Hello from New Orleans! I am brand new to this site.
I had 2 orchid plants before Hurricane Katrina. Both were pahiopedilum (sp?)/ lady's slipper orchids. One bloomed white/green and the other bloomed white/deep plum (maybe this is called a black?). Anyway, they were doing ok before the hurricane hit (mostly becuase they were still pretty new, I'm sure) but I had a lot of anxiety over killing them. In the past, I have been known as a mass murderer of both plants and fish.
Anyway, they perished during Katrina anyway so I've been too afraid to try again.
So this time, I'm going to try to gather some info first and then buy my plants so when I get them home, it won't be such a difficult transition for them and I won't feel so unprepared. I'd like to grow the lady's slippers again but also love basically all other variety of orchids so if anyone has recommendations for very easy starter varieties that are difficult to kill, I'd appreciate it!
One major concern I had in the past and still have is when the bloom dies, what do you do? My plants I had previously were in bloom when I got them and one died (the bloom died, not the plant) and I never knew what to do with it... do you cut the dead flower off, do you leave it, etc. And what do you have to do to get it to re-bloom and how long before it will re-bloom, etc. I purchased them from Whole Foods when I got them so they may have already been in bloom for some time before I got to them since I know they can bloom for 1-2 months.
Anyway, I'm happy to be here and soak up all the info I can!