My new orchid...yellow!

Ooooo. Lovely colour Lori.

thats lovely Lori

Thanks Gilli and Irish...I'm hoping to get a better picture but didn't want to remove it from the "neonatal unit"...lol. It's lovely and warm and humid inside the plastic. Believe it or not it's about 40 degrees F outside today! But not for long!

That is a beautiful color, Lori....looks like others are getting ready to bloom,also..

Love the touch of red on the flower.

That's very pretty :o)

Lori.....that orchid is beautiful

Lovely colored phaleonopsis! What a delight.

ooo - very pretty Lori. I treated myself to a Phaleonopsis just before Xmas, mine's a white one with a pink middle :-)

Aren't they wonderful? I want to try a cattleya and a masdevala .(sp) (The older I get the worse my spelling is....can't remember how to spell the simplest words) I have a cymbidium that I'm trying to bring back into bloom...it's been resisting me... gave it some time in the shade porch this summer and it looks happier...just hope it will give me some blooms!!

fingers crossed it will Lori

I'm just a beginner with them. Even so, I now have...let's see....four of them. Including one Dendrobium and two ...erm....the ones with little yellow flowers!! I wont say I love them until they have all flowered for me a second time! I might have to pick your brains later on with them ;-)

Cymbidium is the most needy for light and temp change to bloom Lori. It also tolerates the coolest temps. My understanding is 55F nights and a short light period and then heat and full light. I couldn't get mine to bloom again. I didn't have enough range in temp here I think. Good luck! :-)

Oh how beautiful Lori! I love the color and your lighting is gorgeous! A very Happy New Year to you Lori my goy friend!

Lovely and Good luck, something I am rubbish at keeping, have managed to finish off three now, so have given up. not fair on the plant lol

Gorgeous!

Hi Sid...talking about Oncidium? ("ones with little yellow flowers!")?
I really have to start looking locally... I'm sure there are more for sale out there than just the Cymbid and Paleanopsis... the Onc..looks like a cloud of little yellow butterflies! hahaha might be slim pickin's chum...these old brains ain't what they used ta be! but I'll be happy to help if I can!! ; - )
I've been trying the cold shock thing with this Cybid..but no luck so far...I've put a heat lamp in the bottom of the little indoor greenhouse...they're nice an toasty now!! Sorry to hear about your troubles Dotty...you just love 'em to death! Thanks GT, Raquel and Polly...! Happy New Year!

Hi Lori, this is lovely, is this one of the little minitures? i have a big white one just going into flower, i do love orchids. I had a Cymbidium a few years back, and all i did to get it back into flower, is move it out onto a shady, sheltered balcony through the summer, and left it out until just before 1st frosts, so that it got the change in temp of a night, then brought it in, and hey presto flowers. I have since lost it, - when we moved to the new house 3 years ago, not sure why, i think maybe because the spot i put it out on the first summer was more sunny, and less sheltered than what it was used to, they really don't seem to like too much sun, i think the place where i was before just seemed to be ideal conditions for it. i have had simular problems with a strelitzia that i used to do the same with, i have lost that since moving here too. - good luck with yours.

Hi Lori - yes that's it - Oncidium - I have two of those. I got them cheap because they were just finishing flowering but had lots of greenery on them so looked healthy. One of them is now producing new flower stalks and looks really heathly, the other one less so even though they are together and I treat them the same...? The Dendrobium is not happy either - it had a nice healthy shoot coming up from the base but those leaves have started to turn black - I think I underestimated the temperature and it got too cold (it's been minus-silly here for ages now). It also got dropped at one point and now does not quite fit in its pot:( The Phaleonopsis looks OK (Not had it long so not had time to kill it yet) but two of the 9-or-so buds have recently gone brown and dropped off. What's that all about? And if I could just pick your brains (opps nearly typed 'drains' - now that would't do would it?!) should I be feeding the Phaleonopsis as it is in flower? Seems counterintuitive to feed a plant in the winter...........

