Thank you! Actually, I don't really know about any other channels. If you have time, let me know where to start 😊

Well if I had any patience ... I could have found out that your probably correct 🤣

Oof. I brought in root mealies a while back. What a great "joy" 😒 As for shipping plants soaked, don't get it. When I have a plant too wet too ship, I just contact the customer. Like someone's going to demand it be shipped out immediately 😂 Cheers from Iowa City

I got mine FedEx, next day. It's definitely chilly here. They'll let you know--but isn't that a great website? Easy to shop, very clear shipping charges, etc and so on. And they update it "almost daily." Impressive!

Hey, there! Yes, I'm looking forward to it, too 😁 Always great to see here (and on other channels as well 🤣)

For sure. No matter what method. Hope your jungle is handling the weather/light change ok!

This year I cut the flower spikes off my full-size phal after it had been in bloom for over 7 months. Gotta give the foliage a turn ...! I consider that a huge payout for a few months of not ... uh ... "great" looking leaves 🤣🤣🤣 And I think you're correct about your analysis of Hoya peoples. I haven't explored any of those plants, yet. ("Yet" doing a lot of heavy lifting here)

@soberplantguy wow 7 months?!? Maybe you're the orchid whisperer! In my country orchids are kind of "present" plants: looks great at the nursery and thats about it. Every person I know threw it after few month claiming "it's just a couple of leaves that does nothing.. its doesn't even want water"😂..but I totally get the pleasure of growing a plant that is a bit of a challenge and needs more expertise

@@litalfrenkel1024 omg you just described snake plants for me 😆 (and I *do* have a huge, beautiful snake plant.....)

I try to remember it. I wouldn't say that I'm 100% successful, though 🤣🤣🤣

You comment disappeared? Well that's rude...! Let's do try again

@@soberplantguy there you go… I think that covers what I wrote before

I'm in the process of building three new sets of shelves. My wife just handed over the entire living room to be for plants (as in, no book shelves--and since her career is in literature, that was mighty kind of her). So ... I've made some room. As for cats ... I do not know why mine haven't figured out how much fun plants/flowers are to play with, but they haven't. Not even the Bella that hangs directly in front of a window *and* over the couch! Finally, I don't like that you've been shadow banned! It's not me, I promise 🤣🤣🤣

@@soberplantguy That is indeed very kind of her! 3 sets of shelves…. Thats a lot of space! Theres about 40 plants living in the living room here, of which about half are in an Ikea Milsbo cabinet. That leaves my husband plenty of space to not feel overtaken by the plants (anymore). There used to be a jungle cactus right above his dining table chair (=workspace) and he sometimes felt attacked by it 😅 Its only that one cat and those 2 types of plants… Though our other cat sometimes looks at the Scindapsus in a funny way when it is down on the table for watering, maybe he is considering attacking it? 😆 Good thing it doesn’t happen often I wonder why though

How do you fertilize them? Thanks in advance 😊

@pudik2008 I honestly don't 🤷‍♀️ I saw some fertilizer sticks which I used a couple of time and there is also an Orchid spray that I've used a few times, since it was recommended on a youtube video. But to be honest, I didn't notice any difference. I've had my Orchids for 6 years now and they grow well and flower frequently with and without the fertilizers I've tried.

@@walle5667 Thank you for your reply. I was always afraid of them as I killed one that I got as a gift. Might give them a try.👍🏼

I don't claim to know nothing--I truly don't know anything 🤣 My big phal, I've always soaked once a week, but for 30-45 minutes. Hadn't experimented with anything longer. I've got several orchids doing well--I'll have to play around with this. Thanks so much for your detailed comment!

Oh, do yourself that favor and gooo for it! My big phal was in perfect bloom for over seven months before I finally chopped the spikes to give the foliage a chance over the summer. Biggest bang for buck in my plant collection!

Thank you! See, I needed clarification straight off the bat. Thanks for taking the time, and good to hear from you!

