What got you hooked growing orchids?

[Isis312]

Everyone has all these cool stories about why they love orchids....but I have to admit (with a little bit of embarassment) that my love for orchids began when I saw the movie Adaptation. Although it may seem like a cliche way to become interested, I really just had no idea how fantastic they were! My "collection" is still pretty small, but I've found that so far, I've been pretty successful and hope to expand and continue! Ok so maybe not as cool of a story, but its better than never discovering their beauty

[savor]

Isis, I think that's a pretty cool way to notice orchids! Better than my finding one in the grocery. One thing though, I don't advise grinding up the ghost orchids. It doesn't work... not that I've tried it or anything.

[Isis312]

Haha thanks for the advice Savor

[flhiker]

Well back in May of 1999 a freind and I decided to do a overnite hike on the Florida trail in Big Cypress, we were in a drought very much like the one we are having now. We found a nice dry hammock to set up camp. This area would normally be wet, if not underwater most of the year, not somewhere you would be able to pitch a tent. After getting up in the morning we had breakfeast on a nearby downed tree. Next to use was a stump that a orchid growing out of it (at the time we were not sure if it was a chid or not). It was no big deal we were just glad to be camp in the Everglades. A couple of years later we found ourselfs back in the area and found the orchid in full bloom. Now when we hiked we tried to find more but not very successful. So we went back to just hiking and forgot about wild orchids till Feb or March of this year when I posted a picture on the OB of the orchid we found, to get someone to identify it. I was told that I had found a Cyrtopodium punctatum(cigar orchid). From the response I received from orchid lovers it peaked my interest in finding wild orchid. It gave hiking a whole new meaning for me. After learning a little about local wild orchids I set my sights on finding a Ghost orchid. Which I am happy to say I was able to locate one in spike and hope to have picture of a flower soon. Thanks OB for a great new passion.

[quiltergal]

I received a beautiful chid as a gift about 8 years ago. It promptly dropped it's flowers about a week after I got it. I'm presuming it was bud blast. I managed to keep it alive for a couple of years and even got a keiki out of it before it finally sucumbed to poor care on my part. My son asked if he could have the keiki. He was only 13 at the time so I figured what the heck, maybe taking care of it would teach him responsibility. What started as 1 small plant grew to a collection of 25 plants that he grew under lights in his bedroom. We went to the local orchid shows together, and I bought a couple of plants that were "mine" but he was the caretaker. When he move out last year I found myself with a Potinara, and a rescue Phalanopsis. I was determined to be as good a caretaker as he was. Finding this board has been a huge help, and I've had several successful reblooms so I feel a little more confident. I've added dendros and catts to the collection though I've yet to get the catts to rebloom. I have moved them to a brighter windowsill, and have been following a regular feeding regimen, and am seeing lots of new growth that will hopefully mature into blooms! It's a nice hobby to share with my son, and we share cuttings and divisions with each other.

[nenella]

I grew up in Kenya (in Nairobi situated 6000 feet above sea level) My mum had about 300 orchids in the garden they were just either hung up on Jacaranda trees in clay pots (mostly cattleyas) and otherwise she had cymbidiums and oncidiums..At the time I was vaguely interested (used to help her (HAD TO )feed once a month if I remember correctly)... and I used to enjoy smelling their different scents when mum brought them into the house whilst they were in flower. I also used to go to the Orchid Show once a year with my mum.
I have always had foliage plants in the house (forest!! ) about 7 years ago instead of buying me
me flowers..my husband came home with a white phal....and that was it .....I got hooked and I now have 44 ... all phals except 2 cattleyas, 3 paphs, 1 'Cambria' vuylstekeara linda isler " and a Dendrobium (a new kid I got as a gift a few days ago) ...

[Ross]

My experience started over 50 years ago as a kid. My Dad grew lots of orchids in the greenhouse he built on the side of our house and tried to teach me about them. Being a kid, I wasn't all that interested in the work (he was always attempting pollination, etc.) but they were pretty "cool". Fast forward to 1980s and here I am attempting to grow (or as it turned out - kill) a NOID Phalenopsis. I vowed to never grow another orchid again! I turned to cactus, which I had success with in Southern Oregon, where the humidity is very low. But guess what? The humidity here is not very low. So most of the cactus slowly croaked (I still have a few from the "early days".) About 10 years ago I turned back to orchids with another Phal. I bought it for my wife and told her if she could keep it going, we might get more. She kept it in bloom for a solid 3 years! (I am not saying off and on - I am saying it was never out of bloom for that period of time!) Last year we had a freak hail storm that descimated most of my orchids (they were all outside at the time.) I still have a keiki from that first Phal (it's not the greatest plant in the world, but has sentimental value - it's a non-quitter!) It is still trying to bloom and has a new spike right now! Since I retired 2-1/2 years ago, I decided to go after this orchid stuff big time and have settled in on minis and species orchids as my forte'. I have (at last count) 57 plants and plan a new orchidarium project (based on my last successful major orchidarium). It will house high-light, intermediate to warm growing, low moisture minis. Should be a real challenge, don't you think?

[Gin]

I worked at an Army security agency , I left work one evening ,my sports car was full of Dendrobiums they smelled so good ,that was the first time I saw an orchid bloom . They were left by a friend from Hawaii .
Years later after moving to So. Ca. I went to a box store .On a rack were bagged orchid seedlings.
Knowing nothing about them I bought one ,opened the bag the tag said your orchid will bloom in 4 to 5 years I thought that is the end of that . At one point I went to the library got a book read the wrong info. repotted it in regular garden dirt . It bloomed in it .. was named Catt. Mem. Crispin Rosales . I was hooked .. Gin

[Ross]

That's the best story yet! Army Security!? An oxymoron to say the least (I was army). Orchids in dirt.. Hmmm, let me see, terrestrials, right?

[Gin]

Wrong! it was a Catt. beginners luck .