HI there: Depends on your choice of orchids. There are so many genus and many hybrids, and you don't say exactly what you have. Perhaps you have Phalaenopsis? -so you can look forward to a few weeks of sequential openings and full blooms But - I urge people to slow down and enjoy each stage of the bloom from tiny bud to full blossom. Really - should you rush this experience by ? - the faster it goes by, the sooner you are without the joy of the blooms. It's perhaps the 'zen' of orchid growing. Good luck Maryanne

Andrea....... I have an idea. Why don't you check into volunteering at the San Jose Heritage Rose Garden ? They need volunteers and you would be able to see thousands of roses and work with people who love roses and love to teach about roses. Their volunteers range from those who are new to roses to experienced rosarians. The more different roses you handle, the more you learn about them. Here's a link to their website: http://www.heritageroses.us/ Another website that is full of information is HelpMeFind. You can do searches on individual roses and read the MEMBER COMMENTS about their experience with the rose, or read the EZINE articles or go through the Q & A archives. The rose REFERENCES on each rose page pull together information from rose books from all over the world. I've put the link for that site below. Have fun ! Smiles, Lyn Here is a link that might be useful: HelpMeFind

Thanks, Russ. I guess that means I can suspend my 24-hour-a-day vigil in front of the plant for a little while :) I can't wait to see what this one is for sure...I didn't label anything unfortunately.

What's the variety name? If it's one with HT form and a lot of petals, it might never open fully. If's it's really bugging you, remove it.