Understanding Orchids by William Cullina is a great book. IF I had to give up all but one orchid book, this is the one that would stay.

He covers most species and gives cultural care, indicates where they can be grown and ease/difficulty.

The only down side - it truly will hook you and you will end up with more - you have been warned and welcome :>)

Brooke

Botanica's was the first orchid book I ever bought, I still refer to it regularly, especially if I am intrigued by a flower but need to know if the plant itself will fit into my growing conditions and space. The downside is that I am now getting interested in varities that it does not include

If you want to learn more about phals specifically, I recommend reading the culture notes offered at several phal vendors, namely

Big Leaf Orchids, Bedford Orchids, and Robert Beddard Nurseries. Lots to glean from them. Each one has a slightly different emphasis, so together you get a pretty good picture of phal culture.

There is also an excellent small book by Bob Gordon, called *The Culture of the Phalaenopsis*. The Gordon book is available used thru Amazon. I think it was about $15 or less used. High quality paperback with spiral binding.

For a good overall discussion of the importance of "balancing factors", I recommend the notes at the url below. Light, warmth, water, fertilizer and air do all have to be "in balance", and this often isn't discussed. So these notes are a good addendum to the others.

For learning about other kinds of orchids, the books recommended by previous posters would be excellent. Taylor's Guide to Orchids has a section on general culture, and a page or two of pictures and notes on each species for an small overview of the orchid world.

There is also a series of Orchid Digest issues each devoted to a different orchid type. These are wonderful, about $3 each as I recall. Pictures are wonderful, and there's culture information as well.

The Canadian Orchid Congress also has a really good series of culture notes for all different kinds of orchids. Worth reading.

Here is a link that might be useful: need to balance cultural factors

Highjack, I agree with your recommendation of William Cullina's book. It is well written and the one I consult the most.

I also agree that William Cullina's book is a must have. It has a lot of good info but the but I keep picking it up for the break down on orchid abbreviations. (It comes in real handy when your new to orchids and need to know what all those acronyms and abbreviations mean on the label.) I've purchased 4 orchid books and none had this feature but Cullina's. I also use my Taylor's Guide to Orchids quite a bit. It's nice because it gives care instructions to hybrids that I haven't found in Cullina's book. It's also a small book that's easy to manage.

Oh thanks you guys!!! Even better that you all seem to be in agreement on at least one!
I'm a greenhouse student so I've already got a serious addiction, and I'm okay with this! I've been thinking about trying orchids for a while now, but was trying to wait until I was out of school to reward myself. Then my florist friend wound up with some on sale and that was that!
Not to mention I'm also a serious bibliophile so of course my next move was to add to that collection! Thanks again!!!

I'm a serious book-lover too, j nail. For a second or alternative book I would agree with Claire1 that Taylor's "Guide to Orchids" is a good one. I have the Ortho book too, but the other two books contain the same information.The Taylor's Guide has the advantage of being a compact size, while the Cullina book is much bigger.

I like Orchids for Wimps and Ortho's All About Orchids for beginners.

I just got the Bob Gordon book, it's great if you want to grow phals. Hard to find - google and order it from his web site.