Orchid Care - Orchid Board

kiki-do · #1 11-05-2007, 07:39 PM

I have been totally amazed and blown away at some of the OB members collections. When I see pics of the many orchids, the amount...variety....and surroundings, I am in awe. I have about 62 orchids purchased within a year's time. Many of you have hundreds! I would love to see a thread about how all of you, as individuals, tend to your orchids. How you manage that many. What systems and techniques you use to make sure every orchid gets what it needs as compared to some of the other types. For instance, being a newbie, I have cheat sheets (instructions on recipe cards) and place them strategically with the specificed orchids. Some are routine for me, but lately with the purchases of more challenging orchids, I find it takes me quite a while to tend them. Also, I need to bring my orchids to the sink. Takes me a good two hours in the morning to fuss over them, (I am happiest when I am not rushed and left alone). Luckily I am a very early riser. How much time do you all spend each day? How do you manage to work and care for them? What do you do if you have to go away for a few days? I don't work and I find this a full time job. It's a labor of love, but a constant one. I worry about my babies should I have to hurry out the door on any particular morning. Wouldn't a thread for people's individual routine orchid care be interesting??? I would find it helpful, especially if I can adopt some helpful hints of watering/feeding. If there is already a thread for this, please tell me where as I haven't found it yet. What do you think, any interest in posting something like this?
kiki-do

Ad Astra · #2 11-05-2007, 08:57 PM

Saturday morning watering is a luxury... really appreciating the plants beauty and growth while the sun rises. Spotting new growth, changes; watching buds open.

Watering during the week- spot watering who's dry, sorry guys, I'm in a hurry. Little dry is good for most of them.

Mike

Becca · #3 11-05-2007, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiki-do

... I need to bring my orchids to the [/B]sink. Takes me a good two hours in the morning to fuss over them, (I am happiest when I am not rushed and left alone)....

Hi! I can completely relate to what you just said! I have to bring my orchids to the sink for watering as well.....and I am happiest when no one (I won't say who

) is asking me if I am almost finished because he wants to spend time with me and all I can do is think about orchids and often spend evenings on my computer surfing ebay and on here looking at orchid related stuff....lol.

I water on Saturday's or Sunday's...... on Thursday I start drawing water from my RO system and I fill two 5 gallon buckets of water which I let sit to get to room temperature. Lately the water has only been up to 60 degrees so I am starting to heat some of the water and adding it into the buckets until it reaches about 70 degrees. I then add my fertilizer when I am ready to use the bucket of water. I usually take about two hours if I fuss over my orchids and give them attention....not sure how long it would take if I just watered them. I have mounted and potted orchids...so the mounted ones get watered about every day, everyother day on occasion. The potted ones get watered once a week or as needed. Some in the sphag moss dry out quicker then others so I will water them again as needed. I also try and give a good misting in the morning before work....but it is a chore to take care of them and get my self ready for work all at the same time. I think that is about it for now....I know I probably missed a bunch...but this is long enough...lol. Sounds like you have a good system going already!

gmdiaz · #4 11-05-2007, 09:42 PM

Becca, I am so laughing. . .gawd, I love orchids.

Excellent thread, Kiki!

I really don't have a lot of orchids. . .in one place. LOL No, I really only have maybe 36 or so, total at work and at home. It's pitiful I know. *big grin*

At work, I've got a two layer, plant stand with grow lights and have lots of Phals, big ones and little baby ones and a few other coolio ones.

I water them with RO water every few days as needed. I am adding a little MSU fertilizer and a drop or two of Superthrive to the ro water in a 1 gallon milk jug, mix well and pour into a big bowl. I water them one at a time, watering from the top and letting them soak about ten minutes, while I do my work. . . this goes on for some time.

I have a really nice oscillating fan that I keep running all the time, to keep the air moving and fresh.

I've got a bright green frog humidifer on the top shelf of my plant stand. . .keeps the humidity up around 50%.

At home, I've got a tall Exo Terra Tank with lots of stick & cork mounties. I mist those in the morning before I leave for work and check the other ground dwellers to be sure all is well. Same fertilizer and Superthrive for these as well. And give them a good dunking on the weekends or as needed.

I am using Cattleya Log 3 and paid the 49.99 big bucks so I could keep track of all my babies. But I also have a notebook backup. I just print out (in color) pages from IOSPE and from the vendor and file them alphabetically.

Becca · #5 11-05-2007, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gmdiaz

Becca, I am so laughing. . .gawd, I love orchids.

