I bought a phalenopsis (moth orchid) today (large, Lowes, $6).
We shall see what color it is when it blooms!

I’m infatuated with Hoyas right now.
I want to order some but the weather is too cold
After April 15th I’m likely to order some from The Violet Barn or some guy on eBay.

1st orchid. Dendrobium Burana Classic
Bought from Trader Joe’s Summer ‘09.
It promptly lost all flowers & leaves because I let it cook in the car (~20-30 min, hot day).
Psuedobulbs were alive and there is now new growth (~3-4″).

2nd orchid.  Dendrobium Burana Sundae
Bought from Trader Joe’s Late Summer/Fall ‘09.
Had to move it away from the window because of leaf sunburn.
New growth (~3-4″).

3rd, 4th & 5th orchids.
Caulocattleya Haddie Notch ‘Paradise ‘(C. Cherry Song x Cau. [Diacm.] bicornutum)
Potinara Sweet Norma ‘Paradise’ (Pot. Odom’s Sweetheart x Blc. Lawless Freischutz)
Potinara Regal Red ‘Paradise’ (Pot. Sally Taylor x Blc. Regal Pokai)
Bought on discount from Lowe’s Jan 2010. Price range, $1-$2.
They all looked really sad and were way too wet.

All orchids were re-potted in January.
The Trader Joe orchids had to be dug out of a solid block of coconut husk.
The Lowe’s orchids had extensive root rot.
I moved the orchids to a warmer spot with less sunlight after re-potting.
I fertilized them two weeks later.
In a few more weeks I will move them to their regular location.
The Lowe’s orchids are looking healthier, but still have a ways to go.

This image is similar to my two potinaras.

The table below gives you the Nitrogen concentration for different feeding doses.

• Nitrogen is of most importance in the calculation, the other factors are ignored.
• Too much nitrogen can burn the roots and promote bacterial breakdown of the potting medium.
• Use no fertilizer when the orchid is about to flower/flowering.
  The fertilizer will promote flower drop.
• Use less fertilizer during dormant periods.
• Occasionally water w/o fertillizer to flush excess Nitrogen salts from the potting medium

I will be using the “Weakly weekly” watering scheme.
The calculations are based on the 20-20-20 fertilizer, but I bought a 24-8-16.  The concentrations are roughly the same, but to be more accurate you should use ~20% less with the 24-8-16 fertilizer.
Using ppm and V1*C1= C2*V2,  you can recalculate to get the correct concentration.  I also converted to mL.