New Member

[kenhind]

Hello everbody i am new to orchids, always liked the plants put off a bit by the care they may take but my wife has bought me one for my birthday, its a white one called The Ceramic Orchid not sure of its proper latin name, its from Marks and Sparks, any body know its correct name.
I would not like to kill the plant with ignorance so if any tips for the brand new would be appreciated.

Regards Kenhind

[butt0n]

Hello and welcome to the boards! As far as your orchid goes, I'm not familiar with that name. Do you have any pictures?

[kenhind]

Sorry do not know how to do photos yet, but will learn, its white with light yellow middle with red horizontal stripes 3 either side.
It looks like the one advertised on the Arena site called Wonderful White and that one is called a Phalaenopsis.

Regards.

Kenhind

[BillC]

Hi Ken, welcome aboard. If your plant came from M&S it is certain to be a Phal. because Phals are the only orchid they sell. Culture sheets for orchids may confuse beginners so I suggest three essential rules. Keep the plant in an area where it will get shaded sunlight; do not let it dry out, but avoid over watering. Too much water will rot the roots and kill the plant; feed it using a balanced fertilizer well diluted, i.e. if the fert.instructions say 1 teaspoon in a gallon of water, use that but at a quarter strength. You will find in the Forum posts which will assist you on how to tell if it is time to water. ( See Cynthia's sticky on this subject ) If you follow these simple guidelines your plant should survive until you have absorbed all the rest of the stuff I have left out. Be careful!! Orchids can become very addictive. Bill

[reen]

Hey Kenhind

Yeap its a phal. I was just looking through the M&S flower catalogues the other day too...

Just wanted to say welcome to the forum! Got my first phal a month ago and now have 3 !

[fred]

Hi Kenhind

welcome to the forum

nice to have you with us orchidgeeks.

I hope that you enjoy your stay here with us.

happy chatting

[Anton]

Welcome to the DARK SIDE, once hooked, there is NO leaving.

I have put a sticky up in the Newbie section on how to upload images here, any problems, send me a Personal Message and I'll help you through.

We LOVE pictures here, best way to learn.

May you have good growing both in plants and numbers of plants.

[pikevi]

Hello kenhind, welcome to the forum.

[Aniko]

Welcome, to the forum.
I would like to add something to the short but comprehensive care tips given by Bill: make sure that all the water is drained because the stagnant water causes root rot, and finally kill the plant.

Good luck and happy growing!