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So beautiful. Thank you for sharing'

So many beauties !! :)

All very nice. You certainly got them going. ;-)

tj

Gorgeous eye candy and all so deliciously appealing….. yummy!

debra

Wow, those orchid blooms are so pretty! I love the colors.

3 years from seedling to first blooms

Nice collection, really like the blue Vanda in the first post .

Thanks @james_j. The blue large Vandas are the best. This was the first bloom for Vanda manuvadee x rothschidiana I got as a seedling. It bloomed in about 2.5 years way less than several cattleyas that are yet to bloom after 3+ years.

Another one, 3 years from seedling-size. Still have some holdouts. Last pic a group photo of all the non-phals in bloom right now. Waiting on buds of a zyognisia and a rhynchostylis hybrid to do their thing next.

Very nice!

I love orchids! I just don't have the proper environment for most types. I did manage to keep a mini-dendrobium alive and blooming for several years, variety unknown, but it eventually died.

I would like to get another mini-den division since I think I might be able to give that what it requires. I'd also like to find a Nodosa-Cat cross, I believe it is, called "Yellow Bird". I've read that it is a variety that could withstand my household conditions.

@jodik, you can grow many kinds of orchids with a little care. If you give some more details on your conditions, we can suggest which types of orchids might do well for you.

Well... let's put it this way... I'm no stranger to growing container plants of many types and varieties, both indoor and out. I've been gardening for the past 4 or 5 decades, and live on a small organic farm. Unfortunately, our open plan upstairs apartment is very dry, and both the heating and AC units are on the wall directly opposite the best window with the most optimal light.

The plants I have the greatest success with include Hippeastrum and other tender bulbs, Hoya, Ledebouria, Chalice vine, Eucomis, Sansevieria, Epi-cacti and other more commonly grown houseplant varieties.

I've tried to grow many orchid types over time, only a few with any success... which I attribute to the fluctuating temperature and dry air that occurs seasonally indoors. I consider myself old and experienced enough to realize that there's no such thing as a green thumb; it's nothing more than applied knowledge, using logic and basic physics.

Recreating a more natural environment for many orchids is nigh impossible, given what I have to work with. And with everything required to live our current lifestyle, on our semi-off grid, organic farm-ette, I don't really have the time or inclination to baby any plant material, whether indoor or outdoor.

Many folks have told me that Phals are good houseplants that can withstand the average home environment, but I have not found that to be true. I've killed quite a few of those! Hehe! Though, to be fair, I've heard it said that if you haven't killed at least a large number of orchids, you can't be considered an orchid grower... even a novice!

And then, many years ago I was gifted with a mini-dendrobium division with lavender blooms and I managed to keep it growing and thriving and flowering for several years before it finally took a turn that resulted in its demise.

After doing a bit of research on the various requirements of different orchids, I think that "Yellow Bird" could be one that might thrive for me, and possibly another mini-dendrobium.

If you have other suggestions that could grow in not so ideal conditions, I would very much appreciate any thoughts you may have. Thank you!

@jodik, I grow all my orchids in an easy or a southwest facing window with additional led grow lights in winter. They live right above or adjacent to a through wall ptac unit, which is usually used for heating in winters and occasionally in summers for cooling. I don't use pebble trays or such to control humidity. I do use a humidifier during winters when heating is on, more for myself than the plants. Vandas (potted), phals, cattleyas, miltoniopsis, dendrobiums, zygos all live and bloom under these conditions. Usually, lack of flowering in orchids is due to lack of sufficient light and death is a result of overwatering related rot. I have killed dozens of phals, but fewer Vandas, milts, dens or carts (probably because I have laid my hands on fewer of them). I think Vandas, dendrobiums and cattleyas can take much more adverse conditions, especially heat and drought than phals, milts, oncidiums but they also require higher light exposure to bloom and take longer (if grown from seedling size). Vandas and dendrobiums generally will bloom longer and more frequently than cattleyas. I would suggest any dendrobium phalenopsis type for hot arid climates, dendrobium nobile hybrids if you have cool winters, most Vandaceous orchids, including rhynchostylis, renantheras, potted not bare root, and cattleyas that are known to bloom frequently. There's nothing special about the yellow bird, but it is a cattleya that would bloom frequently and has longer lasting flowers. Others would include potinara Burana Beauty, Ctna Why Not and many more.

Thank you for the information! I so appreciate it! We really do need to get a humidifier, more for ourselves and our health as we age than for any plants I might grow, but the benefits to plants would be a definite plus! I placed it on my list of "must look into before winter" items!

I think I will look around more, and not be so shy about trying various orchids. I've got the medium for all my plants down... I use a more aerated medium with a larger particulate than is typically sold as "potting soil". I mix it myself using pine bark, granite chips, coarse perlite and a few other additions or substitutions. It drains fast and requires watering more often, but it's much healthier for root systems. If you've done a fair amount of reading within this forum, you know it as "Gritty Mix". I use it for all plant types grown in containers, especially indoors. Outdoors, I go more for the 5:1:1 Mix.

Anyway... I do like Vandas, Cats, Dens and Zygos, not to mention a few other orchid types. I just never thought they could withstand the harsh conditions I have to offer. I would hate to obtain them only to see them crash and burn, but I suppose some loss is part of the learning curve, or experience. I do have excellent east facing light, and I have a small greenhouse that I can summer plants in, though it's not heated and plants would have to be brought back inside before autumn.

I could always set up a cover for the shelving in front of the window, too, to help preserve some humidity... or perhaps I could figure out how to redirect the air flow from the heat/AC units a bit, so it's not blowing directly east.

Maybe I'm just gun shy because everything I read seems to point toward orchids as being so fragile and delicate, so particular in their needs... and I have caused the deaths of many plants, not just orchids, and most likely via over-watering. There's a fine line between needing moisture, and maybe waiting another day or two to water if I'm not sure. Perhaps I should just jump in with both feet and give a couple of orchids a try again.

Thanks for the advice, and the confidence to give it another go!

Happy Gardening!

Zyognisia Murasaki Komachi first blooms in my care.

Another blue. And a grocery store phal that was hard to resist at $10. 😊.

I am sure it smells great.

Two first timers from 3+ years of seedling care. The cattleya has a medicinal smell but at least it looks good. RLC. Nakorncharisu red. The den is called Hidden money.

Been a while since I posted. Meanwhile, other cattleya seedlings bloomed for the first time. Also, here is what is blooming right now.