frost, only if they're protected. For safety, I wouldn't go below 36 F.

The ones you're experiencing problems with might be getting eaten by snails, slugs, cutworms, or locusts. Particularly if they're grown in the ground.


A couple of side notes:

They grow from stem tubers. Don't be surprised that the tubers end up turning green.

Compared to some other terrestrial orchids that are very stingy with root growth, Bletilla striata grow roots pretty freely and produce a good number of them as well.

LOL Phillip we never see on in a pot already growing here ...they sell them as a bulb in a pkg of sawdust and I am assuming badly stressed .....I would probably if I saw some in Say Houston at a garden center indeed try again assuming it was more old dryed out starts that were doomed that made me fail so often...

Well, even if they're in little baggies with sawdust...

If you ever try again, try looking for tubers that look like plump bear claw doughnuts or the rhizomes of ginger.

I'm also sowing some Bletilla striata seeds, and they look like they're about to germinate soon.

If they make it to a good size, I might consider selling them.

Whoa. THANK you for all the great suggestions & advice! I ask one question and I find I have learned so much from everyone - you're the best! I definitely picked the best forum!

And, I have to tell you, I am "officially" smitten with an orchid and MUST have it. This is from Philip's suggestion. He said that the 'Laelia purpurata' was a good choice, so I looked it up. I adore the white one with pink. It is to die for!! As soon as I go to the Garden Show, THAT is the one I'm hunting for! I'm also going to make sure to get some proper fertilizer because I don't have any (I only have other plant fertilizer right now). THANK YOU EVERYONE!

well you should also look at the forum on s/h or "semi-Hydroponics"....its a great way to grow many orchids as well ...and you can also grow orchids in Hydroton without doing s/h instead of bark and overwatering is much harder to do ...