Yep our collections grow and grow! 🤣 I know my husband just said to me, "you can't have them all"! I'm like why not!!?? 🤣🤣 great video as always hon! It's great your reaching Australia! I been having alot from Canada lately! It's so cool! 🤗🌹🩷
Nicole,.....you always put out great videos......so much information and great tips.....Even an experienced grower will pick up something, or get an idea triggered from your wonderful talks.......Caring for a large collection is alot of work, and hard work to get it very dialed in........but what I find even harder,.... is resisting new orchids......It takes everything I have to not buy them when I find them or when I get generous offers from other growers......Your collection is proof that beautiful orchids can be grow indoors.......wonderful show.....thank you for taking the time.
Thank you so much for the very kind words Rick! I agree with you - it's hard knowing when to step back and appreciate what you have versus continually expanding. It is a lot of physical work to have so many of them, so it's definitely a consideration! One in, one out once you reach the threshold. Appreciate your lovely comments Rick!
This is great advice as usual, Nicole! I thought I was all set when I figured out fertilizing and lights. Then I watched videos like yours talking about insects and fungal infections. I knew it was just a matter of time before I would need to know what to use so I read and watched and figured out what I needed. Thanks for the time and effort you put into helping all of us!
ive definitely got a case of the orchid addiction 😮 would love to see that video ! :)) Im watching from the Uk and what you said about growing orchids that work well in your environment is very true, I love those big vanda orchids with showy flowers but my grow lights are not gonna be enough for them! luckily tiny vanda falcatas seem to do great in my care 🤞
I will make that video :) I feel the same about vandas! It can be done but its more work to constantly water them and keep the humidity high. I was really stoked this morning I found one of my neofinetia crosses (Vanda Twinkle) is in spike. I'm so excited about it!!!
Hi. I recently subscribed to your channel and am enjoying your posts. I appreciate the cohesiveness of your pots… a clean beautiful collection on neatly arranged shelves.
I can put checks against all your points:) i have already managed to most of these mistakes. My collection is growing rapidly. It takes more and more time and includes some orchids that grow reasonably well for me and some that are clearly not suited for my indoor conditions. It would be an interesting video on orchids that are not 100% suitable for your environment but which you tried to grow.
Hi from Costa Rica. I currently live in a forest in the pacific near the coast and it has a very marked and heavy dry season and then a very muddy rainy season, normally I only water my outdoor orchids for just some months of the dry season when they don't have any flowers or seeds on them. Next week I'll be moving to another forest but this time up in the mountains, and there you wake up inside the clouds every day so I might not have to water anything from the new collection, as it is the perfect environment for outdoor orchids. I do love your LED setup and your collection, thanks for the video.
Hola from NY :). Thank you so much for watching and sharing your conditions! You probably can grow so many different things out there. Oh my goodness, cloud forest, is it cooler? What a treat, you can grow many things I likely cannot here since I'd imagine its humid and mild. :)
I have 10-12 orchids (two are keikis that grew from a rotted mother plant). I grow indoors with a single grow light, on my dresser (yes it is a lot of plants in 1 spot, i also have 3 carnivorous plants stuffed on there as well). I’ve been thinking about how to approach growing my collection and this video was helpful. Its true that you get addicted, i had 1 orchid for almost a year (may 23-Dec23) and by may of this year I already bought 9 more. My first orchid rebloomed during Christmas time and the excitement motivated me to by 5 plants back to back before slowing down a little, buying only 1 orchid per month (last orchid was bought in may this year). The only reason , besides money, my collection isn’t growing is because I have to think over my space options lol
My next video will be on orchid addiction haha. I am glad you've slowed it down, you want to keep the collection manageable and don't want to be overwhelmed, so it's good that you slowed down. With that said if you create a dedicated space for them and keep growing it slowly I think you'll find it very rewarding :)
Hi Nicole, this is great advice, and I thank you. Right now, I have 45 orchids and 40 house plants. I love taking care of all of them ❤. Hope you will do a video on plant obsession 🙂
I think you're right. Orchids and Hoyas are my absolute favorites. The plant bug 🐛 has certainly bitten me. I'm looking forward to seeing your video. Have a wonderful weekend, my orchid friend.
