Oh boy . We will have you playing poker next. I had some great fun playing auctions too when I lived in England. Trouble is you think you are smart. There are a lot of other smart bidders too. Brits are just smart. You may be luckier where you are. I got outbid most of the time. Here in Brazil you don't have to think about such stuff. You just find some grower somewhere in the forest who sells about 5 plants a month and that's where you get your bargains.....!

Does your orchid look something like this..... If so you have a Phalaenopsis and there is a mountain of information to be found on the net or by reading past posts on this discussion page. Still puzzled? Give some details of where and how you are trying to grow the orchid for detailed advice.

Welcome! Your first orchid! And you live in a terrific part of the country for growing orchids. You're asking the right questions, and Cody's suggestions are good. If you go to that nursery, or somewhere else, tell them the aspects of your "environment" - light and rainfall, and that you're getting your first orchid. They'll be able to recommend several types of orchids that will be suitable for your place. One question for you is the "dappled shade." What % full sunlight would you estimate will get to your orchid? (It may vary by morning, noon, and afternoon.) That will be important for the nursery staff when making suggestions for an orchid. Once you decide on an orchid... or two, :) staff will know options for the type pot and potting medium. Be sure and tell them your orchid will hang in a tree so they'll include a pot hanger, or you can make your own. Just look in an orchid supply catalog to see what they look like. (See link below.) You'll also need a fertilizer suitable for orchids and a schedule for fertilizing. Be sure and ask what strength the fertilizer mixture should be, if it's different from directions on the label. Ask how dry the potting medium should be before you water and how to tell when the medium is that dry. That last one may sound strange, but it's critical for the health of your orchid. You're in luck, being a "forgetter," aka "underwaterer." Water - if your water is softened, the salt will kill your orchid. You'll need to buy distilled water or filtered water that grocery stores here sell by the gallon from a stand with a spigot. Watering - water at the top of the potting medium until water runs out the bottom of the pot, then for 1-2 seconds longer. Another factor - because fertilizer salts build up in potting media, they need to get "flushed out" or "leached" periodically. Leaching means running regular water through the pot like you're watering it three times. If your plant's in bark (actually, a mixture of bark and other ingredients), the rule of thumb is to leach every 4th watering, with the 1st watering tap water, the 2nd fertilizer water, and the 3rd tap water. If it's in sphagnum moss, it's every 3rd watering: 1st watering is plain water, 2nd is fertilizer water, 3rd is leaching. The nursery staff will also know about pests in trees and hopefully effective prevention. You can ask all these questions here, too. However, people who live in other parts of the country - such as myself - will have limited experience with your environment. An orchid friend moved from Minneapolis to Florida and needed to change a lot of what she'd been doing in Minnesota. Caveat - there may be other factors to consider. Hopefully, others will chime in. Whitecat8 Here is a link that might be useful: Kelley's Korner Orchid Supplies

You have posted on the Photo Gallery. Orchid growing is discussed over on discussions. Your orchid shows symptoms of being unhappy with your growing conditions. Temperatures? Light? Where are you in the USA? and is potted in Sphagnum Moss which is dangerous if the orchid is grown too cold. Go over to discussions and read all the numerous posts about Phalaenopsis. Culture notes in the link are prepared by the American Orchid Society. AOS Culture Notes