I would like to learn from other SOF members about how to keep the size of one’s collection manageable ? I doubt that money will ever really be the constraint for us, when it comes to orchids. Somebody said that the price that we really pay for any object we acquired is not the original price (which will be the least costly one), but the price we pay for
a) the precious space that the object occupies.
b) the material, energy need to keep the thing running.
C) the time we spend for up-keeping that object.
At first, my collection accidently started w/ one cymbidium & 1 cattleya. Then it grows extremely fast to include many genera, with so many plants in each genera in a very short time (every thing seems to look good enough to have)
After a couple years, I start to see different in quality, so it help a little bit.
Just recently, the collection heading toward slipper orchids. I give away almost all of the non-slipper ones to make room, to end up w/ an equal number of new plants. At last count, they hover at 538 plants (include compots)
The time saving of a greenhouse or basement growing area is not available. I make a rough estimate that for window growers, even with 5 minutes per plants, a person will spend roughly 40 hours per week for 500 plants (sounds like a full time working week ). If one wants to spend only 1 hr/day, the total number he can take care of is 84 plants per week.
The questions are:
1) what is the number of plants , you consider sensible for a window grower? What is the size of your window sill growing collection now? Do you think it pasts optimum point already? Or, there is still room for more?
2) how many example clones for each species or variety do you keep? what is the maximum number?
3) how many clones for each hybrid cross is acceptable? Why?
4) would you rather keep a lot of varieties of certain plants or have one plant of each type
5) how much time do you give each plant?
6) If you have to cut down on time, which will area will you cut. Water, repotting, fertilizer, washing & cleaning plant, record information etc. What is the minimum time for each activity that you will not go below?
7) how do you part with a plant (the excuse that you talk yourself into)
8) If you have to cut down drastically, what will the minimum number be for you?
9) how do you refrain from acquire a plant?
- [save the money for better clone, or another species, or a dream car, trip to Ireland...]
-[price will go down]
-[difficulty in decide which one to eliminate in the collection, in order to make room for the new one]. Do you actually practice this:” for each one in, another has to go”
-[too much time spend w/ orchid already]
-etc...

Good questions! I think that these are points we don't always consider until it is too late and we realize we are in over our heads. I know once my collection got up to over 200 plants (not just orchids, but plants in general) and I had to downsize just because I could not water them all in a timely manner. In Texas when it gets hot, my plants outside have to be watered daily and I can't afford to spend more than an hour a day on them. This of course does not include additional time for special care, pest treatments, fertilizing, or repotting. I usually do that on a weekend when I am not restrained by time.

1) I am a window grower, but I also have the equivalent of a small greenhouse, and a huge patio area and shaded yard to grow in most of the year. Space is not a problem for me, time is. I have about 100 plants give or take a few and that is what I feel comfortable with.

2) I only duplicate plants if it is one of my favorites. For example, I have 4 delenatii, 2 roths. I probably would get 5-7 of each of my favorites, and get rid of the ones I like least after they bloom out and replace them with new clones.

3) I have 3 phrag Ruby Slippers and I think that is the only hybrid I have a duplicate of. It is my favorite phrag hybrid and grows pretty well for me (ie: hasn't died yet).

4) I usually like to try different plants until I have tried just about everything. Once I realize I don't like a plant or vice versa, I will not buy that kind anymore and instead will get another clone of a plant that loves me.

5) Daily, probably 15 seconds to water, 30 secs if I see sosmething I need to check out. On the weekends I might spend a couple of minutes on each plant, more if it needs special care.

6) I cut fertilizing and repotting if I don't have time. I rarely wash or clean a plant, and I don't record info except by taking photos of unusual things or blooms. I really can't skimp on watering outside or leaves will spontaneously combust into flame. Inside I can skip days on some plants.

7) If the plant isn't thriving I will give it away. I usually give it several months to a year.

8) I could get rid of 50 plants. Not all orchids and definitely not all slippers. I might be downsizing my collection if and when I have kids.

9) I need to work a little harder on #9...but usually price is what keeps me from buying a plant.

Excellent questions. Thanks for the topic.

I've been in orchids seriously for almost 18 months and have about 70 plants under T8s w/ about half in front of a window, too.

My criteria for the right number so far is resentment at the time required to check each plant and water it, at a bare minimum.... or the guilt for not taking that time, plus the time to leach, clean leaves, keep records, repot, photograph new plants and plants that rebloom and respike for the first time. Plus, I love just sitting w/ the plants and gazing at each one, which can take a lot of time.

