Nada. You grow what works for you in your climate. Others don't. That's where building a better mouse trap begins.

Just like everything else in the world, different takes. Orchid Enthusiasts fall into 5 general categories. The Gardener, the Collector, the Naturalist, the Tinkerer and Sport of choice.
Mike

Gary - I only grow warm species and hybrids outdoors here in So Fl. If I had to go to the extremes the indoors growers do I'd never have gotten started. My hat's off to them!

Marci

Where I live I could grow Cymbidium hybrids and a few terrestrials if I simply wanted to grow orchids in my back yard.

I started with orchids as house plants. After a couple of years I took a course from the local rec center and found out that there are thousands of different orchids growing all over the world and there were sources beyond the florist and big box.

To make a long story short, I am an orchid accumulator who in part way through the transition to being a collector. I have limits on what I will add to my collection.

I have a greenhouse complete with water, gas and electricity. There are timers, thermostats and a hydrostat. I spend time with the orchids every day and belong to the AOS and 3 local orchid societies. I subscribe to OrchidSpecies.com.

I realize not everybody can (or wants to) spend the time and energy on orchids that I do. That doesn't matter. This forum has people at all stages of interest in orchids. It would have helped me a lot when my "collection" consisted of two Dendrobium 'Fiftieth State' plants that I got on a whim while in Hawaii.

Gary, what you are missing is that the people who love orchids and want to grow them don't all live in Florida.

I am kind of in the middle. I grow indoors in CO. I think folks are crazy with all the lights and such. I only grow what likes the light I can offer naturally. However, I have to be really creative with my humidity. Lots of misting, fountains, rock trays etc. But I need all of that too, as it is soooooo dry here. I dream of maybe living in Florida someday, but for now my indoor tropical garden is as close as I can get.
BTW, I am growing zinnias from seed for the first time this year and so far so good.
Happy growing!

I am new to growing orchids and grow them in the house (on an enclosed porch now that it's summer) in Z7 TN. Somehow over 35 have managed to follow me home already and they are living quite happily among all kinds of plants. The thing I can't figure out is how anybody can grow just one kind of plant! I am an addict across the board, you name it I'll grow it or at least try, but I could never specialize. Don't you orchid-only growers get a craving for a nice streptocarpus or 50, or maybe a couple dozen succulents, or a big grouping of the old-fashioned foliage houseplants? They all do seem to live in harmony together.

Chris

>>But in the 25 years I've been growing them have never used fans ,misters,or any kind of chemicals and fertilize only once a month. Still have the first Catt from 1981 and it still flowers and grows. Do you really find all this care necessary??

You live in Florida, so that eliminates the need for most artificial climate controls.
If you take that same orchid to Minnesota or New Mexico, you will find that your usual culture regimen will no longer work.

Southern Florida, like Hawaii is a growing heaven for orchids since it falls within the sweet spot for parameters that orchids really like.
We could all move to Hawaii and we will have no need for all these greenhouse gadgets and thingamajigs, but we will soon find ourselves trying to grow apples and pears. :)

Gary
Used to grow in z-9. Now I grow indoors in z-5! Come visit my "Little Shoppe of Horrors" for a week and you'll understand why.

Clara
"Collector"
"Tinkerer"

Are you kidding? My house is a freakin jungle. And now that it is spring, so are all my porches, decks and yard. I have a like 15 foot natahl mahagony(SP) that is taking over my living room that has ivy growing up it and some vandas haginging in it. I grow herbs, vegetables, ornamentals, flowers and many just for foliage. Orchids are only a part of the addition. I don't know anyone who grows orchids only. There just happens to be some mystical spell that the orchids bestow upon you that makes you yap on and on about them.

There are those categories of orchid growers as described above. Then there are the lot best described as battlers. They spend years in Novice class and always battle on, even if they get promoted to Open Class.

As for Florida, Hawaii, Northern Australia being orchid paradises, they are, but only for warm growing species.

I agree, the light challenged people, living in colder climates are the real orchid growers.

As for the one of this, one of that, type of orchid collector, i got into trouble on another post for suggesting that you should become a specialist. But, as an example, i've got one Masdevallia and one Restrepia, i know the rotten things will never flower but, i have to keep them because they were gifts from other orchid growers.

So I'm a real orchid grower? Wow!

