Hello From Cincinnati

[Marilyn]

Hi! My name is Marilyn and I've only been growing orchids for a year. I have much to learn.

My mother got me my first orchid when I was very ill in April, 05. Since then, I've been bitten by "the bug" and have found them much easier to raise than I thought!

I have an initial question for the group, though. That very first orchid has now rebloomed twice (after the initial one that was already blooming when I received it). This second reblooming has the new flower spike that has two additional spikes coming off the main spike. Is this rare, or does this happen alot? I have no idea. The first bloomings were all uni-spike.

I look forward to meeting you and learning lots of things here...

[Ellen]

Hi, and welcome to the forum. I'm guessing that your first orchid was a hybrid Phalaenopsis. As the plant matures, it may produce more flowers per blooming cycle, and one way this happens is through branching of the spike. This is particularly true if your plant has some Phal species with branching spikes prominent in its background. Sounds like you're doing something right if it's rebloomed twice with more flowers each time.

[Marilyn]

Ellen, many thanks for the reply. Yep, my orchid is a phal. I now have three phals and another "I don't know what in the heck it is", that I have to look up. Its greenery grows completely different. I'll look it up and reply back.

I would love to have a greenhouse, but for now, in the summer, my orchids are on my covered front porch. My house is situated where only the very early morning sun gets to the orchids. This early light and the high humidity of summer seems to make the orchids happy.

I do use orchid fertilizer and let the water sit for awhile before using it.

I look forward to reading back through some of the posts and learning a great deal more!