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  • Orchids

    I'm now responsible for the care and feeding of two orchids. I plan to get more in the future. I kind of envision developing my apartment into some kind of orchid ranch. Anybody else raise orchids? Any useful bits of information about taking care of them, good places to find them, or secrets about the world of Hawaiian orchids?

  • #2
    Re: Orchids

    I also raise some orchids, Jim. I live in So Cal, so it's ok to have my Cymbidiums outside all year long. They are blooming now. I had quite a few Hawaiian orchids, too, but my dog ate them: Vandas, Cattleya (corsage type), and others. Do you know what type you have? If you would take a few photos (as you do so extremely well), someone here can give you the best advice for your type. I love photos of plants!

    My moth orchids got a bad case of "bugs" last year, and I lost them all. That was my first experience with mealybugs on orchids. Just be sure to be consistant in the care instructions, and you should do ok. They aren't as tricky as most people think. All the best.
    barb

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    • #3
      Re: Orchids

      Oh, cool Jim75!! I am also the proud new owner of an orchid plant! My bf brought me one today as an anniversary present! I don't know what to do...how do I keep my orchid happy?

      It's in a pot. Should I plant it in the yard or leave it in the pot. Does it want sunshine, and how often. Water - lots or a little?
      ~ This is the strangest life I've ever known ~

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      • #4
        Re: Orchids

        The annual Kunia Orchid Show starts on the 20th:
        http://kuniaorchidsociety.tripod.com/
        Youth may be wasted on the young, but retirement is wasted on the old.
        Live like you're dying, invest like you're immortal.
        We grow old if we stop playing, but it's never too late to have a happy childhood.
        Forget about who you were-- discover who you are.

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        • #5
          Re: Orchids

          Oh, cool Jim75!! I am also the proud new owner of an orchid plant! My bf brought me one today as an anniversary present! I don't know what to do...how do I keep my orchid happy?

          It's in a pot. Should I plant it in the yard or leave it in the pot. Does it want sunshine, and how often. Water - lots or a little?
          Whatever you do, don't just leave them in their pots in a dark area, water them every other week, and ignore them the rest of the time. I killed 4 of them in less than a month that way. Oops!

          Can't think of anything creative this time

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          • #6
            Re: Orchids

            I agree about the watering weekly. I take all of mine
            and soak each one completely each week and they do just fine. Rotation in and out of the house helps to give
            them needed sunlight. When they are finished flowering I often attach them to a tree or log in my yard and eventually they re-bloom. I kind of tell them "Live or die it's your choice" - they choose to live. I've been successful for years with those methods. A friend of mine just bought an orchid farm and he sells amazing orchids at the KCC market as well as herbs and plants for very very reasonable prices so I've gotten a lot from him in the last couple months.

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            • #7
              Re: Orchids

              If you all look closely at your pots, you'll most likely see the "soil" is bark, especially a redwood bark potting mixture. It is not dirt or soil. I really cannot recommend anyone planting orchids in the ground, but you can "plant" them onto a tree... most orchids are epiphytes, or air-growing, meaning they can live on a host plant, like a parasite. They take their nutrition from the air, not the host.

              A good all-purpose bark "soil" can be purchased or made at home using a few garden supply items, such as sand, bark (in various sizes, depending on your orchid's size), and peat moss. Just keep transplanting them into bigger pots is what I do, or you can divide them and share with a friend.

              Usually after they bloom, they rest, and then send up a new shoot called a keiki, which has a food supply in its base, and new leaves... the old one can now die back... this is how bananas grow too.

              I really am oversimplfying the whole thing, as some species are harder to grow than others... but do not be intimidated, as anyone can do orchids, especially the beautiful Hawaiian kinds.... love those Vandas that you see at all the touristy restaurants! Easy to grow, and they really impress your friends.

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              • #8
                Re: Orchids

                Snowbird!! Thank you so much!! You just answered a ton of my questions/concerns!

                One other thing - how long between 'flowerings'?
                ~ This is the strangest life I've ever known ~

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                • #9
                  Re: Orchids

                  TG, my Cymbidiums, which look like small corsage orchids all along a stem, can bloom twice a year, depending on our quirky Calif. weather. They nearly always seem to bloom for me right before Easter. It takes each new keiki a long time for the puffy base, called a pseudobulb, to grow and store the food for the new blooms. These sometimes will bloom again for Indian Summer. But usually once a year.

                  I am NO expert. I have bought an awful lot of orchids, from a variety of places, and had many failures. Still, the successes make it all worthwhile. I can't bear to cut them, and bring them inside to put in a vase. I just let 'em do their thing, whither and die, and then trim and compost.

                  One more thing. Regular old Miracle-Grow is a good, cheap way to fertilize, and not have to buy specialty ($$$$) fertilizer crystals. Sorry I seem to be pretty cheap, but I've been out of work for a few years, and am a do-it-yourselfer kind.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Orchids

                    Thanks, again!! I have some sort of purple orchid. The regular kine like you see in leis or behind ears. It's so cute. I was actually thinking about planting it in the ground ! Thaks for your tips! You saved an orchid!

                    Originally posted by snowbird View Post
                    Sorry I seem to be pretty cheap, but I've been out of work for a few years, and am a do-it-yourselfer kind.
                    Ahhh, we have a few things in common!
                    ~ This is the strangest life I've ever known ~

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                    • #11
                      Re: Orchids

                      Originally posted by turtlegirl View Post
                      Thanks, again!! I have some sort of purple orchid. The regular kine like you see in leis or behind ears. It's so cute. I was actually thinking about planting it in the ground !
                      Most likely a Vanda, then... you can google that, and see. Put up a photo? I so much love HT photos, especially of nature. You'll do fine with your plant; you're a gardener!

                      best, sb

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                      • #12
                        Re: Orchids

                        My orchid dropped 2 of its 3 flowers today. Now it looks like a stick with one flower on top. Its hideous! How do I get it to bloom again ASAP?
                        ~ This is the strangest life I've ever known ~

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                        • #13
                          Re: Orchids

                          Yeah, you saw my orchids. I managed to kill them all. I watered them, I put them in the sun. I talked to them. And they died. And this from a girl who planted a sunflower seed and up sprouted a 6 ft stalk with a head the size of a dinner plate. So I got nothin'. I just think orchids are finnicky little f$%#ers.

                          Can't think of anything creative this time

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                          • #14
                            Re: Orchids

                            Sorry if I am threadjacking..
                            I have a highly curious question here. A little off track, but still pertains to Orchids.

                            Approximately how much does an orchid cost right now? Something for a corsage or so. The reason why I ask, is a few weeks ago I was watching an episode of "Leave it to Beaver", which must have been 1961 or so according to the season it was in. Wally was searching for a corsage and his date insisted on an orchid and Wally did not have enough money to pay for it. The cost was $7.50 for one orchid. At almost 50 years ago, I am thinking that was quite a lot of money back then. Was the high price due to the (then) orchid being more exotic and difficult to get? Was a $7.50 price tag in 1961 similar to what it would cost now (in 2009) terms? ie. is a price of an orchid high?

                            thanks for humoring me, I find it very fascinating when I saw this episode.
                            n'importe

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                            • #15
                              Re: Orchids

                              Originally posted by surlygirly View Post
                              Yeah, you saw my orchids. I managed to kill them all.
                              Oh! Those were orchids!!??
                              ~ This is the strangest life I've ever known ~

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