Anyways, back to Gary's initial post. I love orchids, I'm just absolutely fascinated by them. But I live in Canada. In winter, days are short, cloudy (have I mentioned that we only had five somewhat sunny days last November?) and it's freaking cold out there! Natural light and regular house temps are barely enough to keep a Phal, a Paph or even an African violet alive, much less get them to bloom. And then, summers where I am are sweltering, incredibly humid and very bright. Which means for me that lights, a min/max thermometer, a hygrometer, fans and an evaporative cooler are necessary. They are expensive to purchase and power, but the now-blooming orchids and thriving plants are a reward in and of themselves. They are more tolerant than many other houseplants, which means that they can be neglected somewhat, but there's a point where it just becomes too much.

So, Gary, what are you missing -- how about the challenge of it all, the thrill of accomplishment in face of incredible adversity and just plain determination to get that Cattleya to bloom even if it kills you?

Julie

Hi
Thanks for all the very thoughtful replies. Life would certainly be much poorer without them I agree. Perhaps if I was not able to have them I'd probably have a much greater appreciation. My neighbor for example grows GRASS lol Not the fancy exotic kinds but run of the mill St.Augustine.
Now that is something tough to grow here lol What's funny is that if was more temperate here that grass would be sprayed as a weed lol. Of all the thousands of grass species it is probably one of the homliest but it will grow .Any orchid is much nicer than any grass ,I will admit.
I do have a weakness for a palm that has taken 7 years to get 2 feet tall with 3 fronds. At maturity it should be around 25 feet tall.. Took 9 months to sprout lol
It was described as "slow growing" lol
Oh well to each his own lol gary

I never knew orchids were complicated until I found this forum. They were grown and treated like my regular houseplants. Frankly, I did better when I knew nothing. Of course my plants consisted of just a few phals and dens. Finding this forum just fed a new addiction. Looking at orchids differently. That's when all the work began.

Should never have bought a computer.

Jane

I like to think I am a specialist, but I'm not really if I am honest. My criteria are species and new world (Mexico, Central America and South America). That really doesn't make much of a specialization since there are so many.

I have lots of Encyclia. I have several Stanhopea. I started off toward collecting Cattleya and Laelia, but the plants are so big.

Over the last year I have started getting more Maxillaria. They are more compact and like my conditions.

I have quite a few Masdevallia hybrids and some species, but for my conditions they are a stretch.

I have no Phrags at all and only have Paphs because they were free. I recently did an inventory and have started selling off my "non-collection" plants at the orchid societies. I have set up as an eBay seller and will start listing there.

Growing orchids can be an interest, a hobby or a passion. Most of all people should grow what they want to grow. It is fine to stay in a comfort zone or to push the envelope and try new plants.

My orchid hobby is very humble - a few catts, a couple phals and paphs and a miscellaneous plant or two under HID light - but I seem determined to keep it going and I take their care very seriously! Thankfully I am discovering for my collection that serious care does not necessarily mean fussy care, and most often entails leaving them alone. But even so I would miss my morning half hour or 45 minutes figuring out what wants water, feeding (god forbid insecticide or fungicide) potting and especially, admiration. They've become a part of my life when I wasn't looking, way out of proportion to the number of plants I actually have at any one point. And I don't in the least begrudge them electricity and equipment costs. Which reminds me, I need to order new bulbs!

John :>)

I don't have the faintest interest in cultivating any other tropical plant. Though if I had a yard I'd be making frequent trips to the nursery for roses and peonies.

J

I can't remember why or how I got into orchids, maybe I picked one up at the supermarket? Anyway, I consider orchid people, pond people, fish tank people, and all lovers of natural history to be in the same boat. As a scientist myself, I am naturally drawn to anything alive hence the aforementioned "hobbies" or in my case - obcessions. Although, to be honest, I never really understood chemistry until I set up my reef aquarium, I never understood ecology (or liked it) until I read about orchids. Biology for me was always the driving force, which is why I am always drawn to the outdoors and "what is inside something". I like my orchids because after a long day of dealing with people and presentations and grants, I kick back and putz in the backyard for a few minutes to unwind - many ideas usually cross my mind when I am puttering (or dinking as my girlfriend calls it) about science and the cancer research I do. I am always surprised what I learn from orchids.

um, why are the Floridians rubbing their ease in my face?

i don't have a greenhouse with mist and fans and an RO system rigged to a drip system.
all i have is rack and some T8 lights. i also have a masde tank with a fogger and a fan. that's it.
i buy distilled water for the mineral sensitive plants

if i had the money i would build a huge terrarium type display, like one of those Orchidariums but larger and better.
no, scratch that, i would convert a whole room into a jungle, with orchids covering the walls and live trees, pond with fish, some tree boas in cages, and free roaming chameleons. yes, if i had money, that's what i'd do. there would be a cloud forrest corner for the masdes and dracs.

