Hi Just wanted to introduce myself.... My name is Leo I am from Sedona, AZ and have been an amateur orchid grower for about 15 years..... My wife bless her soul, through her love of plants and flowers got me first interested in orchids. After seeing one in our local grocery a (Cymbidium species) I suggested she get one..... She had heard somewhere that they were hard to grow, but I said you are so good at growing plants you can do it, give it a try..... Well we ended up taking that plant home. I ended up watering and taking care of it though. She would tell me, "it's dry you need to water it more, or it needs more light, or it's getting too much light" I would say no, just let me try my hand at growing it, OK! I had a book on orchid growing and I would tell her, "the book says you're not suppose to water it too much", or something like that. Well after she saw that it was growing and it wasn't dying, she left me take care of it. I'm glad she did! For years she had tried to get me interested in plants and flowers, but I was a guy I didn't really care, until I got that orchid and after a couple of years of taking care of it
it bloomed . That did it for me, I was hooked! She could grow all kinds of other plants and flowers, but she would say proudly, "I have to hand it to you, you have a thing for growing those orchids". That made me feel good, and over the years I have acquired several different types of orchids to where now I have a small collection that I almost need a greenhouse to fit them all in. In her memory I will continue to grow orchids and other plants and flowers, because it gives me some peace inside and reminds me of my wife's love for plants and flowers and how much I loved her.
I am glad I found this forum, I am sure that I will get a lot of good ideas on how to grow and take care of orchids for years to come.
