Question
Hello :)

I am new to orchid care. I have admired orchids in the past, but have never
taken care of one. I bought a small orchid from the shop this weekend, and
was trying to identify what type of orchid it was. Sadly, there is so much
information about various species of orchid on the net that it is difficult to
find specific information.

I took some pictures of my orchid, and hopefully it can be identified! :) That
way I'll know what I need to do to maintain it in good health.

Here are the links! (sorry about the blur/lighting, the camera on my cell isn't
so good)
- http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y224/Chihiro1990/Photo-0075.jpg
- http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y224/Chihiro1990/Photo-0074.jpg
- http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y224/Chihiro1990/Photo-0073.jpg
- http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y224/Chihiro1990/Photo-0072.jpg

Thank you for your time :)

Answer
Hello Stephanie,

Thanks for including the links to the photos, they really helped a lot!  Yes, it can be very hard to find a photo of an orchid if you do not have any idea of what kind it is.  Just to let you know, there are over 30,000 different species of orchids plus well over 100,000 hybrids between species.  

What you have is a dendrobium orchid plant and it is in the evergreen family of dendrobiums.  As such, here are some guidelines on how to care for it.  

Place it where it will be in bright shade, temperatures between 55F to 85F, humidity above 40%, some light air movement.  Water when the potting media becomes barely moist all year round.  Feed it lightly (about 1/4 the amount receommended) with a balance type orchid fertilizer as dendrobiums do not require lots of it to grow and bloom.  In the fall, expose it to night temperatures around 55F to help tell it that it is time to start the bloom cycle.  

Hope this has helped.  

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.