It took several books and a few trial and errors with other orchids but I finally discovered some of the reasons my first attempts met with such disastrous results. First thing I learned about that first orchid was NEVER start your orchid hobby with a very young plant, although some may not have any problems with this most of us will. Second never buy a orchid that has been "wicked" meaning that a young plant is potted with a piece of tiny rope or cord which goes down into a reservoir of water. This is one of the most horrible practices with orchids and if the young plants are no re-potted before much damage is done there is not much you can do for it at all. Third when bringing a new orchid home place it in a sunny spot on a pebble tray with water or somewhere a little humid, and let it be! Moving a orchid around to much tends to make them unwilling to grow, and can even cause die-back. Last of all a good book to help with any questions and a detailed list of species, I highly recommend "Understanding Orchids" by William Cullina. I've read a LOT of orchid books but this one is the prize of my orchid book collection and I refer back to it for many questions I still have.
I know that there are many more people out there who know in great detail all about orchids. Here is just what I have learned and maybe it can help someone else.
There are two basic structures of orchids sympodial - which grow off a rhizome this includes the orchids that have pseudobulbs and some which are harder to identify like Paphiopedilum "Lady Slippers" which just have clumps of "fans" leaves tightly packed together. Pseudobulbs which retain water absorbed though the roots prevent the plant from being overwhelmed during a long dry spell, even though most orchids are tropical these are much needed to ensure the survival of the plant. As the plant uses up the storage of water, creases and shriveling can occur in extreme cases even damaging the pseudobulb when it will never "plump" up again. Always keep humidity high, either by placing other plants close by or by using a pebble tray which is a shallow dish or tray filled with small rocks *fish tank rocks work well* and filled with water but so it does not seep into your orchid pots! Keep your orchids up never let them sit in water!
Monopodial is the other with plants growing vertical from one "center" or main base in this group are orchids such as Phalaenopsis and Vanda. These are more tolerant of less humidity with the exclusion of certain varieties, so its best to check the culture requirement of all new orchids you buy!
The roots of orchids are thin and hair like but covered in velamen, a sponge like covering which aids in water absorbtion and retention, the roots then appear thick and white. In the wild these thick fleshy roots would help the orchid to attach itself to a host plant, and quickly absorb rainfall for storage in the pseudobulb or leaves. A dead orchid root is seen to be a light brown and quite shriveled, in contrast a healthy root is white with no brown or shriveled patches and during active growth has a nice green root tip. Salt damage, disease, improper watering habits or insects can cause the root tip to die and it will then turn brown.
Unlike most houseplants orchids are often parasitic to a host plant, of course since as a orchid hobbyist we don't have the ideal growing conditions we improvise by planting them in pots, baskets, and sometimes mounted on plaques. The most common is a pot and anything else should be approached by a novice at least, of course trial and error are the best ways to learn although anyone who "losses" a seventy or eighty dollar orchid will feel a pain. There is a wide variety of potting mediums all with pros and cons, and choosing what is right for you may take a lot of reading. I have had quite a bit of luck using spagnum moss, it holds moisture and is a natural anti-rot agent with good properties for mixing with other mediums. Pre-mixed mediums are also available but I find that these are often mixed with a lot of charcoal and various sizes of particles which compress quickly in the pot, thus trapping moisture and causing root rot.
