I picked up my first cattleya orchid at the end of February from my local orchid show!

I was so excited when I saw it on the presale website (the last two pictures are from the SFOS listing where it stated it had last bloomed in January).

The ID is trianae ‘cashen’s’ FCC/AOS X laelia alaorii ‘SVO II’. Which I had pretty much no idea what that meant but they said it would be fragrant.

The 6” pot size was much bigger in person than I imagined! I saw a lot of other orchids for sale at the show half the size and double what I paid, but looking back that makes sense since it’s easier to collect smaller plants. This one takes up a lot of space!

I’ve given it light and water and I was so excited a few weeks ago when I saw the bud start to grow! I thought I’d have to wait until the winter for another bloom. I was out of town during its peak blooming but it has a subtle spicy scent to me :)

I’m so impressed with the quality of plants from the San Francisco Orchid Society that I couldn’t resist when I saw their presale go live. This weekend I’m picking up my first dendrobium, RNJ-8 - Dendrobium parishii var rubra!

Dactylorhíza baltica

Fiancé & I brought home our first orchid today! What are some tips, tricks, and useful knowledge for us orchid newbies?

Hey everyone, I am in a bit of a crisis and looking for some advice on what to do next with my collection.

I have a collection of about 20 orchids (a mix of Dendrobiums, Cattleyas, and Phalaenopsis) that I have grown for a number of years. Recently, I had several "sick" looking plants that just weren't thriving or blooming. I honestly assumed it was a care routine issue, a fungal infection, or maybe a bit of sunburn, but I finally decided to buy some Agdia test strips to be sure.

They came out positive for Cymbidium Mosaic Virus (CymMV).

Once I realized what the virus symptoms actually looked like, I threw out all the plants showing obvious signs of decline. I had been cleaning my tools between plants, but just learned the hard way that isopropyl alcohol isn't enough to kill a plant virus.

Here is where I am stuck: I decided to test 6 of my healthiest looking plants that show no symptoms. Two of them just finished blooming beautifully for me this spring, and two were new additions that I assumed were clean. Every single one of them tested positive.

If even my healthy, asymptomatic bloomers are positive, I have to assume the entire collection is infected.

I’m completely devastated and don't know where to go from here.

• Do I really have to throw everything out? The thought of tossing years of growth and plants that currently look completely healthy is making me sick.
• What would you all do in my shoes?
• Is it possible/realistic to just keep a separate, closed CymMV-positive collection? I don't plan on selling or trading, but I'm worried about the logistics of virus management if I ever want to buy a healthy orchid again.

Any advice, comfort, or harsh realities would be greatly appreciated right now. Thanks guys.

Had this plant for a few years and always got male flowers. This flowering I get a female spike AND a male spike. Should I pollinate?

Last bloom was in October when I got her, so I'm super glad I got another one now. ♥️

I wish my Oncidium would bloom soon as well, but it doesn't seem like it will.

Epidendrum cinnabarinum
“Que linda esta flor de la cima de la montaña, es como tu Gloria Valentina”
Fotos: JARV
Observación directa:
Flores de aproximadamente 4–6 cm.
Sépalos y pétalos rojo escarlata.
Labelo anaranjado con bordes rizados y pequeñas manchas rojizas.
Flores agrupadas en un racimo terminal.
Encontrada en una zona de montaña con roca y helechos, un hábitat típico de muchas especies de Epidendrum.

I accidentally snapped a flower spike but it didn’t fully break off, it was hanging on by just a tiny bit!

So I decided to leave it alone and it kept growing!

And it ended up growing 4 buds ☺️

And why are the new leaves growing half way up the stalk?

Sort of as the title says really, ive had this orchid for 10 or so years and earlier this year when I reported it into fresh medium I noticed it had root rot. Not a problem says I.

I cut all the mushy roots off which left it with 2 healthy roots and stuck it in a bag with some wet sphagnum moss and crossed my fingers.

2 weeks later the 2 healthy roots were furry and mushy and the sheaths came off.

Bugger.

So I did what I did with another orchid that hadn't flowered in 10 years and stuck it in a glass with some wet medium and a few drops of orchid food, put it on my kitchen windowsill and recrossed my fingers and added in some toes for good luck.

MONTHS passed and one day whilst checking it I noticed a new little nub forming. Ooooh I thought somethings happening!

Before I knew it multiple rootlets had formed and I was very excited!

Only then it decided that it was going to lose a leaf. But not all was lost! A NEW leaf was appearing!

I moved it off the windowsill as its become quite bright and hot there over the summer month and watched and waited.

Checked it this morning and now the other mature leaf is starting orange and im worried that despite my patience its still going to die.

Is there ANY hope at all for this orchid? It has 5 roots forming and 1 new leaf starting.

And advice greatly appreciated.

I love me some multi floral paphs, especially the summer blooming types. I have two that bloomed around the same time to each other due to the philippinense parentage in their genetics. The Saint Swithin hasn't bloomed in almost 3yrs. Last time, it bloomed 8 flowers on two fans and is doing it again with this spectacular show.

Crouching Tiger, I got in the orchid show of South Carolina from Marble Branch Farms. He always has great paphs for sale. This blooming came to a total of 10 flowers. Might be another 2yrs but as always I'll be looking forward to it.

Enjoy the show!

This is my new baby Clairese. I hope I don’t end up killing her lol I would like to have this one for years🥰

This is my first bloom spike (!!!!) and I'm anxious to know how long I've got until it blooms. I first noticed the spike June 11th and this photo was taken today. I know the average time is 3 months soooo... mid September, does that sound right?

I purchased this orchid at Trader Joe’s. The nursery is Matsui, based in Salinas, CA. The tag does not provide identification. Thank you !

My only remaining flower on my encyclia alata. Cats got the other flowers I think. Its been growing on this coral rock for at least 20 years. Have another one growing on a fossil shell.

Getting it soon Miltoniopsis Breathless Fireworks variable SOLD OUT

Hello everyone got my first orchid for free this past Mother’s Day from my job and it was this beauty. She started with about two inches more stem and about 7-8 more flowers then she has now and has grown all but two of the leaves sense I got her. Haven’t had any problems necessarily but from learning more on this sub I took her out of the pot she came in and last week put her in this hanging basket with a ball of the moss she came with.

I’ve been soaking her in water when her roots get white and adding the same fertilizer I’ve been using sense she was potted. Any tips and tricks would be so appreciated.

Hello, this is my first experience in charge of an orchid. I have experience taking care plants, but I know this is another league. If you could leave me some advice to keep her well and alive, I would be very grateful.

I need help telling if this orchid is healthy.

A quick summary of this plant: This orchid wasn’t getting watered a lot, and then about a month ago I started watering it consistently, but possibly too often. The blooms in the photo appeared a couple weeks ago and are looking well.

But, I can’t tell if this plant is healthy in general. The visible roots look like they might be weak, and I’m unsure if I should unearth the plant to take a look at the whole plant. I would appreciate any advice, thank you!