The World Orchid Conference in Miami was the most exciting orchid event for me since I went to my first WOC, 1984, Miami. This time, I spent the extra money and stayed at the event Hotel. It made a difference. I went to the Opening night, most of the following day and returned for one final trip to purchase OrchidWiz before I flew 1000+ miles home with orchids in my carry-on luggage!

--Stitz--

Wow, stitz. I think you're right-- the WOC would beat any other thrill hands down. And staying at the event hotel, like a prince of the realm, able to saunter down any time at lesire. Wonderful!

BTW, is it really 1000 miles from Miami to Md? When I first came to Missouri from CA, I couldn't believe it was 2000 miles. What a country! No wonder we're all such arrogant SOB's :)

this a most difficult question to answer.. every time i see one that i don't already have/or forgot that i have - that purchase becomes my most exciting. then i read the posts in this forum and see some of the great pictures, i become excited about getting something else.. it goes on and on..
sue

My most exciting buy this year was a Huntleya meleagris. Got it last winter and it's currently growing it's first bud :).

First thought it would be the WOC too but...

After 4 years of spike-looking growths turning into new little plantlets, thought my tetramicra canaliculata was just doing the same old thing this spring. But to my great surprise, the new thingeys kept growing and growing and turned into four flowering spikes.

They started in January and bloomed from March 1 to this week. The spikes were from 18" to 35" long and had from 12 to 24 adorable little flowers each. As I cut the spent spikes off today, I noticed that there are 5 new little plantlets started now also. Whoo hoo!
Jan

Had to be the first bloom explosion of a keiki gift (after a 2 year wait) called . .

Den. Rainbow Dance
{{gwi:183296}}

I tried keeping the blooms on longer in my A/C bedroom but there were only 2 left when I took it in to be shown & took 2nd place !!

C-

Can you have more than one "most exciting"? This is the other one I had lusted after for over two years. I found a supplier in December but had to wait until spring to actually receive it.

Phal tetraspis {{gwi:175424}}

My other "most exciting" was the blooming of the blue seedlings from the Norton's. I won't do another pic since the thread showing them is still on the first page of this forum. The good news is another bud has opened and I'll have another picture to share very soon.

Brooke

Hmmmm....wow, this is a hard decision! I think the most exciting event (next to the local orchid show) was driving to Canada to tour Cloud's Orchids greenhouse. That was amazing! As for my "most exciting find", so far this summer, I'd have to say Dimorphorchis rossii and lowii :-D

Here's one of mine for this year, mehitabel! I really love this plant!! No flowers yet however!
{{gwi:183297}}
Pat....

What can I say? EVERYTHING is new and exciting!
My first post, when I joined the Forum in January.
My first rebloom at the beginning of April.
Nursing a sick Cattleya back to health and discovering its first completely new growth last month.
And all the new leaves, spikes, sheaths, buds, flowers, each and every one of which gives me a thrill. Because my collection is so small, each plant gets personal TLC. I still want to expand, but only to the point where I can remember what I have.
Judy

i agree with everything Judy posted above, and have two of my own to add:
1. My Vanda is going to rebloom, despite suboptimal growing conditions--the spike is about 4 inches long now!
2. I went to visit Oak Hill Gardens last week, and the retired owner showed us around, quite an education, demonstrated different repotting and dividing techniques. I also brought home a phal Sogo Grape 'Fireball', and two seedlings, one a phal species.
very exciting.
Nicole

Hey, everyone. This is really oexcellent vicarious living! Thanks for your posts!

Judy, you absolutely nailed it! Your enthusiasm and love for everything made me smile and smile. You said it so well-- I have to admit, I love every little new thing, too. All the old things as well. In fact, yes, smiling is constant while peering around the growing and blooming orchids.

Nicole, your trip to Oak Hill must have been wonderful. Sogo Grape 'Fireball' is a gorgeous waxy red, so I can see why you chose it. I love it, too.

Altair, a trip to Cloud's would be pretty great, too. They have SO MUCH.

Brooke, you can have as much exciting stuff as you want :) Get it while you can, as my brother always said. I love the tetraspis with the little dots or bars. Charming.

