best ways to kill orchids?
J Fortuna
meant to be. But if you have any anecdotes for this topic, please post.]
Now I am quite concerned, since several experienced growers have pointed out
that I won't get certified as an rgo'er or orchid grower until I have killed
a lot of orchids. I have been trying really hard, but in my limited
experience orchids are just too hard to kill.
After one week of owning my first orchid, I dropped the blinds on the orchid
plant, it lived and was fine. For the first year I gave the first two plants
only northern light with huge trees outside the windows, that did not kill
them, and one of them rewarded me with a keiki. Another time I have knocked
over the flower stand, and several of the clay orchid pots fell from up
high, shattered into little pieces, after being repotted the orchid plants
didn't seem to have noticed that anything traumatic occurred and they
continued to flourish. I have even been very bad about fertilizing:
overfertilizing the first year, and then not fertilizing at all for a long
time -- no flowers after overfertilizing, but not fertilizing at all for
long time led to beautiful large flowers (now I am trying to be better about
fertilizing regularly though, since my goal for next year is to get one of
my mature plants to start two spikes if possible). I have snapped more Phal
spikes in these three years than I care to recall, but the usual response of
the Phal has been to just regrow a new one immediately. I have had the
humidity drop in my apartment to as low as 20% once, before I noticed, and
refilled the humidifier, the orchids were less concerned than I. Now I
haven't watered a plant for a month, and have been told that it will
probably be fine. So as you can see, the fact that I have not killed an
orchid yet, is not due to lack of trying.
How do you experts manage to kill orchids? I can't do it. I am very talented
at killing all other houseplants, cacti especially, but also some of those
plants (like dumbcane for example) that are supposed to be nearly impossible
to kill. I can kill them in almost no time at all. But I have never killed
an orchid yet, and if I have to kill a hundred before being taken seriously
by experts, I will need to learn from you experts how it can be done.
Joanna
Dewitt
<joa...@REMOVEfortunabujard.com> wrote:
>How do you experts manage to kill orchids? I can't do it. I am very talented
>at killing all other houseplants, cacti especially, but also some of those
>plants (like dumbcane for example) that are supposed to be nearly impossible
>to kill. I can kill them in almost no time at all. But I have never killed
>an orchid yet, and if I have to kill a hundred before being taken seriously
>by experts, I will need to learn from you experts how it can be done.
Water more. Keep the potting media good and soppy. Don't repot until
the potting media develops a distinct odor. Limit air flow and have
the foliage wet at night, especially when temperatures are low. Any of
the Psychopsis genus are good about rotting is you are having trouble.
Also, buy expensive orchids. They are expensive because nobody else
can grow them either.
deg
Ray
It is obvious that you do not have enough plants, and have not given
yourself enough time to develop the "skills" necessary. As Dewitt, said,
buy some really expensive plants.
Rare species that we as a group are trying to save from extinction are a
good bet.
--
Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
. . . . . . . . . . .
"J Fortuna" <joa...@REMOVEfortunabujard.com> wrote in message
news:THiVb.28413$EH5....@nwrddc01.gnilink.net...
K Barrett
"Dewitt" <dewit...@spamearthlink.net> wrote in message
news:61eb205fub53j3dth...@4ax.com...
[snip]
> Also, buy expensive orchids. They are expensive because nobody else
> can grow them either.
>
> deg
>
For true, bro.
K Barrett
Susan Erickson
<dewit...@spamearthlink.net> wrote:
>Also, buy expensive orchids. They are expensive because nobody else
>can grow them either.
>
>deg
Here I thought they just died 10% faster for every $10 over the
base price I should have paid. Your telling me they are
actually difficult to grow. I can not believe it. <G> I think
it has to do with being from the florist or other over priced
local.
Yes, it is true - the more expensive -- the more likely you will
kill it.
Joanna take heart I can not grow an ivy.
tbell
Tom
Walnut Creek, CA, USA
(To reply by e-mail, remove APPENDIX)
House of Paisley
managed to kill a good handful of tags. As Ray said... as you
get more plants it becomes easier. A few I have killed due to
not noticing they were staying a little too wet. A few have died
promptly on entering my house, others have died from those
dreaded red spider mites. I seem to have my greatest losses
with the transition between seasons spring and fall. Adjusting
to less or more water seems to send me out of my groove.
Give it time....
Crystal
--
http://home.comcast.net/~xtals/orchid.htm
"J Fortuna" <joa...@REMOVEfortunabujard.com> wrote in message
news:THiVb.28413$EH5....@nwrddc01.gnilink.net...
> How do you experts manage to kill orchids? I can't do it. I am very