I'll cut down on everything but watering (includes fertilizing) and have no idea how long is spent w/ each plant.

Judging by all that, there are too many orchids. Our orchid society sale is coming up next month, and I'll sell probably 20+ plants so maintenance doesn't feel like an obligation anymore.

In addition, my tastes have changed, so I'll sell some plants that no longer enchant so as to have room for some that do.

Because space and time are so limited, any new plants have to "do" a lot more - be fragrant, bloom frequently or have long-lasting flowers, stay small, captivate me completely, etc. I keep from buying a plant because it doesn't meet enough of these criteria and because I don't want to come to begrudge it the space and time it takes up.

Also, any $$ spent on a plant now is $$ that won't go to reduce the credit card balance that's gotten huge from buying orchids. :) Then, too, I want rain barrels and materials for a summer house for the 'chids.

The minimum #? I guess I'll know when the collection goes below that, and the credit card balance doesn't look so big after all.

In the beginning when I first started growing slippers, I also bought and collected many non slippers but as my collection grew I had to get rid of some to make more room for more slippers. I still have a few non slippers that I think I will keep for a long long time. Now I mainly grow slippers and space is very limited. I used to have many duplicates and as they grew, matured and flowered, I kept the best ones and sold the rest. Money is always an issue but I don't mind paying extra for quality plants and when I do pay an arm and a leg for a plant, I expect nothing but THE BEST! After all, I'll be spending a lot of my time and energy on my plants, so they better be high quality plants and not junk.

I also grow indoors during winter, so space will always be my number one problem, unfortunately! What is the optimum collection size, you ask? I guess that would depend from grower to grower. I'm always squeezing in new plants here and there in my grow room. :rolleyes: In the summer, all the plants go oustide so that is no problem, the problem arises when the plants are brought back inside for the winter and I always find myself running out of room.

Teresa,Whitecat8

I really like the information of how you manage the collection.
I kind of suspect that the orchids have been tricked me into provide them w/ too much of my time.
I start to notice that during the week, after taking care of them, it is always time to hit the bed.
On Saturday & Sunday, if I start at 8am, the work is usually done by 4, 5 pm. That does not taking into account of the time I find myself just looking at the plants (yes, I do that too). Like Whitecat8 said, it start to feel like obligation., which indeed does take some joy out of the whole process.
[Whitecat8, you seem to acquire plants as fast as I had done in the past (70 plants in 1-1/2 years)].
Teresa, with your methods, I could reduce the time to bare minimum for now. Give each plant 1 minute maximum. This will bring down the total time to ½ hr a day & couple hrs on Saturday & Sunday (instead of wasting the whole weekend)
To keep the same amount of space, as seedlings increase in size, I give them away slowly, until the final 12 for each cross to flower out (there is a chance that one will be nice). The only drawback is that I do not have the opportunity to see all of them flower out (One time, a flask that Chuck Acker advertises for 25-30 plants actually contains 48 plants).
In two years time, once they flower out, the number to keep will be about 3 (max 6)of each good cross likes what you do. I will be able to reduce to 240 plants, maybe even less. The aim is a much smaller number of just the favorites that fulfill certain criteria like what both of you mentioned.
You absolutely right about the non thriving plants. I was too much of a softy when it come to throw them into the garbage can. I did spend a lot of time try to keep them alive, a lot more than a healthy one. In the end they never make it anyway. From now on, only one clone of each species or cross at a time. And every new one in, 2 will have to go out until the number 240 is reach.
I still have a couple dream plants that I wish I have though. They belong to the PARVISEPALUM GROUP. I love the shape of their pouches (same reason why I like the phrag).
Specially the red delenatii on SOF forum couple day ago!
Do you know whether their flowers last long enough to be include in a collection?:eek: :eek:

Hi peter

I only converted to slipper recently, so a lot of my slipper plants are in compot or seedling stage.
The reason for purchase flasks are:
- for certain crosses , species or desirable varieties, one can not get them, unless one buying flask (for example the hybrids by Chuck).
-Other times, buying a non blooming plant at show by the hybrid name could be quite disappointing when it finally flowers.
-The third reason is lately I notice that more than 75% of plants from growers have problem in their root zone (a kind of fungus with mass of long hyphae which very difficult to eradicate. When one repots the plant into Semi hydroponic, the fungus have no natural competitors from the old media to check its growth, start to behave very aggressively). If you check the bottom of the pot at the drain hole, you will see a kind of stringy, fuzzy mess there. It is very frustrated trying to get rid of it.
But with flasks, one kind of stuck w/ a lot of plants in a non flowering stage.
It is true of what you said. It does make sense that for the precious time, space & energy a person spends on a plant, it should be the best he or she can find. I really have to be more discriminate on what to include in the collection.
By the way, how many clones will you keep for a favorite type? The number that beyond which, you think it is too much?:eek:

