Phalaenopsis Orchid

It has very beautiful coloring!

Thank you. This one is my favorite.

Are orchids very commonly available for sale there?

I know they're extremely common here. I have horrible luck with them, though.

I know they do well in lath houses here. I worked with a lady that had a huge orchid lath-house here. She said, she just basically neglected all her orchids and they extremely well. She had many Dendrobiums, Phalaenopsis, Cattleya and chocolate orchid (Oncidium 'Sharry Baby') and the extremely common Epidendrum hybrids.

Here's some pics form my neighbor's Epidendrums. They have hundreds in their yard.

http://www.growsonyou.com/photo/slideshow/85934-epidendrum-hybrids-reed-orchids/all

http://www.growsonyou.com/photo/slideshow/85936-epidendrum-hybrids-reed-orchids/all

http://www.growsonyou.com/photo/slideshow/85933-epidendrum-hybrids-reed-orchids/all

Well the Phalaenopsis orchids are available everywhere. You can probably pick one up at the supermarket. Other orchids, like some Catleyas, Vanda, Lady's Slipper, Vanilla Bean are not so common and can get very pricey. You'll have to visit a specialty shop (or website) for these.

They really aren't difficult to take care of. It's just a matter of providing the proper environment for them to thrive. Generally, they like bright filtered light, a moist environment & the same temperatures that we like. They take in moisture directly from the air so they don't want their roots buried in soil, just mist them once per week with a spray bottle if your environment is too dry. That's really about it.

This is a lovely colour ,We can buy them in any super market or garden center its keeping them going after the initial bloom has died off thats the problem ....

Yes, I know watering is the tricky part...not much water at all.

All the orchids you mentioned are very common here with the exception of the Vanilla orchid which is not too common. There's a huge Vanilla orchid in the Botanical Building (the giant lath-house) in Balboa Park. Vanilla orchid becomes very large.

Sounds like San Diego is ideal for growing orchids. That Vanilla orchid sounds awesome. The flowers are exquisite and it must be exciting to see the pods developing.

Yes, Vanilla Orchid (Vanilla planifolia) is a big orchid. I think I've posted a pics on GoY in the past.

Here's a not so good pic that I posted several years ago on GoY.

http://www.growsonyou.com/plant/slideshow/Vanilla_planifolia/181494

Thanks, I'll check it out.