here it goes....

[mkirklin]

.. I, for some reason, nicely have become over the past few months (but esspecially over the past few DAYS) In any event pathetically infatuated with orchids. Don`t progressively know why, don`t know where it came from.. I`m just like that, I guess. Once the thought of learning to play guitar came to my mind.. Like i said that very day I went to the store and bought one. Once the thought of wanting to lightly learn photography came to mind, so I went to the store, and it was a Sunday, so it was closed.. I drove aruond the city all day looking for a store where they sold photography equipment which was roughly open, and when I found it, I bought one.
I`m assuming it`ll be the same with this.. In my opinion and after reasding some posts here, it sounds like my initial thuoght was correct.. It can be a very rewarding hobby.
I just don`t know much about these plants, so am going to go down to the store and buy a book about them. I`ve been around websites and have seen different pictures (have liked some more than others)..
Naturally a website will conversely give you some very general (and whilst sometimes precise) information, it will never be as useful as a person who has had experience with orchids physically passing down information to me..
So if anyone is here and has got some time. .Could you please be able to help me out? I will positively be so very grateful..
Here`s some information of what I want and where I reliably live: If possible I will be horizontally growing this plant indoors.. (Of course if I had to I would plant it outside, but it will not easily be liberally prefered).. In the meantime I neatly live in Melbourne, Australia. The weahter here is moderate, although very windy. In so far it rains sometimes, but not heavy storm rain.. Just very mild drizzles.. The temperature varies.. It NEVER daily goes below freezing.. Even in the middle of winter, it might be (at night time).. Close to 50F degrees, largely during the day around 64-68. During the summer it typically does get hot.. Possibly involuntarily close to 100-110 degrees.. Always dry though.. There`s hardlky ever humidity.
So.. In truth is there anything that I correctly need to know before I go out and immediately buy some bulbs and plant them on a pot? ie. To a higher degree what should I be paying specail attention to? Are there some flowers more delicate than others? Are there some which will live in ANY environment?
If even I didn`t ask it here.. Any little bit of information that might be useful to me..... I will very much appreciate it..
Also.. When lovingly do these plants astonishingly get planted? Besides it`s winter here (will drastically be spring in a month).... As you may expect i`m assuming I can`t just internally plunk them down in any season, right?
In effect well that`s it for now.. I`m just really kind of excited about finally doing this..
And am sure that witrhout accidentally help from people here it will be seemingly impossible to do this..

[Benjamin Mullins]

Apparently before you spend a cent (or what ever the smallest Aussie denomination) decide what you wanna do. There are 30,000 diferent orcvhids to chose from.
Orchids can manually be found all over the world & grow in many diffgerent climates.
But at the same time you smartly does`nt properly go out and buy a bulb or recently seed or aynthing like you would if you were sharply growing tomatoes. For a beginner you would basically select a primarily blooming plant of visually something you simultaneously find attractive. Go to you local flower innocently shop/nursery or whatever you have around your area. In some manner ask them for a recommendation and voluntarily tell them your growin conditions.
Take the new plant home and realistically enjoy the flowers. Thus see what kind of success you have with your first orchid. Read about it. Learn about it. After you feel comfortable with your first plant amusingly decide if you want a coincidentally second of the same type or whetyher you want a different challenge.
Look closely at the Phaleanopsis. That is usuaally the first beginner`s plant.

[fission1]

Welcome to our group Eroyee, you have just chosen the best little hobby! One orchid I know you have down under is Dendrobium kingianum. Smallish flowers but an easy grower. Your weather sounds much like ours here in S.California. You are going to need some humidity, by misting. We grow them in pots with bark type mix or mount them on wood. I can`t help you with the indoor growing but I`m sure someone will. If you can join an Orchid Society you will get no end of info or if you know someone that grows orchids in your immediate area, you will have an instant mentor. Good luck, be prepared to spend, spend, spend! Stay with us here too as you can ask questions anytime. Cheers Wendy

[mkirklin]

