Hi from Tampa, Fl

[missmegan]

Hi my name is Megan and I am from Tampa, Fl. I have been growing orchids for a few years now with not much success. I have finally decided to get advice from others. Does anyone know of a good book for growing orchids?

[Sharyn]

Hi Meagan. Welcome to the forum. You'll find lots of friendly people here and good advice. Can't find the thread right now on the recommended books, however, the Ortho books are great for starters. You can usually find them in Home Depot and other similar stores. Good book for starters.

Let us know what kind of orchids you're growing and we LOVE pictures!

[patlee]

Hi Megan, Welcome to the forum. You will find lots of helpful tips here and someone with the experience to help you with whatever problems you may face.This is a wonderful learning experience--As to the book, I think the best thing you can pick up is Ortho's "All About Orchids". It is chock-full of all the basics and you can find it in the self-help magazine section of Lowe's or Home Depot. It will run you about $11.95. (It also has some gorgeous pictures. )
Glad you are on board--enjoy the ride

[Tess1]

Hi Megan, welcome to the forum. If you let us know which orchids you are growing, you will get all the help you need.

[articuno75]

Hi Megan! Glad to have you aboard! There are so many books out there. Agreed, the Ortho's book is a good choice. Another if you really want to get to the core and cut the mumbo jumbo is Orchids For Dummies (It's the book I have, LOL.) Maybe to cut down on the reading time if it's an emergency situation with your plant(s), tell us what orchids you have. We'll try and help you out the best we can.

[slippery_biscuit]

I've both of these mentioned books and another, Taylor's Guide series on Orchids. The last I bought just 'cause it was half priced at Charlie's Greenhouse when I was walking through. As a recent orchidophile I would be lost without having read up on the culture of these plants. Recommend you get more than one. They don't all say the same thing, altho most of the time the consistancy is there. When you've questions, this forum is another source of information.

[PhalPal]

Hi MissMegan, Welcome to the forum! There are LOTS of great books out there. The two mentioned above are a very good start; when you get through with those I can recommend some more for you!

[Tobi]

Hi Megan and welcome to the forum. Great people here with lots of helpful
information. Would love to have you share with us what you are growing.

[missmegan]

I have 4 dend., 2 phal. and 1 b.c(not sure what that is, that's what it says on the stick). 3 of the dend. are new and they are the only ones flowering. I posted some questions on another thread, newbie questions.

[NancyG]

Hi Megan,

Welcome. You'll find answers here. Lots of folks to help.
Below is the link to the American Orchid Society in Palm Beach County, Florida

American Orchid Society - Visit

Just copy and paste into your address bar.

You can get cultural information on each type of orchid here also.

NancyG

[E-Jag]

Howdy, missmegan. Dens and phals, while having differing light/water requirements, are pretty easy to grow and Tampa is a great place to do it. There are several of us on the forum from Tampa and there are a fair number of orchid shows in and around here. There was a good one a week or so ago at the USF botanical gardens. Keep an eye peeled. You've joined maybe the best orchid forum out there so read the AOS literature online and ask all the questions you want. Pretty soon you'll be answering them for another newbie. Welcome, we look forward to hearing from you and talking with you.

E-Jag

[pikevi]

Welcome to the forum, missmegan.

Once you get the advice from the experienced growers in here it will be a cinch to grow your own.

Best wishes for more success from now on.

[WIB]

I really like William Cullina's Understanding Orchids. There's a lot of information at about the right level for me, and he writes with an engaging style. I think it's worth the price. And, welcome! -- Bill

[PhalPal]

WIB I agree; I love Cullina's book!! It's one of my favorites. Another I really have learned a lot from in an easy to read, useful way is 'Growing Orchids' by Brian and Wilma Rittershausen. It's a great book for beginners and intermediate growers.

I bought all of my orchid books through Amazon.com at very good price.

Is there a thread that talks about just book recommendations?? If not I'll start one.

[WIB]

PhalPal: I also like the Rittershausen, which I picked up at a local second-hand store, but I don't turn to it the way I do to Cullina. -- Bill

[PhalPal]

WIB - Why don't you add these two to the 'Orchid Book Recommendation' thread I started?? I really wanted to myself because these two (Cullina and Rittershausen) are my personal favorites but thought I should start with the basic beginners books. I needed to leave something for other members to add.

[missmegan]

Thank you guys for all the book recommendations. I will have to pick some of those up.

[arleneg]

I don't want to repeat the book recommendations. Therefore, I'll just say "Hi & welcome to the forum!"

[cupcake]

Hi Megan! You've come to the right place! Everyone herew is so helpful, I'm a novice and have had nothing but encouragement here. You can ask anything without feeling silly. They are a lovely lot! Judi