Might be its blooming period, lots of orchids are winter bloomers. And their picky...lol.

Yes, Sid - they like some food while they are flowering. I feed mine every three weeks.

I have 4 Cymbidiums and last year they all sent up flower spikes after their summer outside (in the shade) but this year, only two have flower spikes coming up. Same treatment. Not sure what to do with the non-co-operative pair!

Haven't been able to get the Cymbs to rebloom yet, so will have to bow to Spritz's expertise here...for the Phalaenopsis I followed the general guidelines ...east or west window...or a south window out of direct sunlight...they require bright light but NO direct sun! A comfortable P. will put up lots of foliage and will continue to do so as long as it's comfortable. but needs a temperature difference of 15 degrees (F) between night and day temps to set blossom.. (a minimum temp of 60 degrees F. (15 C.) - not too cold, this may be why you've lost some of the buds Sid) Some call this "shocking" it into bloom.... Optimum temps 72-82 deg. F.- 60-70% humidity. Good way to tell if they're getting enough light is the colour of the foliage....it should be a mid green. Plant in bark chips with a little peat to help hold moisture. I bought a fertilizer that was formulated for orchids but use it sparingly...I don't fertilize with each watering. I've put a heat lamp in the bottom of my little portable indoor greenhouse and keep a tray of water under it for humidity and warmth. The time spent outdoors in the shade during the warm weather is invaluable...mine seemed heathier and stronger for the time they spent looking like sulking children in the cool shade. They've really perked up since bringing them in...the blossom spike on P.#2 is starting to bud up...can't wait!

Majeeka....have you seen Diohio's pics of her strelitzia in bloom? check it out, if you haven't already! Some real encouragement for you...she mentioned a particular fertilizer recommended by Flcrazy...really usefull info...
Yes this orchid is a miniature but not as miniature as the one brought back into bloom this fall...it's now my friend's orchid... they make great gifts. I wish all were as bidable as the Phal's...getting into them and the epiphylla, (still think of Schlumbergera and Schlumbergera though!! ) Thought I was past houseplant mania...but good old goY has rekindled that old passionate obsession...lol... every shopping my hubby asks "What kind of plant are you getting today?" lol.....

I love to see the orchids in the nurseries and they are so delicate, this one is a lovely colour. I have never had the courage to buy one to keep indoors. They always look as though they need some real expertees to keep them. A very long time ago I went to SIngapore and saw them growing in the trees and also went to a very large nurseries where they grew orchids, It was fantastic.

Linda - Phalaenopsis are really easy, honestly! They are happy in a room temp where you are happy! As long as you remember to water them a little and feed them occasionally, with a mist spray as well on occasion, they'll flower and flower for you.
I wouldn't go for some other species of orchids, they need different growing temps, but go for a Moth Orchid and you'll really enjoy it!

lol, i will have a look at that now, i was very upset when i lost my bird of paradise, i brought it back from the Canary islands as a tiny little seedling no bigger than 2" tall and nurtured it for 8 years and it just got so big and flowered twice for me, but i lost it last year. i will try again though, they are facinating plants. oh and talking of Phals, mine has just gone back into flower again! :-)

Thanks Spritz perhaps I'll have a go at keeping one.

Thanks for the help everyone! Lori - I bet my Phal has got really cold at night - it's in the warmest room in the house, but it must go way below 15C at night at the moment. I've only lost 2 buds tho, so it's not too bad. The other flowers on it have lasted for ages and there is one more to open :-) I will post a picture just now of it.

Barbara - when you feed your Phal, do you just pour the solution on or is there some other technique - I ask this coz when I water the orchids, the water seems to go straight through. Obviously some must 'stay', but whilst I don't mind wasting water, I do mind wasting the plant food!

Ang - sorry about your bird of paradise :-(

What a lovely flower. Beautiful colour.

Thankyou Sue! Just checked out your photos... really nice work!!