Interesting thank you. Like you I started with a gift ( a disappointing postal gift at Christmas) but a couple of windowsills full now. Mainly Dendrobium and Phalaenopsis and one Oncidium. Biggest issue I’ve had so far is one specimen got petals covered in Botrytis spot(leaves were fine!) due to misting with rainwater. Won’t make that mistake again! I’m really delighted when I get repeat performance flowing and obvious growth. I’m growing in Scotland, UK. Your collection is vast and wonderful. Super grounded advice. Thanks! …Terry
🙈 orchid addiction is real! I have 26 orchids now (unexpectedly) including majority are phals summer bloomers & 3 winter bloomers. Recently added neofinetia hybrid & oncidium twinkle 😂 and one large flower vanda, thanks to my bf who got it for me because he loves the bloom too. I hope I'm done with purchasing more 🤪
It's just in time for me! I currently have around 80 or so (mostly orchids + a few other) houseplants, but if I were to include the orchids I lost in my inexperienced days, I've easily had more than 100 I think. My collection is demanding but just the right size for me to still enjoy and not get overwhelmed. 😂
@@TheOrchidSaGa I agree! I think this is why most orchid enthusiasts tend to collect a significant amount of plants - as you stated - there's just always something happening that way! How does one even begin to take care of 400?!
Love this video! I tend to keep my collection around 50-60 orchids. I do a combination of windowsill and grow lights. My biggest pest issue are fungus gnats. I know they don’t hurt the plants, but are annoying and makes me worry about the quality of the potting mix.
The addiction is real. My current challenge is accommodating tall flower spikes. My Phal. Pulcherrima var marmorata grows vertical spikes that can reach up to 4ft at maturity. My grow lights aren't able to fit that so I'm trying to plan ahead as this will be its second time blooming for me.
The addiction is so real. One of my vandas is in spike, i haven't felt that rush in a while and today I felt it again haha. For the tall spike oncidiums i put them on the edge of my shelves and let the spike grow up - but accomodate it so it can go higher if that makes sense. you could also put it on the floor if the grow light can give it something while it's in spike possibly.
Good to see you and your beautiful orchid family! I have 11 orchids. Its enough for me because i also have an Autoimmune Disease and Degenerative Joint Disease. They are enough to keep me busy on a therapeutic level 😂. If i was physically able, believe me i would probably have a collection like yours. You have a beautiful soul 💕.
Thank you so much 🥰 You absolutely have to keep things manageable if not it becomes a chore and then the joy goes away! I appreciate your kind comment 😚
My collection has reached about 100, and I’m showing no signs of stopping. My biggest problem is their care while my husband and I travel. We’re sometimes gone up to 3 weeks. I plant in self watering pots for those times, but I’ve started experimenting with lava and I’m not sure how that will go. I have put a wick through the lava and they are in self watering, but I’m not sure if the wick will provide enough. Thanks for all the videos. They always contain useful information.
I completely understand that. Once you start.... you just don't stop haha. I like cattleyas and dendrobiums because they are usually ok with not being watered for long periods of time. Phals are tough and seedlings are though in these circumstances. You'll know what works best without having to change things too much, but self watering for sure helps. Maybe you can mix the lavarock with leca? The leca I know for sure will wick up.
@@LizE2654 I haven't because lavarock is inert and moss is organic and degrades quickly - so I would hate to repot something with lavarock so soon to freshen up the moss (lavarock is rough on the fingers). Pumice may work better since it's inert and also holds a lot of moisture.
@@NicoleDeanna that’s a good idea. EJ at Orchid Saga raves about pumice. Thanks!
Месяц назад
Excelente vídeo, Nicole! Eu moro em apartamento mas, como não tenho muito espaço disponível, não posso deixar um cômodo exclusivo para as orquídeas. Porém, tenho duas varandas (pequenas e com problemas de excesso de luz solar), além de um minúsculo quarto de serviço onde cultivo poucas orquídeas. Realmente não sei o que acontecerá quando todas as mudas crescerem, talvez plante algumas em árvores, pois não terei espaço suficiente em casa.