Chryss, your dend is really beautiful and graceful. I love those drooping spikes. Really lovely. I can see why it won an award.

Jank, getting the first blooms on something you've tended for several years is a thrill all right. If that wouldn't bring a grin, nothing would.

littlem and snwboxer-- yes, getting a new plant you've hunted for is exciting. And yes, every package of new plants is good, too. Every new plant a promise.

Pat, your variegated aphrodite is stunning. How do you do it-- perfect, absolutely perfect leaves? Not in my genes, I'm afraid. :)

Hey, everyone, you are making me smile and smile and smile. Keep them coming! !!!

Hmmm... well I just starting collecting/growing orchids this year so it's been quite a year for me! I LOVED the NJ Orchid Society Show in April. I'm hoping to get to the National Capital Orchid Society Show in October. As far as purchases, I've got 8 orchids now in just 6 months! I love all of them... but have to safe right now I'm digging my newest.. a mauve/salmon colored $10 phal I bought from a street vendor in NYC. ... and the year is only 1/2 over!

Thanks Mehitabel!! But I don't always have perfect leaves! DANG!!! I caught him too!! HUGE caterpillar. I hope he likes my husbands tomato bushes as well as poor little stuart there.....;0)
{{gwi:183299}}

I'll trade you the caterpilar for the dang grasshopper I found today eating the leaves on one of my brassidiums. I can catch a caterpilar but the stupid grasshopper is still in the g/h, having dinner I'm sure.

Brooke

I'll "see" Pat's caterpillar and your grasshopper. PLUS, I'll raise you an earwig and a soldier bug!

Best event of the year was Hoosier's 1/2 price sale during April and May!!! Got a chance to buy a bunch of really wonderful and often unavailable orchids (mostly Ang seedlings) for cheap! It doesn't get any better than that.

As a novice grower/collector, I'm completely excited about the fact that all six of my orchids are still alive and well! I'm also really excited by the new growth on my Cym, and the fact that my Coelogyne psbulb is keeping both of its leaves while trying to grow roots in sphag!

The year is not over, and I have plans to visit Oak Hill Gardens in northern IL this fall to attend their little orchid soiree... I'm sure I'll come away with a new orchid or two!

I'm just happy to have all of my orchids green and alive!

Jodik and counselor -- getting started with orchids and keeping them going your first year, reaching the 6 month point with success? I call that something to be joyful about.

Saving up for new orchids at Oak Hill's party this fall or an Orchid Society meeting? Priceless.

Thanks for sharing that. Enjoy your success!

While checking on my orchids this morning, I noticed a yellowing older leaf on the Cym... older leaves die, that's naturally expected... but then I noticed a brand new growth starting! If you could have seen me smile...

I still second guess myself at watering times and wonder whether or not the light is enough... but new growth is a sign that I'm doing it right!

I'm stashing every dollar I can get my hands on, knowing that the Oak Hill party this fall will have some wonderful plants available for purchase!

I'm enjoying myself to the fullest, and each little success is beyond priceless! And to think that I shied away from orchids for so many years, thinking them too delicate and difficult for the average gardener and average home... I have a lot of time to make up for!

My child-like excitement probably brings back a lot of memories for those who have been growing orchids for a long time, and have extensive and rare collections... and I hope it shows those that might be afraid to begin growing that orchids are not that delicate or difficult, and many are very adaptable to the average home environment!

I've only killed one orchid so far, but I'm sure more will succumb before I gain "above novice" status... the joy is in the learning and trying... and each new leaf is a success! I can't imagine how thrilled I'll be when I achieve a re-blooming!

Hey, Jodik. Thanks for sharing your excitement and love of orchids. I agree with all you say, and you are saying it so well--

that orchids aren't delicate and difficult, but really tough. I wish more people knew that, and proclaimed it often. I, too, would have started earlier if I had known how easy they are.

that the joy is in the learning and trying, that each new leaf is a success.

Thanks for such a clear, welcome message. I really wish you would start a new thread called "Six months later..."
so your thoughts won't get lost at the end of a long thread. People, especially new ones, would get so much out of it.