@@soberplantguy No problem 😀

Thanks, Heather! But feel free to drop your knowledge bombs on me!

Is that code?

It's already trademarked. Don't even think about it.

I don't even remember saying that. Did I say that?

It's my aspiration to have Future Dave always be smarter and wiser.

I hope she doesn't read this.

But she will.....

Until I got my first "grocery store" phal (at a second hand store, of all places), I had no idea how long the flowers last. I was both delighted, and then disappointed that I'd passed those by for sooo many years with the incorrect assumption they were just about "done." Mea culpa.

Do you water the vanda daily, or...? Is your kitchen very bright, or is it true that orchids can do well in lower light while in bloom? Cheers from Iowa City

I'm over the moon 😊

That's a beautiful story. I'm glad that you know how to care for plants 😊

That's fantastic. No testimonial like a repeat customer. And I'm a little over three hours away from them--see you over there?

That's a good project! Of course, I have no idea how things will go, but you've probably picked up on how optimistic I am about everything 🤣

Me either! But I do feel a trip to their nursery is inevitable next year. Looking forward to learning, bit by bit.

My first orchid was a grocery store phal (purchased at a second hand store, of all things), and I could not believe how long the blooms lasted. I'd lived for decades with the incorrect assumption that they had the lifespan of a plucked pansy 🙄 Live and learn 😁

That's fantastic! I finally got the spikes on my my phal after about seven months to give the foliage a chance 😂 I sometimes use foliage focus, other times I use MSU. I agree. Don't think I need to invest in the orchid bloom, either. Cheers from Iowa City

Let's revisit this next Spring. I'm sure I'll be giving away 'Black Magic' 😂

Yesssss! I'm sick of being a good influence. I've earned this 😈

Thanks for the feedback on unboxings! I’m smitten with minis-so much beauty in a compact plant 😊

You've got the weather to do it, too. The nursery is www.orchidsbyhausermann.com Have fun shopping!

Thanks for your optimism !

Bye, H

My wife will be ... "excited" to read this comment 😆

Are you talking about my (pre) big reveal moment? That will be my legacy.

💚

Beauty per dollar, these are a terrific buy!

@@hanstera_deliciosa Thanks for the planty love you always show this channel !

@@soberplantguy I’ve attached myself to you like a delicate strand of juicy mycelium.

@ it’s obviously a symbiotic relationship.

Agreed 😊

@@soberplantguyOoh la la!

Right? I've ordered quite a few plants and these are as good and mostly better than any of those. I'm over the moon 😊

Nice! I'll check those out. I obviously went for the mostly Phals since it's the season. In Iowa, I wasn't kidding, we need some winter beauty 😅

The cooler temps should kick that in. Just because Phals are common doesn't make them any less incredible. I mean, c'mon!

@ I’m all for plants that will flower in the winter!

@@stacywatkins2562 Right? Not everyone is going to understand how important that is/what a lonnggg bleak winter is 🥶

