Another new forum? YES!

[PHRAG]

Hey everybody,

After thinking about something for a week or so, I thought it was necessary to set up a new forum. There are some really smart people on this forum, and I have learned so much from all of you. But after talking to a couple of new members, I realized that sometimes the conversation on the forum can be very technical. This can sometimes translate to "unfriendly for beginners."

We all started out growing orchids, but not knowing anything about them. So I think it's fair to have a place for beginning orchid lovers to ask all those questions they sometimes have trouble fitting into our other threads.

I hope if you are reading this, and you are new to orchids, that you won't be afraid to start a new thread and ask all the questions you may have thought were too dumb to ask elswhere. The only dumb question is the one you don't ask.

John

 

[ElixirIce]

Thank you! :clap:

Sometimes (ok a LOT of times) i feel intimidated because i dont know what a lot of the threads are talking about. It slaps me in the face and makes me realize how much i have to learn!
Thanks for making newbies feel a lot more comfortable!

 

[gore42]

John, I think that's an excellent idea. I've spoken to a couple of people who have tried get settled into the forum and hard a hard time, and I think this will help a lot.

- Matt

 

[myxodex]

Excellent idea! I consider myself a beginner after three years growing and I can't foresee when this will change.
Cheers,
Tim

 

[Heather]

Nice, thanks J.

 

[paphioland]

good idea

 

[NYEric]

Good idea. I think at least not using abbreviations would help beginners. E.

 

[charlie c]

John,

I think this idea has a lot of potential for being very useful to growers just starting out. I'll bet there are some some very common, almost universal, mistakes that we've all made when we began. An "expert" is not someone who doesn't make mistakes, only someone who finds a way to correct them. Over the years it has been my observation that the better the grower, the more likely they are to be willing to share valid, helpful information.

I can't be the only one in this forum who's taught the monthly beginners meeting at local orchid societies. ( Another good reason to attend every meeting is so your "friends" can't volunteer you in your absence) There are, as you said, no dumb questions. And probably no questions that haven't been asked or thought by most every orchid grower at some point.

Let me break the ice with a mistake I made as a beginner. I started in the 60's with Cattleyas in the age, as recounted by Lance (Gonewild), of corsages. Got them to grow, but not rebloom. Finally screwed up the courage to ask the "experts" at the local society what I was doing wrong. New sheaths were forming, but not filling. Got the correct, but short, answer: not enough light. Then someone asked me which way my windows faced. Was, as most first timers do, growing on a windowsill. Wow, whole new concept for me. " I don't know, how about out?" Turns out I was trying to grow Catts in an East facing window which, to compound the problem, was in the partial shade of a large Maple tree. Was good exposure for Phals and some Paphs, but not Catts. In retrospect, and only in retrospect, that was a fairly unthinking thing to do. It wasn't that I didn't mean well. It was just a fairly common beginning mistake. See pretty flower. Like pretty flower. Buy pretty flower. Ooops, what do I do now.

Moral of the story: Ask questions.

 

[Ron-NY]

I don't consider myself an expert but have gained valuable cultural knowledge over the years of growing. When I first started growing, I lurked at a Forum for quite some time and absobed as much as I could, I also borrowed every book in the library system to read on orchids. I finally got the nerve and posted a question. I am sorry I didn't do that sooner for my learning curve increased sharply from there.

 

[Mark]

See pretty flower. Like pretty flower. Buy pretty flower.

And a bumper sticker is born!

 

[TADD]

Finally a place for me......

 

[SlipperFan]

OK, a question:

When do we stop killing our orchids?