Obridaga amigo! E um hobby tao bom, mas vc precisa de planejar como vai acomodar tudo ne? Eu acho que e melhor ter mais luz do que menos pq vc pode filtrar :) Vc vai poder acomodar, a gente sempre da um jeito 🤣🥰
I have a general houseplant addiction, orchids, Hoyas, Sansevierias, etc. I'm retired so I can devote a lot of time to my plants, but my house is full. I'm going to need some artificial lighting to get through the winter. I love looking at all your plants. Thank you.
Very helpful advice but like others have said, when one is addicted to orchids, it’s always “just one more” 😂. And having said that, where did you get your summer bloomers? I feel like I need another 😂 ❤
😂😂 agreed!! I got a lot of summer bloomers from Hausermann. Also at the Tamiami orchid festival, I got some from Wilson orchids :) the vendor Orchid classics as well!
It is the Botanical LED lights "Spike Producers" they do a good job. Even the lower power lights from them get some of my cattleyas to bloom if the light source is close enough, but they have a newer stronger one now for vandas specifically.
Hi. Enjoyed your presentation. FYI, I recognize the lights you have are from Botanical LEDs (used to be Orchid Hobbiest). I use them also and highly recommend them.
Hi Nicole, I have followed your tips and my plants are doing great. One question. Do you keep your humidifier and fan on during the night? If I turn them off, my humidity drops to 40%. Thank you.
@@ultravice191 thank you :)) I keep the fan going 24/7. I don't run the humidifier in the summer at all, if I run it in the winter, I keep it on all night
Great video. I grew in a greenhouse for years, and now trying out under lights. Question- I am using the Monios T8 2 ft lights for Cattleyas etc. How far do you space the lights apart? I am using 3 strips. Thank you.
Thank you :) I used to have Monios lights when I began and I remember I had them just under a foot away from the tops of the cattleya leaves - maybe 8" and it worked well. The one thing I was concerned about was that in the summer the lights would get HOT - so just make sure you have a fan running so they dont' overheat when you get them that close.
@@NicoleDeanna thank you. I have them that far. And I have a fan running with a humidifier. I wanted to know how far apart did you space the strips of lights? I am using 3 strips. Thanks
@@ultravice191 they were about 8" from the tops of the leaves and I just spaced them so they were in the middle of the shelves with a few inches in between
@@annieloh7600 check out my video on where I purchase orchids from last year. I like Carmela orchids, Akatsuka orchids, sunset valley orchids, Hausermann and I've gotten some at orchid shows.
All things i had to learn the hard way...😅😂 Orchids have taught me some hard life lessons. Does anyone else have a big pot with all of the tags from orchids that didnt make it? I think i have more misc. dead tags than live orchids at this point.😢 Only God knows how much money I've spent🙄
I keep an Excel file of all of my orchids (around 400 live ones at the moment) When a plant decides to die on me, I cut and paste the plant information from the live list onto another Excel page called "The Dead". I like keeping track of them. I also have a page for when I donate a plant or give one away.
I have been growing Orchids for a little over 6 years and the best decision i ever made in regards to that is limiting how many Orchids i have (~30). Never had pest issues that weren’t cleaned up without much effort, never killed an Orchid, never even really had an orchid regress on me. No way i could have done that with 200 plants. There are people that truly are happier with a 3-digit number of plants but i suspect that is less than 10% of the people that end up buying this much. The other 90% would be way better of enjoying their couple favorite plants, watching an entire movie trilogy each week instead of watering and cursing spidermites and spending the thousands of dollars they save on something else.
I never met a plant I didn't like. Even cactus 🌵! I grew up on a farm so I've been surrounded by nature my entire life. I live in an apartment now and had to retire early because of illness, Autoimmune Disease. I only have 11 orchids. Plus about 20 house plants that I've had for over 30 years. I have to pace myself and break up my little orchid chores. Lol. Orchids have become my new hobby. I'm learning something new all the time. I have no pests and I've lost only one orchid since I started collecting 3 years ago. My girls are healthy and blooming!
This is a perfect amount. Just enough to keep things interesting and looking forward to chores but not too much where when repotting season comes you're overwhelmed. You can definitely take better care of less plants when you limit them. A lot of folks that watch my videos have substantial collections, and folks I've met through orchid societies / social media, I encounter many with large collections, but as for the stat, I wonder! I end up listening to audiobooks when I do plant chores, but for sure it's A LOT OF WORK.