they are actually fairly easy but at the same time they can also die easily. The most common myth you will hear about phalaenopsis is that they need a cool down to flower. This is complete rubbish and you can safely ignore this. They just need to be kept below 80F in order to make sure they flower. I know Missorchidgirl will say otherwise, in fact lots of hobby growers love this belief but it's completely redundant. Well it's up to you. I keep mine warm and have experimented with every temperature for 4 years now. Temperature does not get them to spike. Danni has actually proved it herself this year inadvertantly by moving house. She admits in her new house temperatures have not gone below 70F yet her phals all still started spiking just fine in her new house this year. Yet she will still not publicly admit this. She just mentioned it in passing this year. So what is important? Well, you have to always provide enough light without causing sunburn to the leaves. Then, in my opinion the most important and underrated aspects to orchid growing is fertilizing and pest control. The reason your orchid doesn't want to flower will most often be down to pests. Sometimes it has taken me up to 4 years to get rid of pests on some orchids. You might think I am not very good at getting rid of pests and honestly it does seem like it despite me spending hundreds of dollars on it but the truth is once an orchid has pests it is ridiculously hard to get rid of them again. And it will affect flowering. so if you can get that aspect right, then they will flower like clockwork by themselves based on the change in sunlight hours throughout the year, spiking in autumn, flowering in spring and sometimes they have a rebloom in summer if temperatures can be kept below 80F. As to the fertilizing, again ignore the advice you hear about orchids in general. The truth is that orchids require exactly the same feed as Anthuriums or any other plant I have ever grown. The secret with orchids is that they are grown hydroponically. And in hydroponic growing you use half the recommended fertilizer as soil grown plants. So that would be 1 teapsoon per gallon of a 10-10-10 fertilizer or half a teaspoon per gallon of 20-20-20. I do need to point out I know many orchid growers that use far less than the recommended amount. Some people believe orchids are weak feeders and they might have even been growing orchids for years already. Using less fertilizer works... but the plant will be far weaker, will pick up pests more easily and develop root and stem rot far more likely. So most growers never fully notice the effect of underfertilzing. That is one difficult aspect. Like you can fertilize two orchids with comlpetely different strength fertilizers and after a year you might not even visually notice a difference between the two plants. It's only from experience that you would know what difference it makes and how much bettter they bloom as a result if you do it right. And many people are honestly too scared to try doing it right because they have been told how easy it is to accidentally burn orchid roots and so would rather alwys use a far too weak dose just to be safe. So it is not hard, but you do have to stick to doing things right. And fertilizing like I mentioned plays a very important role once you have figured out how to pot them, how to water them and how much light they need. Using a ph meter to adjust the ph to 6.0 is also beneficial. Otherwise rain or tap water can be used. The rarest orchid collection in the US gets watered with tap water. I can;t remember the name now off the top of my head but they have over 7000 orchids, some of them hundreds of years old so they know what they are doing and I learnt a lot seeing how they do things. The most important thing is to enjoy growing them so if you prefer to fertilize too weak, knowing you are fertilizing too weak, you will most likely still get blooms, often times the orchid just produces less flowers and grows a little bit slower but many still do fine, worst case scenario you have to replace it every few years but that is just part of the hobby. The most obsessed orchid growers, despite them having a lot of experience are still always going to be amongst the growers that lose the most orchids per year just because we can't help ourselves getting more and having a collection that is probably too big. You will see, there are people that take this hobby very seriously, as in they will critizise others for losing orchids but these are usually the people that believe phalaenopsis need to be cooled and fertilized weakly, thus bound to fail themselves also. The critical people are thus those that have just not lost as many orchids yet because their collection hasn't grown that much yet. I don't care as much if people lose orchids or not, like I said that is part of the hooby and needs to be embraced even. What I care about is every year new people spreading the usual myths about orchids where I have just highlighted the most often repeated ones by beginners. So yeah, don't trust too much you read about them. The more you learn about orchids, chances are the more you will get confused. When once you have the hang of it, they grow by themselves and every year you'll be like "oh it's that time of year again when they are spiking/blooming/growing.

@@tomfurmby88 I have this message flagged in my inbox, printed, and saved to my "don't lose this incredible information" folder. Thank you so, so much for taking this much time tell help this newbie. I cannot wait to read it later 😊

With our longggg bleak winters, the beauty the phals bring is such a delight. Common doesn't mean any less spectacular!

"Break" the tape 😆 I did a little dance. That's all you missed .......

I'll be looking up the Oncidium .... now 😁

Thank you, Kimberly. Your orchids are doing splendidly over here.

I just hope to become good enough 😅

@@soberplantguynot as great as you are at being awesome!

@@hanstera_deliciosa Oh Lord.....

@@soberplantguy Dave, I’m trying to make Lisa my bestie. Please, stay out of it

Yep. Never ... until 😆

Couldn't agree more!

So are you 🤗

Thank you!

💚