Starting our orchid journey - Orchid Board

Sianuk · #1 04-01-2018, 08:37 AM

, firstly thank you for allowing me to join this forum,my name is Ian and my wife and I are recently retired,we live here in the U.K. about 30 miles outside of London in the county of Buckinghamshire. We both love orchids but like many I know have difficulty in keeping them, having said that we did manage to get one to reflower this year, how I don't know! Looking forward to all your help and advice I think we may need it.

No-Pro-mwa · #2 04-01-2018, 09:56 AM

Hello Ian and welcome to the board. What kind of orchids do you have?

Sianuk · #3 04-01-2018, 11:35 AM

Hi, we love phalaenopsis we have 3, one of which flowered about 2 months ago, how I don't know it just did, the other 2 are dormant at the moment. On a recent holiday we bought another 3 all of which have 3 spikes each and are full of flowers, so it is important for me to learn how to care for them at all stages of their life. We also bought a Dendrobium and a Miltonia, well that's the names on the labels, hope that all makes sense, thank you for your reply and any tips or advice would be great.

Tyrfing · #4 04-01-2018, 12:06 PM

Hi!
I'm sure you have found some information on the web. Personally I find the resources at American Orchid Society useful.

Sianuk · #5 04-01-2018, 12:11 PM

Thank you for that Tyrfing I'll take a look at that site

camille1585 · #6 04-01-2018, 01:46 PM

Welcome to Orchidboard!

Orchids aren't that difficult to keep and rebloom, once you learn the basics.

For the Phals, you can have a look at this great thread, it's full of useful information: The Phal abuse ends here.

For your other 2 orchids, do you know what type of Dendrobium? (some labels with tell you if it's a Phal type or nobile type dendrobium). The care is really different between the two types in order to get the plant to rebloom. Phal type Dens do well with phal care, while Nobiles need a cool winter rest.

The Miltonia (probably a Miltoniopsis, also known as pansy orchids) will like cooler temperatures and more frequent watering that Phals.

Hope this helps you a bit, and don't hestitate to ask questions!

Sianuk · #7 04-01-2018, 02:27 PM

Hi Camille, the Dendrobium is in fact nobile and the other a miltoniopsis as you suspected.Will both of these require more frequent watering, weekly perhaps?Should I feed these while they are in bloom or alternate with just water? Should I consider de-ionised water as our tap water is very hard.Regarding the phals I understand that as I can see the root system and can gauge when to water, should this be just water or feed when in bloom or alternate?Sorry for all the questions but I'm desperate to get this right TIA

No-Pro-mwa · #8 04-02-2018, 10:11 AM

I don't have either of those orchids so I can't help with them much. I think the Den will need a winter rest and like Camille said they both like it a bit cooler. If you can get RO water that would help if your water is hard. I feed mine very lightly every time I water. Well I do flush them once a month and I also use a product caller inocucor and kelpmax but I'm not sure you can get them there. But I'm sure there is some kind of kelp and it helps with root growth. That can come later after you get your care down.