All are very nice, Lindsey. I'm especially fond of Mona Loa.

Jim

Thanks guys!
Critter...I only grew Phals for the longest time and am really enjoying the different colors and forms
of the other plants. My Pot. Burana Beauty came from Lowe's and is super easy to grow. Hoku Gem
came from Marble Branch Farms and I can't say enough good things about those folks or their beautiful
plants!
This one opened today...Lc. Mari's Song 'CTM217' HCC/AOS

Both Vanda David Gardners are blooming full steam right now.
This is the keiki I separated years ago.


This is the mother plant, I can't back up far enough to get the whole plant into the picture, the roots go all the way to the ground.


Vandofinetia White Crane


Vanda teres x Neofinetia falcata


another Vanda teres hybrid - Chrisanda Memoria Anri Bracker


My second plant of Vascostylis Midnight Treasure opened a spike.

Very pretty Lindsey! Cute and colorful!

Very pretty, Ursula! I would never think of Vanda crossed with Neofineta! Shows how uneducated I am on orchids!

Carol, you know, I forgot that I bought it ( the Vanda teres x) last year. I like it very much. The White Crane is neat too.
I think I need to grow Vanda teres....

Jim, I feel sorry for the folks in the gulf, but I'm glad you dodged the bullet! That kind of rain would wash California into the sea!

Sugarcane, thanks for the encouragement!
When the outdoor gardening season is over, I'll start looking at my 'easy' options for indoor beauties

BTW - I'm so new I've never had one bloom!.

Critter, I sure agree with Lindsay. There are lots of orchids that are easier care, less fussy about change, and re-bloom more readily than Phals. Don't worry, your Phals will very likely bloom in the winter or early spring and the blooms last for a month or more. Usually it's a change in temperature that inspires mine to bloom. All of mine stay outside all year, though, so sometimes a fall cold front will stimulate a spike to start.

Kitchens and bathrooms are good places for overwintering orchids indoors, if you have a window with good light - usually more humid than the rest of the house, right?

I had the best success with my Phals. giving them African Violet like conditions..nice bright light, like
where you might sit to read a book with out having a lamp on. If they were in that dreadful sphagnum
moss I watered them in the sink once a month or so, the ones that I transplanted into a bark mix I
watered once a week.

So Dyzzy,
DO TELL which orchids may be ast least AS easy as Phalenopsis.

This all started last summer when I attended not one but 2 talks on orchids.
One was a garden club talk by a local nursery.
The other was as part of a master gardeners seminar and the presenter was a hybridizer and international shower/seller.
The second talk refuted a couple of things said in the first talk.
Namely that orchids should be potted in spagnum moss.
The international lady said moss can easily lead toroot rot.
She had one I absolutely flipped for - she had wired it into one of those wooden boxes with widely spaced slats when it was little and it was now large and blooming and there was not a single scrap of potting medium of any kind in it, just roots gripping the slats.

I looked around online and saw them hanging on the trees with their bare roots dangling.
I like that.

But both speakers said that phaelenopsis is the easiest for beginners.
So that's what I asked for from Chef Mike's co-op.
I have his in a clay "orchid pot" with no potting medium.
I have the tiny one I talked my friend out of in a WHIFFLE BALL, which I dunk each morning in lukewarm water.

My hope for both is that they will fill their containers with their roots (or wrap around or whatever) to hold them sturdily in there.

I haven't expected a bloom yet as it has only been a couple of months.
Both seem healthy and happy in my east window with a filter (one of those plastic panels that cover the flourescent ceiling fixtures in offices).

Both let go of their old roots that they came with and have started putting out fat stubby new ones (YAY!).

So I feel I'm off to a stable start.
But please, educate me further!

I would not be comfortable telling someone in Pittsburgh which orchids would be easiest for them to grow. I started my orchid hobby in Florida and can only speak for Florida climates. For me, Phals are not the easiest orchids to grow by a long shot. Dendrobiums and Cattleyas are both easier. So are Vandas and Epidendrums. I like mounted orchids because you never have to worry about root rot. I have as many mounted orchids as I do potted. Phals do not like change at all. They are also one of the first orchids to need protection from the cold (along with Vandas). If you move them or change their pot or medium, they will sulk. I think they are a better house plant than an outdoor plant because they are less subject to enviromental change. As for moss as a medium, I avoid it. An exception is Bulbos, that for some reason do well in it. If you use it, you must spend all your waking hours worring about root rot. It's a lot easier to mist or water than to wring out moss.

I think either Ursula or Kathy could give you better advice because they live up in your zone. I hope they chime in.

Jim

Phalaenopsis are essentially ca 2 year- plants for me. They do not like my conditions (outside over the Summer) and usually decline after a couple of years in my hands. Which is not a problem, since they are fairly cheap/easily available. I buy a pretty one on occasion, enjoy the long lasting blooms and if they make it another blooming season or two, that is a bonus.
The question really is - where are you going to grow your Orchids? Do you have lots of bright light, can they be easily watered, what are your temperatures etc. That will certainly determine what you can grow and bloom.

Btw Sphagnum moss will kill your roots if left in place for more than 6 months.( Counting IN the time the Orchid has been in the grower's care) Some growers like to have their plants potted up in Sphagnum, so they don't dry out so quickly, especially those which need to be transported from Taiwan and similarly distant places.

