| Dear Fabolusus,
There is a thread on this forum called "How to Select Orchids". Quite a few people (myself included) have posted thoughts and tips on how to select orchids for your space.
In one sense orchids are no different than any other plant: if you give them the growing conditions they want, they will thrive. Therefore it is extreemely important that you assess your growing conditions (light, temperature, humidity, how often you can water, etc) and select orchids that do well in those conditions.
I see in an earlier post you have 60-70% humidity and 65-75F temps. The humidity is good but you will want to avoid high-humidity plants like alot of the delicate little species that come from the mountains of South America that live in the cloud forests and get 100% humidity 24/7.
I'm not sure if your temps are day or night. If they are day, you're in the intermediate to cool region. If your temps are constant year-round, you'll want to avoid things like Cymbidiums and some Phals which require a seasonal temperature drop in autum to initiate flowering.
As I have always grown in natural light and flourescent lighting, i don't know how bright a 400watt HID light is. Can someone else weigh in on this one?
Another important rule when shopping for new orchids is: Ask lots of questions. In my experience, vendors are happy to answer questions, afterall they want you to become a good grower so you will buy more orchids! If you are thinking of buying a particular kind of orchid, visit the American Orchid Society website and download a culture sheet and see if you can provide what they need. If you're considering something unique and can't find an AOS culture sheet, do some research in your library or online. Ask for cultural information on forums like these and make sure you can provide what the plant needs before buying it.
You are going to have GREAT FUN!
Happy Growing,
-Kevin  |