^_^

>> i would convert a whole room into a jungle

You should see bihai's greenhouse :)

Here is a link that might be useful: bihai's greenhouse

Gary, I think you second sentence says it all. " I am very lucky to live in Florida". For those poor unfortunate souls who have to tolerate the climate of Wisconsin or northern England, special measures are necessary. And of course Zinnias don't like Florida - for exactly the same reason orchids do. It's much too humid.... Now here in Atibaia there is a saying " Aqui tudo cresce" ( You can grow anything) and we do have a bit of a mix of everything, but even so I find a lot of things don't suit.

I think that I've always loved orchids! I have grown or tried to grow almost everything.
I spent many years of my childhood living in the Philippines and we traveled to many of the surrounding countries.
It was impossible not to like them!(And carnivorous plants!) They were, of course, everywhere!

As far as lucky locations, I think that mine ranks way up there!!
I can grow every temp range!(From Cattleya violacea to Dracula vampira!)
I can grow all of my tropicals inside anywhere and they do summer outside.
I can grow many delicate Pleurothalids without much effort! It's easier to heat something than it is to cool it.
Even after a day of 90F+ temps, my nights can and do drop down
to 60F or lower (In the summer!) I frequently have 40 degree plus temp swings!
I have the additional benefit of being able to grow my Cypripediums and Darlingtonias outside all year with little work after the initial setup.
I just mulch them more in the winter and water more in the summer.
I have rare and unique native orchid species within a relatively short drive.
Have I mentioned that I have virtually no trafic on those drives? ;~)
Scott

Scott
Where are you located?? I'm packing my bags.lol The climate here might be somewhat condusive to epi growing.
but sucks for humans lol Can't imagine living here without air. gary

I cant help by agree with Gary's post...Yet, cannot help by understand lots of other posters.
For some people, it is the thrill of creating the conditions that do not otherwise exist naturally...And for others - me, Garry, I guess - it is a matter of enjoying what grows in the climate available.
Simply different approaches to the matter

Whether people up north are the best/real orchid growers...well, they are persistent and imaginative; best - I do not know. What is best, after all?

I grew up in Russia, enjoying tulips and lilac every spring.Delphiniums and columbine, forget-me-nots and lilies of the valley (my favorite!), huge peonies and yummy raspberries... Oh yes, I miss it, and yes, I tried to grow them all here in Florida. It does not grow, and I am not going to create any artificial environment to suit it.

It is really a matter of different growing philosophies. Here, in my back yard, it is the survival of the fittest: be gone, fancy hybrid teas (roses), and cute miltonopsis. Instead, I will now grow more antique roses and Brazilian miltonias - less showy, but more suitable for me.

And it really is a matter of personal choice and the amount of enthusiasm available. One thing I can compliment the northern orchid growers on for sure is enthusiasm!

Olya

It seems like there are almost as many different types of orchid people as there are orchids! ;-))))) I'm grateful for both because I would just hate a boring world!

~Chris (gardener/collector/plant-addict)

Gary, I'm the same way; always amazed when reading about those going to such lengths to grow them successfully. I ruined enough furniture from leaking pots that DH found it feasible to build a GH yrs ago. If I couldn't let the hose go, inside and out, I wouldn't have nearly as many~

so, I'm a naturalist, Mike. I honestly love the lizards and tree frogs as much as the plants.

Chris, most of us have many other plants, we just think the orchid is the best~cause it is;-)

I'm pretty sure that I'm a naturalist that collects!
Even before I actually had orchids, I always brought things home. I have every window in the house full
and some under lights in the house. I have them outside and in a carport room. I also have a large number of them
in my palludarium. If I can, I'd like to have more in a visually naturalist arrangement. By and by, I guess!
I do love that greenhouse!
This is what I have in mind! ;~)
{{gwi:164281}}
Maybe I can convert my irobot vaccum/moppers to take care of my orchids too! ;~)
Scott

Gary and Olya, what do you do when the temperature outside is in the teens and the heat is cranking and drying out the woodwork, and the extremely short winter day is overcast and has been for a week? As for us northerners, we get desperate and resort to desperate measures!