Hi Jodik-
what's this about an orchid soiree at Oak Hill Gardens?
I did not see it on their website.
I was there July 3rd and it was fabulous...
nicole

Thanks mehitabel. I am very happy that being a novice, I've kept my orchids alive for six months now!

Cal-Orchid's website mentions that they will be up at Oak Hill Gardens in Dundee, IL... September 26th, 27th, and 28th, 2008 for the Chicagoland Orchid Festival! Scroll down the front page at Cal-Orchid's website. Coincidentally, the town I grew up in is Dundee, IL!

I emailed Cal-Orchid a while back asking about it, because it's close enough to attend, and I was told that they would be at Oak Hill Gardens that weekend, and that it would be quite a fun time... I should not miss it!

After further investigation, I find that Oak Hill does, indeed, mention it, but they have it listed as being in "Chicagoland". Dundee is part of Chicagoland, a very western suburb! Actually, according to the information on Oak Hill's website, the Chicagoland Orchid Festival will be split up between 4 different orchid growers in the area, and take place at all 4 simultaneously.

The link below contains all the information for the weekend in question... times, places, maps, schedules, entry forms, etc... there's even a download-able brochure in PDF format!

I'll be at the Oak Hill location, most likely, because that's close enough to visit the grandkids the same weekend! If you explore the excellent information provided by Oak Hill Gardens, you'll see that Windsong Orchids, Orchids by Hausermann, and Natt's Orchids are also part of the Festival, and their locations are all within driving distance from one another, within reason... each location is expecting several guest orchid growers from around the country, and some from other countries, too!

Not only will Cal-Orchid be at Oak Hill, so will Andy's Orchids, EFG Orchids, J&L Orchids, and Parkside Orchid Nursery, to mention a few! I've "heard" many of you "speak" of Andy's, and a few references to Parkside, as well...

I'm really looking forward to meeting the growers, learning a boatload about orchids and their culture... and I'm especially looking forward to choosing a few orchids to take home with me!

If anyone else plans on going, I'd love to meet up! I'm always interested in furthering my knowledge, and my "orchid friendships"! I'll be the short blonde with the tattoos, on the arm of the tall guy with the ponytail and tattoos! LOL! If anyone does plan to go, they can email me, if they'd like... it would be fun to meet others from the forum!

Anyway... the link is below... all the info you'll need is provided therein...

Here is a link that might be useful: Chicagoland Orchid Fest

I just looked at the Mapquest map provided by Oak Hill Gardens, for the upcoming Chicagoland Orchid Festival... and I can't believe it! Oak Hill Gardens is right across the road from the Golf Course my Mom worked at for years! Wow!

Of course, at the time, Oak Hill wasn't there... but talk about a small world... and oh, the memories it brought back to see the location on the map!

Just thought I'd mention this incredible coincidence! :-)

Ohh Hey how are you its sam!!!! well i will upload my pics later to show you but my most exciting things are: 1. i Went to Washington D.C. last week and went to the National Botanic Gardens that was there which has over 5,000 orchid varietys!!!!! i saw about 25 different varietys in Bloom!!!! there were Catts, Vandas, Paphs, Phrags, Brassavolas, Oncidiums, Miltonias, Phals,Cyms,dends,vanilla so many many kinds i was in exstacy!!!!!!! my favorite thing that i saw were the 2 types of Brassavola i saw! i saw a mounted B. Nodosa! and Brassavola Digbyana or Rhyncholaelia digbyana. the flower was massive!!!!! and smelled so good.
2. I found at my local adams a table Full of B. Jimmney Cricket.... I Bought It with three bloom spikes and one sheath with 2 new growth on their way. this was 2 or 3 weeks ago and they are still open and smelling Amazing!!! it fills my entire Porch every Night!! and converted my friends to Orchidism(lol)!!!!!!
3. Finally My very on B. nodosa has a Bloom Sheath!!!!!!!! and im hoping that it will keep!!!! i am so greatfull!!!!! this has been a great summer so far everything is going through there growth, root Cycles so quickly!!!!!
Woah and I forgot something my very own phal just finished blooming and has already created a new leaf!!! i just hope it makes some roots soon! haha. well it was nice chatting with you mehitabel!!! lata

A visit to a Botanic Garden sounds so wonderful... especially seeing all those different orchids, many in bloom! I'm glad I'm not the only one that feels like a little kid in an ice cream shop when it comes to orchids, and the wonder and excitement they provide!