Excellent thread, Kiki!

I really don't have a lot of orchids. . .in one place. LOL No, I really only have maybe 36 or so, total at work and at home. It's pitiful I know. *big grin*

At work, I've got a two layer, plant stand with grow lights and have lots of Phals, big ones and little baby ones and a few other coolio ones.

I water them with RO water every few days as needed. I am adding a little MSU fertilizer and a drop or two of Superthrive to the ro water in a 1 gallon milk jug, mix well and pour into a big bowl. I water them one at a time, watering from the top and letting them soak about ten minutes, while I do my work. . . this goes on for some time.

I have a really nice oscillating fan that I keep running all the time, to keep the air moving and fresh.

I've got a bright green frog humidifer on the top shelf of my plant stand. . .keeps the humidity up around 50%.

At home, I've got a tall Exo Terra Tank with lots of stick & cork mounties. I mist those in the morning before I leave for work and check the other ground dwellers to be sure all is well. Same fertilizer and Superthrive for these as well. And give them a good dunking on the weekends or as needed.

I am using Cattleya Log 3 and paid the 49.99 big bucks so I could keep track of all my babies. But I also have a notebook backup. I just print out (in color) pages from IOSPE and from the vendor and file them alphabetically.

Gwen,
I have a two layer plant stand as well, but I am afraid to take it to work, my boss wants all of my pots to look pretty, but most of my plants are in s/h so, um, yeah.....lol. And to water at work....I think I would loose my mind as I can barely stay afloat and keep things straight in my brain as it is....don't get me wrong, I used to have orchids at work and water them...but then I brought most of them into my orchidarium.

I forgot to mention I probably have roughly 80 plants and I have to run up and down the stairs to bring them to the sink and back to the orchidarium.

I haven't seen Cattleya Log 3 before so I am not familiar with its features....is it really worth the money? I keep track of mine in an excel log and I also have a folder set up that I keep pdf pictures and info on all of my plants...so if anytime I need a refresher what something will look like when it is supposed to bloom in two or three years I can go back and look and get all excited....lol. Pathetic, I know! I think I will check out that Cattleya Log thingy!

kiki-do · #6 11-05-2007, 10:03 PM

I water mine one at a time too. Always worried about spreading something that may be there that I haven't detected yet. Paranoia or what? I use spring water that is luke warm.
What about if you have to go away for a couple days? Something comes up....what do you do? Everyone I know thinks I'm crazy and won't even try to learn to water them. My family and friends want to come see what is in bloom and ohhs and ahhs, but no one wants to learn how to tend them. I'm screwed if I get called away on an emergency or if my husband wants to go on vacation any length of time. I never think about that when I see an orchid that wants to come home with me. Honestly, sometimes I feel totally out of control! So far my husband has shown a blind eye, but I think he is secretly counting them.
Everywhere I go, I am thinking about what I could use for orchid growing. Whether I am in a craft store or hardware store...I have a one-track mind.
Thanks for sharing. It's good to hear how others manage their babies. This OB gives me a connection that I don't have here. Orchids around here are not the norm.
kiki-do

gmdiaz · #7 11-05-2007, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RPfeiffer

Gwen,
I have a two layer plant stand as well, but I am afraid to take it to work, my boss wants all of my pots to look pretty, but most of my plants are in s/h so, um, yeah.....lol. And to water at work....I think I would loose my mind as I can barely stay afloat and keep things straight in my brain as it is....don't get me wrong, I used to have orchids at work and water them...but then I brought most of them into my orchidarium.

I forgot to mention I probably have roughly 80 plants and I have to run up and down the stairs to bring them to the sink and back to the orchidarium.

I haven't seen Cattleya Log 3 before so I am not familiar with its features....is it really worth the money? I keep track of mine in an excel log and I also have a folder set up that I keep pdf pictures and info on all of my plants...so if anytime I need a refresher what something will look like when it is supposed to bloom in two or three years I can go back and look and get all excited....lol. Pathetic, I know! I think I will check out that Cattleya Log thingy!

My boss LOVES my plant stand and all my orchids! She's the one that bought me the frog humidifier! How nice is that! The trick is to work hard and fast, and be super, psychotically organized, accomplish great things, if at all possible. . .then the boss just wants you to do whatever it is you need to to keep doing it. ROFLOLOL It's a sensible relationship. Mwa ha ha ha. I'll take a picture tomorrow for you.

I am sorry, you're just going to have to start buying pretty pots. . .

