There are many keys to becoming a great orchid grower but the most important is learning from your mistakes. That does not mean that reading “How To” books is not useful. In fact, they provide a wealth of information easy for a novice to understand, whereas long-time growers tend to go into too much detail for beginners. The problem is that books for the beginner provide a generic approach that experienced growers have then modified as they learned from their mistakes.
The best place to learn from more experienced growers is at your local
orchid society. There you will see orchids brought in by different
levels of grower who grow under an array of different conditions. Rarely
will you find a hobbyist unwilling to share their experience and
techniques. The problem is that there are many different ways to grow
orchids to perfection and it can be difficult to determine whose advice
to follow. But, hobbyists at your local orchid society can provide you
with a place to start.
Most of us continue to learn about the orchids we grow and sometimes in
ways that we wish would not have occurred. This winter, I arrived home
after several days away to find an exhaust vent locked open. The max-min
thermometer told me that those cold nights reached into the greenhouse
wasting lots of propane and creating temperatures below a healthy
minimum for most of the orchids I grow. The cold winter had already
produced night temperatures lower than what I try to maintain.
Nothing in the greenhouse froze, but the typical problems of increased
bacterial infections and loss of buds occurred within the next week or
so. One particularly cold spot in the greenhouse was treated with a weak
solution of copper sulfate and individual orchids sprayed with hydrogen
peroxide as small spots appeared. At this time it does not look like any
orchids, even seedlings, will be lost.
It is hard to avoid frustration when an event such as this occurs. Close
examination of my orchids in the following weeks noted a few that looked
better that they ever have before. Several phals with origins in the
Himalayas have exploded with branched spikes and buds. Usually, they
only produce a few buds each year and typically suffer badly during
summer. While I have figured out how to nurse them through our hot
summers, they have never bloomed this well. Most surprising were other
orchids that I did not associate with cooler climates. They also
responded similarly and I am hoping to see more blooms from them this
spring. Next year, I will treat these orchids as I do the ones that I
know come from colder climates. These are placed outside or in the
coldest corners of the greenhouse and monitored with a max-min
thermometer.
Cymbidiums are already treated differently from my other orchids, i.e.
lots of light and cold in winter and heavy shading in summer. Windowsill
growers may not appreciate how much colder some windows are than others
and can use this to their advantage if they just attach some
thermometers to their windows and note the early A.M. temperatures.