Hobbies

For me reading a  nessescity, I'd read the back of cereal boxes if there were nothing else.

I like to garden and cook, but again with cooking not doing so isn't really an option.

I don't think I really have the time or money for hobbies, I've started doing ancestry research again, but only for about 30 mins a day, using my Artificial Friend to help me.

reading is a must 

we have a gardener so I can't really get into that - did have an orchid once and it survived maybe 2 weeks before it died (I'm not good at looking after plants haha)

I assume it was one of the common ones, a moth orchid, phalaenopsis.

Lots of people think they are hard, but they are quite easy.

The problem is they are often half dead when you get them. So people think they can't grow them. But they did nothing wrong. To see why, you need a little background.

They have been initially grown in compressed peat like pellets about 2-3 cm in diameter and 4 cm or so long. They are then potted up and grown on in glasshouses at maybe 25 degrees, with reasonably high humidity and probably kept on damp capillary matting, with dappled sun or bright diffused light. They are cooked for a few weeks to trigger the flower spikes, then returned to the warmth.

They are then taken from this, put in a truck that is cool, on the dark and sent to a shop.

They like to be above 18 degrees C. Much below this they go dormant and can rot more easily, so need to be kept dry.

The shop then waters them from above, doesn't give them good light and keeps them cool. The roots start rotting. The leaves are fleshy and have lots of energy and juice so keep it going for a few months. The plug of peat keeps it too wet if it is not in a hot house and watered from below.

You buy it thinking it is fine, but the roots are in trouble. The flowers go limp so you water it a bit more. This finishes off the roots. It is not just a question ️of waiting for it to give up.

If you want to grow one, look for one that is a bit dry in the shop. Don't worry it takes months to kill it with dryness. The leaves wrinkle and the flowers dry but it won't die for 6 months or more. Wet kills it much faster, in a week or so depending on temp the roots start dying if it is too wet.

When you get it home tip out the pot. Tease out the roots. Try not to bend or break them if you can help it. Remove the plug of peat. If the roots are wet in the centre leave it for a few hours, or even a day or two to dry out. Repot. Do not squash the bark and stuff down. Just tap the pot a couple of times to settle it. Do not use soil.

You ideally want a see through pot. If the roots are green it does not need water. Wait till most are silvery. Water from above letting the water run out, or better, put it in a tub of water 3/4 of the depth of the pot for a couple of minutes, then drain. You can use rainwater if you want but they can take tap water. Use some orchid food, but keep it weak. They don't need it every watering. A east facing window for morning sun is ideal, south is too hot. Or keep with some shade, e.g. on the inside of a net curtains from april-sept. Direct sun overheats the leaves and burn them. They may develop a red tinge, which is anthocyanins which are its sunscreen.

Do not get water in the centre of the leaves ever. In the winter this can start the growing point rotting in one night. If you do soak it up with some tissue.

They grow on trees in the wild. The root is the wire inside the fleshy roots. The fleshy part is like a sponge that soaks up water and nutrients. That is why they can go dry without a problem and grow roots in the air.

If roots grow outside the pot don't worry, it is normal. You can water these roots too or leave them.

Hope this helps. There is more, if people are interested.

I got a bit obsessed and had about 70 in my house. I couldn't keep up with them. I tried a vanda, miltonia, zygopetalum, etc. examples of most common types. But I lost almost all in one of my burn outs, when I got depressed.

I have only 20 or so now and mostly easy ones.

Oncidium should be easy, but the fine roots mean they need to kept moist I think. Same for dendrobiums, which I seem to kill after a couple of years.

The cattleyas should also be ok, but they spread sideways quite fast and need splitting and repotting often, which they don't like much.

The problem comes after about 3 years when the potting medium starts breaking down and they have outgrown the pot. I think winter is more of a strain for some more than others. And keeping them watered when temps and sun is variable can be tricky.

Sounds like someone else is into orchids. They were a special interest of mine for a while about a decade ago. Now they’re more like part of the background of my life. I currently have 14 of them, so there are usually two or three in flower at any one time (mostly phalaenopsis, but also bulbophyllum, coelogyne, neofinetia, and paphiopedilum – all Asian orchids; for some reason, I don’t seem to be able to keep New World orchids alive for any length of time).

Sounds like someone else is into orchids. They were a special interest of mine for a while about a decade ago. Now they’re more like part of the background of my life. I currently have 14 of them, so there are usually two or three in flower at any one time (mostly phalaenopsis, but also bulbophyllum, coelogyne, neofinetia, and paphiopedilum – all Asian orchids; for some reason, I don’t seem to be able to keep New World orchids alive for any length of time).

I got a bit obsessed and had about 70 in my house. I couldn't keep up with them. I tried a vanda, miltonia, zygopetalum, etc. examples of most common types. But I lost almost all in one of my burn outs, when I got depressed.

I have only 20 or so now and mostly easy ones.

Oncidium should be easy, but the fine roots mean they need to kept moist I think. Same for dendrobiums, which I seem to kill after a couple of years.

The cattleyas should also be ok, but they spread sideways quite fast and need splitting and repotting often, which they don't like much.

The problem comes after about 3 years when the potting medium starts breaking down and they have outgrown the pot. I think winter is more of a strain for some more than others. And keeping them watered when temps and sun is variable can be tricky.