I really do like the software but it could use a little updating. For instance, there is no place specifically enter how to water. And I hate it that the working menu, ur tableau is kinda small, like it's intended to fit TINY monitors. Excuse me 17" is the minimum.

I hate it that you can't just back up your data. Or at least I haven't seen an easy way to do it yet. But all in all, you can tuck a lot of info into that small software space.

So I think it's worth it but it IS 49.99 and that's quite a few really nice orchids, if you know how to shop.

They have a free trial version but you can only load a few orchids. They say you can add up to 10 but this is not true. . .I got cut off at 8.

Becca · #8 11-05-2007, 10:22 PM

Kiki-do.....allot of people think I am wacko when they find out I am into orchids...lol..... when I told my best friends that I bought an orchidarium...they both chimed in and said "a what?"....boy did I feel stupid. My mom....she thinks I am wacko too, but she shows cats so she is just as wacko as I am. She would prefer not to open my orchidarium if she didn't have to just out of fear of breaking something and I wouldn't ask anyone to run up and down the stairs to water the collection while I am gone....not even an orchid sitter...lol. I just recently got my orchids that are mounted....but I am sure I can con one of my friends (the one with the fish tanks) into stopping by and misting them daily for me if I leave....I will just move the orchids all into one area to make it easy and make sure none of the paph's are under them to get dripped on and then get crown rot. I don't plan on leaving anytime soon on vacation so I am not going to worry about it until then....

Becca · #9 11-05-2007, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gmdiaz

My boss LOVES my plant stand and all my orchids! She's the one that bought me the frog humidifier! How nice is that! The trick is to work hard and fast, and be super, psychotically organized, accomplish great things, if at all possible. . .then the boss just wants you to do whatever it is you need to to keep doing it. ROFLOLOL It's a sensible relationship. Mwa ha ha ha. I'll take a picture tomorrow for you.

I am sorry, you're just going to have to start buying pretty pots. . .

I really do like the software but it could use a little updating. For instance, there is no place specifically enter how to water. And I hate it that the working menu, ur tableau is kinda small, like it's intended to fit TINY monitors. Excuse me 17" is the minimum.

I hate it that you can't just back up your data. Or at least I haven't seen an easy way to do it yet. But all in all, you can tuck a lot of info into that small software space.

So I think it's worth it but it IS 49.99 and that's quite a few really nice orchids, if you know how to shop.

They have a free trial version but you can only load a few orchids. They say you can add up to 10 but this is not true. . .I got cut off at 8.

Well unless I load the software on my work computer, I don't think I can use the software because I have a Mac....and I refuse to get rid of it!

gmdiaz · #10 11-05-2007, 10:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiki-do

I water mine one at a time too. Always worried about spreading something that may be there that I haven't detected yet. Paranoia or what? I use spring water that is luke warm.
What about if you have to go away for a couple days? Something comes up....what do you do? Everyone I know thinks I'm crazy and won't even try to learn to water them. My family and friends want to come see what is in bloom and ohhs and ahhs, but no one wants to learn how to tend them. I'm screwed if I get called away on an emergency or if my husband wants to go on vacation any length of time. I never think about that when I see an orchid that wants to come home with me. Honestly, sometimes I feel totally out of control! So far my husband has shown a blind eye, but I think he is secretly counting them.
Everywhere I go, I am thinking about what I could use for orchid growing. Whether I am in a craft store or hardware store...I have a one-track mind.
Thanks for sharing. It's good to hear how others manage their babies. This OB gives me a connection that I don't have here. Orchids around here are not the norm.
kiki-do

I worry about that too. . .and have been warned not to do it. But it's just so dang wasteful of the RO water that I have to haul home in milk jugs. lol

I am hoping to get an RO system for home sometime soon.

I guess it depends on what sorts of plants you have. Some orchids can go quite a while without watering in an emergency. Others can sit in water for a few days to hold them over. And those planted in spaghnum hold out quite a few days longer than the ones in bark.

Emergency measure are called for vacations. This is what I might try, in your place.

Get a good sized humidifer and put all the orchids in a small space that you can close up, get the humidity up there 75-80%. That will help them not need so much watering while you're away. . .maybe the bathtub? Close the shower curtain?

And maybe tuck moist spagnum on top of everything in pots. . .and top that with a square of plastic sheeting? So anything that condenses will fall back onto the spag? But leaves the sides open to air.

Group them close together to hold in the moisture.

Not sure what else. . .what do you guys think?