Gardening in general makes me feel this way, but orchids really get me going... mainly because they've always been rumored to be hard to grow, and they're anything but! And also because they're generally slow growers, and every little bit of growth is noticed and celebrated!

If I have to be addicted to anything, I'm glad it's orchids... seeing new growth beginning, or a new leaf or root, almost makes me feel high... so, why bother with drugs when you can have orchids?!

Hey, Sam! Glad to see you're back, and very pleased to find you posting on this thread.

A trip to the Botanic Garden in DC must have been thrilling. I've never been there. Now you're makiing me wish I had. I guess besides orchids, they must have every kind of plant as well. Sounds really wonderful and exciting. I would probably get arrested for trying to pinch off a cutting here or there :)

Looks like you're in love with Brassavolas. I don't blame you, I love plants with fragrance, too. And Bs are so tough, just putting up new growths on all sides.

I used to have a couple of Bs, a nodosa and Little Stars. Jiminy Cricket was on my list. The scent threaded thru the house at dusk, really lovely. The Little Stars would put up 10 or a dozen spikes in the fall. Always a treat.

Yours sound like they have really strong fragrance. Mine were only faint. (Or my nose wasn't good at picking it up.) Never was sure which it was.

Glad you're having a great summer, with spikes on your nodosa, and new leaves on the phal. If it's rootless, try some root hormone on it.

My summer is being great, too. I do love summer since I started growing orchids. For all the growth and flowers.

I'm not surprised you've converted your friends to orchids. a) they're beautiful and b) your enthusiasm is catching.

Please do post your pictures when you have time. I'm looking forward to them. Your pictures are always beautiful. Hope you took some at the Botanic Gardens.

as you say, Lata

Hi Samuel!! I just wanted to say it's nice to see here you again!! It sound like things are going great!! I'll look forward to your pictures!!
Pat...

Today, I attended Orchidfest at Parkside Orchids in Ottsville, PA. The event was nice, many vendors from all over (two of the vendors I bought from are based in ME and IL). Plus, Parkside Orchids itself has a great selection. Anyone else attend?

Sarah

Here is a link that might be useful: Orchidfest 2008

Sounds like fun! What kinds of orchids followed you home?!

I just know I'll have a hard time resisting at the autumn show at Oak Hill, and I'll probably end up spending more than I want to! But it will be so awesome... it'll be my first Orchid Festival/Show/Event, and I'll be in heaven!

Orchidfest at Parkside was my first orchid show. I've been to flower shows (Philadelphia, in particular), but never to a show just for orchids. It was nice and pricey. Hahaha.

I took home a zygopetalum and a gastrochilus. The gastrochilus is mounted on a log and I have it in a terrarium. The zygopetalum is in my small greenhouse. Actually, I'm somewhat a novice with orchids. A couple years ago, I started collecting them. Of course, it took me a couple phalenopsis (sadly) to keep them alive and understand them. Now that I have a better grip on orchids, I've expanded my collection.

Also, I purchased a new fertilizer "MSU," which was created at Michigan State University. I've been told many people have great success with it, since it has more minerals in it than most. I guess I will try it out an see.

Sarah

Do a search on MSU here, there's a long thread on it.

Jane

Thanks Jane. Of course, the posts freaked me out a bit, but I'm glad to see you had good results with it. I have the pure water MSU, b/c I filter any water before I use it for orchids.

Sarah

Sarah how do you filter your water? The pure water MSU is for distilled, R/O or rainwater. If you are using tap water through a charcoal filter or water softener, you may be using the wrong MSU formulation.

Congrats on your new acquisitions and I'm sure they won't be the last. Orchids are addictive :>)

Brooke

Thanks for the help Brooke. I will pickup distilled water for this batch of MSU.

I'm sure you are right and that they will be more orchids in the future. For certain, I can say they are some of the most beautiful and most stress provoking plants I've owned!

Sarah