orchid 126
I have never gardened anywhere but in florida so can't really answer the question. Actually it is too cold too hot and sometimes too dry even here.. You ought to see me scramble when a frost warning lol The climate here really is illusionary as you are mostly limited to tropical plants
and the ckimate is not really tropical lol The only difference to more temperate areas is duration. One night of frost is just as deadly as 6 months.
I think if I did live in a colder climate I';d throw out the orchids and grow some of those fantastic fir trees. Okay maybe a few temperate orchids lol gary

orchid126,
what would I do ...well, in Russia, I grew all the things I miss now; in winter - african violets, etc. Lived in Philly some... Never had an orchids until I moved here

hey, i am by no means bragging about the super-duper Florida conditions. I am in zone 9 - not even perfect 10, where it hardly freezes. It gets cold, and that is why I try to grow a lot of plants that tolerate a wide range of conditions like Cattleya intermedia.
My dream is to grow Masdevallia coccinea and Standard Cymbidiums, in bloody-red color. But I cannot and I won't. Once again, different gardening philosophies: I grow what I can :)

and as for super florida...it comes with super bugs - lost half an orchid yesterday to a giant grasshopper, like the one in the picture - yuck
http://www.mineralogicalassociation.ca/devYoung/images_page/Grasshopper.jpg

Honestly, I would love to grow northern plants again; I started tropicals after trying too hard to grow daffodils, perfect roses, peonies, strawberries and such here, and then giving up. Took me two years to give it up and start with Elephant Ears and orchids..This is where "I grow what I can" philosophy kicked in.

Maybe, maybe...given time and resources, I admit, I would not mind a greenhouse I could grow masdies and disas in ...maybe.

Olya

I think we are all just comparing the incomparable..some growers here are indoor-apartment growers, in which case creating artificial environment for most plants is a must. I am just a gardener, an avid one, and in love with pretty flowers, growing all over the yard. Orchids are my first love, but by far, not the only plants I grow - though, with 350+ of them, they do win by majority.

Another factor when comparing is the number of plants: with 350+, and no greenhouse, it cannot be anything but the survival of the fittest :) Fussing is not possible; hosing down and fertilizing once on a blue moon is.

I am lazy gardener who loves pretty flowers. Up north, I would probably be collecting bearded iris - had a big crush on it before, tuberous begonias, and what not. Some of you guys who weigh in are interested in tropicals and determined to keep them alive. I just want an abundance of pretty and preferably, but not necessarily, fragrant flowers :)

I am a very lazy gardener :) When two miltonopsis died, miltonopsis went on a "no more buying it" list - I will enjoy the pictures you guys post on the gallery
Olya

Olya, that is where Miltoniopsis are on my buying list.

Getting back to the specialist bit, around here here the extreme specialists are the Cymbidium growers. Some of those guys have backyards and front yards with wall to wall Cymbidiums. Many belong to a Society where the only plants benched are Cymbidiums. Their dream is to win Champion Cymbidium at a major show.

Such specialization brings the benefit that they do grow wonderful Cymbidiums and those Cymbidiums form a wonderful backdrop to an orchid display.

My reference to being a specialist in an earlier post referred to the less extreme form where in my case i might have about 40 different clones of Cattleya intermeda, several hundred Tolumnia hybrids, about thirty different plants of Sarcochilus ceciliae. In other words a concentration of Genera that new growers might think strange.

As for comparing the incomparable, i agree, but there does seem to be a lot of envy of those "tropical places" and the false belief that all orchids would grow better there.

What an interesting thread. I've been in Miami 8 years. Moved from Boston where I live 17 years. I know we're lucky down here with tropical weather and I know my orchids do well with little assistance from me. Still, there's alot of orchids that just don't do well here... Neo species put out great foliage but poor blooms, Den. monoliforme, kingianum, and even Laelia anceps, do better with a cooler range. And Olya, I feel your pain... I miss hollyhocks, lupines, dahlias, and tea roses, forsythia, lilacs, hostas, cherry and plum trees, japanese maples... the list goes on. From a plane, South Florida looks like partched earth, one development after another, just as flat as a pancake. Hard to believe I can get catt species to bloom like they do, but they do, and that's some consolation.

arthurm,
true; agree with your points of view.

It is an interesting discussion as even though all of us here love growing orchids, methods/level of tolerance/choices we make all differ vastly even for people within the same growing zone :)

Bottomline: whatever works for the person and whatever makes them happy. Plants are grown to be enjoyed :-)

As for Florida, we finally got some rain here, after weeks and weeks of drought....Happy dance!!!!!!
Olya