Echoing what Jim said above, my only experience growing orchids is outdoors, in Florida. Very different from your situation in Pittsburgh. As he says, Ursula and Kathy are our two wonderful orchid gurus on this forum. I'm pretty sure they both have greenhouses, though. That makes life a lot easier, growing orchids up north, for sure! Our outdoor weather here in the cooler months could be said to approximate indoors fairly well - days in the 70's, nights in the 50's, and lower humidity. I know I keep the windows open most of the time from late October through most of April.

But I've been on a big learning curve, reading everything in sight, and tapping the great experts on two forums for 3 years now. There are some basics which it sounds like you've got a good start on. Just about the first rule for orchids is that their roots need air, so your whiffle ball, and clay orchid pot sound excellent. I don't think you're going to be able to put your Phals out in your trees, because over a summer, if they liked it their roots might grab the bark, and you'd have a devil of a time dislodging them when winter loomed. I'm finding that my mounted orchids need watering nearly every day (yes, even in our summer humidity) where the ones in pots with bark or chunky medium can easily go several days to a week without a dunking. This is good for me because I travel quite a bit. On the other hand, when it rains cats and dogs for days as it does here when we have tropical storms go by, I have to worry a bit more about overwatering with my potted orchids. They take refuge under the house overhangs, or under the patio table.

Here's my moss story - several orchids I've bought have come to me with a big, soggy fist-sized ball of sphagnum moss up under the plant. This is a very common practice, and you'll see it a lot in orchids at places like Lowe's and Home Depot. So all including my little Phals that I got at IKEA for $10 got re-potted immediately into bark mix (at any garden center in a bag that says something like "Special Orchid Mix") when they came home. One was already in trouble and dropping its buds. It wilted, then recovered but has not re-bloomed for me. The other is truly a champion, and the only Phal of the 4 I have that has not ever wilted or sulked. It held onto all its buds and bloomed from Labor Day through December 1st. Then it put out another spike in February and bloomed for another couple of months! Now it's throwing new leaves like a crazy thing.

I started out with two Phals that were a gift from my daughter, who said "Mom, you just can't live in Florida and not grow orchids!" She sent them to me from California, and both of them immediately dropped all their buds from the shock of travel. After I learned something about taking care of them, the bug had bit me. I started buying other orchids saying to myself "well if I have to fuss over these two, I may as well have more". Whoo boy! Anyway, what I've learned is that if you can keep Phals alive and healthy, you can probably grow other orchids just fine. As Jim said, I think Cattleyas and Dendrobiums are two types that are much more sturdy and forgiving. The one in my profile photo is a Dendrobium.

Here's the Phal Phamily at my house. Top right is my champion with 3 new leaves this summer, top left is its sister, and the two at the bottom are my "beginner" orchids from my daughter. Never exactly robust but they have both re-bloomed. The variegated one is mounted on a palm boot with coco fiber - the score's not in yet on whether that's working . . .

Critter, the best advice is to take your time, talk to some local orchid growers and try different orchids. Soon you will find the ones you like and the ones that do well in the environment that you can provide. Above all, have fun with it.

Jim

Critter what sort of environment are you growing your orchids in? inside/out? hot/cold? humid? just trying to get a idea. I dont know Pittsburgh.
Elaine your phals look great, so healthy and lots of green leaves. I can't keep them alive for long. I had one outside mounted for a few years then this winter it looked really bad so i bought it inside and that was the end of that. Ive only got 2 and those 2 have been inside since i got them and i don't want to change that, hopefully they'll be getting enought light to flower though. For me i find my Paphiopedilums easiest, then the catts.

Orchids will always be house plants for me.
East window, filtered.

What you're saying about other species sounds good!
Several Cattleya have caught my eye.

I'm so glad I have ATP and its users to guide me!

East window is ok, but do you mean filtered by a sheer curtain or something similar? That would certainly place some limits on what you can bloom. ( It will be enough light for Phals)
Cattleyas/Laelias will need bright light/sunshine in your region to bloom. But pretty plants like Ludisia discolor (one of the so called Jewel Orchids)and similar should do fine and they will look pretty even when not in bloom.
Have a look around here
https://www.google.com/search?...

Thanks, Bree. I am amazed that Phals survive outdoors here, given that they supposedly don't like either heat or cold. Mine seem to grow and thrive when it's hot here, and they do fine through our few (let's hope) nights of cold weather in the winter, too. I do cover them up when it's cold. My little variegated one is putting out another variegated leaf, when I thought it was phasing out the variegation, too. It went through a second wilted phase, and also survived a spot of black plague in June. I did lose one of my little Paphs to that bout of black rot, though.

Just a thought, maybe people give up on Phals too soon when they do that wilting/shriveling thing? I've now had my 3 Phals survive a total of 4 bouts of wilting. I just kept them in the same place, and kept up the misting regularly, and they all came back after about a month or so.

I think you and Ken might be the only folks on this forum that find Paphs easy. Again, it's a case of having the right growing conditions - temps and humidity - for them, isn't it? I think maybe Paphs are going to be my "visiting" orchids. I'll buy them in bloom and enjoy them for the beautiful long-lasting flowers, then if they live on, and bloom again that will be a bonus but I won't count on it. Just as Ursula says she does with Phals.

One more pic of my champion, and yes Critter, those new shiny fat roots coming out the top of the plant are a very good sign of health! They like to be misted - a spray bottle of rain water is your friend when you're keeping orchids indoors, and you'll see those silvery roots turn color when they get wet. But be careful not to let any water sit in the crown of the plant. Mine are all slanted to prevent this.