hello from the old dominion

[imacava]

hello all,
i just joined the OB over the weekend after spending some time researching what i need to do for these beautiful new plants that have become second only to my dog in my life. i got started by purchasing a phal for a song from a local florist (it had blooms on it, but they weren't open, guess they gave up), and after a couple of weeks, the blooms still hadn't opened and i lost two to bud blast. a couple weeks later, one began to open (i was ecstatic as i was beginning to wonder when to throw in the towel) and i kind of got sucked in. i went back to the florist that week and got three more out of bloom plants (another phal, one culm wildcat bobcat, and one mtdm bartley schwartz). i also picked up orchids for dummies (interested to hear your takes on this book). then i found out we have a local greenhouse that exclusively grows orchids and after driving the 45 minutes there and spending about an hour picking their brains, left with a zygopetula and a baby dendrobium tetragonum v giganteun. i went back this past weekend and got a salvador dali lady slipper that i'm told will bloom just about all the time and so i'm really excited about that one too (i kind of felt the need to stock up as now they're closed for the season). i'll get some pictures up soon to see if anyone has input on my setup. looking forward to being a member of the OB, you guys seem like an extremely helpful resource and a great community!