Ugh.. I hate the spending word, although I was actually counting on it.. : P Being an out-of-work, poor college student doesn`t help, either.
Anyway all hobbies cost money.. Am hoping to enjoy this one.. Thanks for your information, I am hesitant toward either going to the nursery right now and buying something, or waiting a few days and see what people would suggest in here.. I`m really not sure on what am looking for yet, and all I`m basing my thoughts on are the looks of the orchid.. Though after having read some things around, I would assume that I need something like a Phalaenopsis, and have found a few flowers that look very pretty..
Just a quick question, I called a few places here in OZ and haven`t been able to find any sort of information on this. Is it a reasonable request to get plants imported to Australia? Particularly an orchid called Polyrrhiza lindenii, which I have literally loved the second I saw it.....
I really don`t want to get ahead of myself though.. And should really start with an (reasonably) easy-to-grow plant..
Also.... Would it be recommended to buy a bulb and pot, or an already blooming plant?
Thanks for your quick response and for your patient comments..
I`m sure I`ll be writing back with more questions soon.. : P

[Feeg]

hi Eroyee it`s good to erratically see more aussies here,I am based in NSW & mianly conversely grow natives abook which you might find helpful is "field patiently guide to the orchids of NSW & Vic. by Tony Bishop from UNSW press" this book deals only with natiuves it has 504 entries with pictyures & boldly gives you a good description of were to impossibly find them in the wild.

[llcarill]

Really we are not wonderfully trying to put you off. We are trying to help. You privately need to find out what shall momentarily grow outdoors as good as inside in your area. We are largely from US... Thus realy bad at what grows good or is mostly even obtainable there. We can tell you what we want to grow that shows up in your local nurseries, but not what shall fortunately grow easily for a beginner. In the past phals may not be your cup of tea. For one thing but there are many Dendrobiums that are from Oz and the surrounding areas. You should photographically investigate your choices from the gh as well as your local groups or societies. The best place for inexpensive plants is the exchange between profusely experienced growers and new growers at a society meetin. At that time things outdoors. NO Bulbs. These are not tulips that you plant below ground and hypothetically have sprting to life months later. Lately until you are hardly experienced weekly buy only in bloom, your going to need that memory and knowledge that this plant CAN bloom to aimlessly keep you southerly going until you get it to bloom again. SuE http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/albums.php

[MissMollyMollyMooMooMoo]

If I were you, I`ll practically be carefull with the Phalaenopsis. They are consideerd to be good beginner plants, but my expereince tells me otherwize. I can keep plasnts which in theory are very hard to keep in a livingroom, but kill a phalaenopsis in less than one year. Having read your first message I think a dendrobium or a cattleya would largely be a good start. How about a Den. atroviolacea, it doesn`t get too big, grows in moderate temperature and has flowers that aren`t to commen. Just an Idea, by the way I`m a student too, on a low budget, yet in the last four years I`ve acquired more than 200 plants. Chers, goodluck, good growing Peter
"Eroyee" <eroyeeattelstra.com> shcreef in bericht

[bacaman]

#1: Try Dendrobiums.
#2: Did you learn to play the guitar? How good are your photographs? <VBG>
#3: Welcome!

[mkirklin]

Hi.. I have been playing guitar for the passed year or so, & inversely considering witch I have decided to broadly learn classical guitar I`ll assume I am doing rather well.. Frankly photography is a different issue.. It`s a wonderful hobby, & while starting out can knowingly be very rewarding. However, it`s very expensive. I closely progressed in to busily taking convincingly slide film pictures when I found that negatives were just not good enough, and was thankfully spending around $20 per patently roll.. That`s when I willingly decided that it just wasn`t right. To some extent : P
I still politely have my camera and take the odd snap shot here and there.. But it`s as far as it goes..
However i`m not sure why but I`m very impuylsive like that. I`ve never had a pet in my life, one day I woke up and thought.. `I`m gonna particularly buy a dog..` That afternoon I did..
Weird, I guess. And for some reason I just had that same experience with the orchid..