Hi peter

By the way, how many clones will you keep for a favorite type? The number that beyond which, you think it is too much?:eek:

That would depend from person to person. Personally myself, I do have 2-3 different clones of my favorite Paphs like my sanderianum, roebellinii, roth and Phrags like my warscewiczinum, lindenii, besseae. If I have way too many then I have the space issue plus I don't want to burden myself of taking care of way too many plants which may just turn into a chore and that would be bad.

Teresa, Whitecat8, Peter

Thanks for your answers.The consensus for what determines the size of a collection seems to be (related factors) in order of most important:
First is time.
Second is energy
Third is price.
It brings home the point that:

An outstanding clone is the best solution, and has the advantage of all of the above. High quality plant will cost more than a couple mediocre ones combined. One end up buying less, but very choice example only, which will reduce the time taking care of the collection, and more time to enjoy it.

One should built up the collection slowly, which affords the time to gain experience to discern the quality of what is an oustanding clone.

Thanks again:p

Hein,

You'll figure it out, and then later, maybe figure out a different way. If we came back to this topic in a year, we all might have been through a couple of "ideal collection sizes" and be headed for a third.

Maybe nothing about orchids is boring or stays the same, including the size of the collection.

Hopefully that this time I did learn something from my misteps and will be able to build a good collection slowly. (at least from the example of how many clones of a plant is enough)

Hien :p

Hey there

I've been lusting after and growing orchids for over 30 years now. From my point of view the "ideal" orchid collection size is forever beyond my reach because I seem to continually find that ONE special plant I'd really like to have :)

A while back I posted a message in another forum bemoaning the fact that I was fast running out of room. I keep surprising myself by finding it 0 room that is. I have orchids - I have no life :p

Current goals include getting more of the easier (for me) to grow phrags and paphs and doing a little hybridising. Good thing I have access to an orchids nursery with spare room. There aren't all that many good plants to be had in Australia. Currently waiting to see if a pod has set on a rather pedestrian crossing of insigne with Satchel Paige.

Cheers
Stephan

Hi stephan
From what I learn so far from the replies, from now on, for the adult plant, I will only buy the one that I really, really like, and also experiment with just one clone first to see if that type would even thrive in my condition.
I thought it is easier in Australia to get plants from Asia (Is it not that your goverment a little bit relaxed than ours?)
Another thing I am not quite sure I understand is that Australia & Canada, etc belong to the British commonweath, no? & England in turn belongs to the EU. would it make any easier to buy plants from different countries in the group.
Have you ever checked the Taiwanese website 'Formosa orchids". Their flask lists for slipper orchids is quite extensive. The amount of clones that they have in possesion to use in hybridization must be humongous that they use only number.:p :p

Hien

Hi Hien

Getting the adult plant is certainly a better idea - also quicker to see the flower and if you like it. While Asia is our next door neighbour and getting plants of almost any kind should be easier, it isn't. Most of the time it's for very good reasons.

Getting orchids in to Autralia isn't so much difficult as it is expensive. I'm a hobbyist grower. A such I only ever really want one of each kind of plant, if at all. I could import a plant but there'd be no guarantee of receiving it and I'd still have to pay a lot of money for the pleasure of a dead plant received in the mail months after it entered the country and was held in quarantine by people who haven't got a clue as to how to handle orchids.

Flasks can more easily be bought in to the country but there are some contradictory and confusing conditions. If I am an international traveller I can bring up to six flasks in to the country as long as I declare them and present them for inspection at the customs checkin when entering Australia. If I mail order the flasks I have to pay a couple of hundred dollars for a single use permit, then an inspection fee and a possible holding and testing fee if contamination is suspected ( Our AQIS people in Sydney held back the kovachii flasks for this reason). Our AQIS people turn flasks upside down and handle the flasks in such a manner as to often damage the plantlets beyond repair or hope of recovery - VERY frustrating (physical violence has been contemplated often).

There you have it - It's not always as it seems Hien.

Cheers
Stephan