Ah Orchids, my first horticultural love. I've been raising orchids since I was 15 years old. I'm 60 now, so I have had them a long, long time. At one time I think I had somewhere around 1500 orchids, today I think I'm around 900 or so. Most are under lights, in my basement. Some go outside for summer. Majority are permanent light garden residents. I still have one I picked up in 1973. I give talks to various orchid societies, usually 4 to 8 talks a year. Next talk coming up will be Lansing Michigan, 1/10 and Madison Wisconsin I will be a speaker on Sunday 1/31 at the "Orchid Quest" orchid show at the exhibition hall near the Coliseum on Nolan Dr. Mostly my talks center around growing orchids under lights. Chris (COH) knew this, which is why he suggested I respond to this thread.
Anyone who can keep a bonsai going for a year, has all the intuitive skills needed to keep orchids growing and blooming. Just remember, growing orchids is different than growing trees. One advantage of orchids, is that most only need to be watered once every 4 or 5 days, the only orchids you water daily are some of the cloud forest epiphytes growing on fletches of cork bark or twigs, with no media other than maybe a tiny bit of moss. These little ones are the only ones that need daily water. The rest like being left along for a few days to a week depending on your conditions. Most orchids will survive being forgotten about, and not watered for a month or so, if that happens only once every couple years. They will bounce back from dramatic dry spells. (but don't do it too often).
For a windowsill, or table near a window, in a home where temperatures are between 65 F to 95 F, year round, the all around easiest, and readily available orchid is the Phalaenopsis hybrid, Phal for short. Phals have wide flat leaves that come off the central crown. You see them everywhere, Home Depot, Lowes, Grocery stores, all over. They are produced in nearly totally automated greenhouses, and usually retail for less than $25 with "on sale" prices as low as $10. They are the easiest, often have misleading instructions to water them with ice cubes. Don't bother with the ice cube gimmick, it was a "cutesy" trick for people who kill every houseplant they touch. It is designed to keep the plant alive maybe 3 months, long enough that when it dies you won't blame the vendor. Think about it, you've never seen nursery workers in any nursery anywhere, walking down the aisle with buckets of ice, throwing the ice to water the plants. Its a gimmick, you have already learned to correctly water your bonsai trees, watering an orchid is no different. So nod your head knowingly at anyone telling you to use ice cubes, and dismiss them as well meaning know nothings. Phalaenopsis sold at grocery stores are young seedling size plants, usually only 3 or 4 leaves total. Often it will take 2 years for them to have enough energy to bloom again. If you grow a Phal well, if you can get it up to 6 leaves, its blooming behavior will change, and it can potentially stay in bloom, with at least a flower or two open, for 5 or more years on a single flower stem. They like to go from wet to not quite dry then be watered again. In a bark potting mix, this will often be about 5 days to 7 days. In tightly packed sphagnum moss (often used by grocery store suppliers) they can go 2 to 3 weeks between being watered. Use your finger to tell, dig in to first knuckle and feel moisture. Water before it is dry. They like bright shade, in a home, a few hours of direct morning sun is great. Or bright light shade, as in a north window. Fertilize regularly, with a moderate strength solution (weaker than manufacturer's label full strength directions) Half strength every 2 weeks or 3/4 strength every 4 weeks should work. Repot when media begins to break down. Bark mixes last no longer than 2 years. Sphagnum moss lasts no more than 18 months. Basically that it is for Phalaenopsis. Really, any Phal that you like the colors of at your grocery store, pick up. You can grow them. A few Phalaenopsis hybrids are fragrant, especially in late morning, or early afternoon on a bright warm day. Majority of Phal hybrids have no scent. Phal Mini-Mark has a faint orange blossom scent, hybrids from Phal violacea have a very sweet floral scent.
So even though Phalaenopsis are in a way the "Procumbens Juniper Mallsai" of the orchid world, they really are rewarding if you can get it to grow past the juvenile stage and get the mature, constant blooming trait to kick in with good culture. Phals are a great way to cut your teeth, and get started with orchids. They are cheap if you goof up, and beautiful if you get it right. I personally don't have more than one or two Phals in my collection. My mother loves Phals, she won't let me touch her's, she wants to be able to tell her friends "I did that, not my son". Her collection of 13 Phals has at least 1 or 2 in bloom year round, and usually for 10 months of the year she has 10 of her 13 in bloom. The yellow with stripes has been in bloom continuously for over 5 years, until we cut the stem for a bridal bouquet. This image shows the new flower stem.
