my first orchid(GASP)

[palefaced&pink]

i just recieved my first orchid, as a gift, for my birthday. i was trying to understand what "Den Ekapol x pale face" means. i'm assuming that it has something to do with it's type? and i think it's a Dendrobium from the leaf shape, because it came with a picture book of colorful blooms and "care instructions".
it's so pretty and i feel so bad it was doomed to live with me, but i figure i'll do my best to keep it alive, heck, maybe i could make it happy if i try. it has 5blooms and 10 buds, so it must be a little older, from what i read. (i really am painfully amature.) it also has a couple of shorter "stalks", and the leaves are looking a little damaged on those guys. she's a deep green foilage, except it looks a little brown at the tips, and one of the leaves is split down the center and stringy. i tried to take pictures but my camera sucks and you can't see any of the blemishes well.
also, one of the healther stems has a leaf that looks like it is coming disconected......i'm trying to read up on it, but all the formal names are distracting me....i'm determined though.

[jay]

Welcome to the forum!

There are a lot of people that can help you with the dendrobiums, I unfortunately can not. I do know that they will ask you where you live because it will make a difference as to how to take care of your new orchid. You can update that in your profile too.

Wish I could help more, but I mostly have paphs.


jay

[Tobi]

Hi and welcome to the forum. You have a Phalaenopsis type Dendrobium.
I grow some of these and have them in a South window with filtered light.
Here is a link to help you with its culture.

www.johnsonsflowers.com/dendrobium.html

[palefaced&pink]

oh thankyou! that helped looking up care info...now to figure out what these leaves are saying......

[Tobi]

Brown tips on your leaves could indicate fertilizer burn. (Too much or not
flushing it enough after you fertilize) After I fertilize, I usually flush the
media well with distilled water. You can buy a gallon of it for $1.00 at a food
mart store. The split leaves might be that it's not getting enough humidity.
Put the plant container in a tray of small gravel and fill the tray with water.
Make sure you don't let the container sit in the water in the tray though.
Keep good air circulation around the plant as well. Good growing

[PhalPal]

Hi Pink and Welcome to the forum!

Relax....orchids really are not difficult to grow. Just find out what your type needs (that's what the geeks and culture sheets are for) provide it for your plant, leave it alone and Enjoy!

I think the biggest mistake all beginners make (self included here) is treating an orchid like a house plant. Don't give it little 'sips' of water occasionally, but put it in the sink and really flush the water through the medium it is planted in. Don't be afraid to ask lots of questions!

[jerrymeola]

Dendrobium leaves do not live long. Expect to lose a lot of them and accept it as the way the plant grows. As long as new leaves keep forming the plant is fine.

Your name tag has a lot of information
Den Ekapol x pale face although it should be capitalize like this
Den Ekapol x Pale Face the capitalization has meaning

Den is the abbreviation for Dendrobium a family of orchids very suited for a first time hobbyist.

'Ekapol' and 'Pale Face' are two registered named of Dendrobium hybrids. If they were species orchids the first letter of their names would be lower case letters.

The 'x' in-between indicates that it is a cross of 'Ekapol' and 'Pale Face', which has not been named. Some growers use the cross reference on named plants to indicate that they are a seed cross rather than a cloned plant.

Yes we can clone orchids and this is a major factor in the lowering of cost for orchids.

Clones are an exact duplicate of the parent and seed crosses can vary in color among the same seed batch.

Back to the leaves of a Dendrobium this plant has only 5 leaves left and over 150 flowers. New growth is starting from the base.

[pikevi]

Welcome to the forum, palefaced&pink.

jerrymeola: What a beautiful Den.!

[orchid_girl]

Welcome to the forum!!! You'll find what you need here!! Jerry that is an absolutely gorgeous plant!!!!!