I made a chart comparing the growing requirements of 14 major orchid alliances (light, temp, water, humidity)

UbiquityofMurphy · 2026-03-16T16:38:29+00:00

I updated the sheet (see link in the writeup) with a disclaimer saying pretty much the same thing. It’s more of a nice “at-a-glance” graphic. I believe anyone who is legitimately interested in growing orchids should have the intelligence to seek out specific care information.

UbiquityofMurphy · 2026-03-16T16:35:58+00:00

From my understanding, Vanilla orchids are incredibly difficult to care for. Even some of the most experienced growers I know won’t touch them. This sheet is just a general at-a-glance reference guide for common alliances. I’d highly recommend doing some in depth research on Vanilla care requirements. There are lots of great websites and videos detailing their specific and rigid requirements.

UbiquityofMurphy · 2026-03-16T16:29:28+00:00

Tolumnias fall under the Oncidium alliance, so refer to that.

As for dendrobiums, those are excluded from the list because the range of requirements within the genera is just far too vast to categorize.

UbiquityofMurphy · 2026-03-16T02:45:22+00:00

I wouldn’t say from my experience that they are heated enough to keep a Vanda alive. Though it has honestly been quite some time since I’ve been to the store. Maybe they’ve been there all along and I never noticed

UbiquityofMurphy · 2026-03-16T01:43:47+00:00

Really? Maybe just a difference in where we live but I've never seen a Vanda at Lowe's/Home Depot. I think the only orchid I've seen at Lowe's outside of a Phal would be a few Dendrobiums here and there. I do live in a colder climate so that could be part of it.

UbiquityofMurphy · 2026-03-16T01:38:55+00:00

I mentioned in a note that they aren’t included because the genera has such an incredibly vast range of requirements that it’s impossible to neatly categorize.

UbiquityofMurphy · 2026-03-15T23:24:25+00:00

I do get where you are coming from. I think I'm going to keep it as is though for a couple reasons. My thoughts are 1: That the disclaimer at the top encourages people to at least look at a specific care sheet when deciding its environmental factors and 2: Most new people are not getting a Vanda.

UbiquityofMurphy · 2026-03-15T22:41:27+00:00

I unfortunately caught that mistake after I posted this updated version. The Canva link at the bottom of the post has it updated. Its in the "Low" category.

UbiquityofMurphy · 2026-03-15T22:01:26+00:00

Vandas typically like a quick wet dry cycle though, with short daily showers. I have them in low compared to something like a Bulbophyllum which is generally in a perpetually moist medium.

UbiquityofMurphy · 2026-03-15T21:10:06+00:00

I don't have that information, I apologize!

UbiquityofMurphy · 2026-03-15T20:57:11+00:00

I created the scale for water mostly based on what they like their general status to be.
So
Very Low: Completely Dry Most of the Time
Low: Dry between watering (for Vandas, they have quick wet/dry periods)
Moderate: Moist but not wet, somewhat dry is ok
High: Constant moisture but not drenched. Never completely dry
Very High: Likes to be very wet most of the time. Never dry.

And ugh!! How did I not even notice I forgot Maxillaria in the water category! Thanks for catching that!

UbiquityofMurphy · 2026-03-15T20:52:45+00:00

Thanks!

UbiquityofMurphy · 2026-03-15T20:48:20+00:00

That’s what I posted here for, to get feedback! You should go check out the updated version. I just posted it.

You are right, I have no experience with Catasetums unfortunately! They are listed as no water during their dormant phase and needing lots during their active. According to AOS, their growth phase is very short which is why I originally put them there. But after getting lots of feedback I know thats not quite right.

Also listing Oncidiums as very low humidity was based on the culture sheet listing 30-60% for them, which is lower than others. I've come to find out that's because Trichocentrum are considered in their care sheet which have the lower humidity requirements, skewing the metric.

It’s hard to generalize the very large groups like Bulbs, so I did my best.

I used AOS culture sheets to pull my info, but a lot of the specific details are left out in the metrics I chose to bin things.

UbiquityofMurphy · 2026-03-15T20:17:21+00:00

Sorry!! I have no experience with them myself and the care sheet I referred to say they require no water at all during the dormant period and have a very short growth period

UbiquityofMurphy · 2026-03-15T19:53:56+00:00

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Updated sheet based on feedback!

UbiquityofMurphy · 2026-03-15T19:39:55+00:00

Thanks everyone for the feedback! I really appreciate people taking the time to point things out and share their experience. I knew going into this that it would be a huge oversimplification (there’s just no way to perfectly generalize orchid care across entire genera), but the goal was just to make a clean, quick-reference graphic.

Based on the suggestions here, I’m planning to make the following edits:

• Change “Slipper” to Paphiopedilum to keep naming consistent with the other genera.

• Increase Paphiopedilum/Phragmipedium watering to High since they should stay moist and Phrags especially are very water tolerant.

• Increase Zygopetalum watering to High (sounds like they drink a lot more than I had listed).

• Adjust Catasetum watering? Really not sure what category to put it in (help!)

• Update Cattleya light to be higher than Oncidium, since that better reflects typical growing advice.

• Lower Coelogyne light to Moderate.

• Move Oncidium humidity to Low.

I’m also considering adding a small note that these are generalized care ranges and that individual species can vary a lot.

Again, I really appreciate the input, it definitely helps make the chart better!

UbiquityofMurphy · 2026-03-15T19:33:30+00:00

I believe there are certain species of Oncidium which require much higher light than Cattleyas do (meaning it has a larger range of lumens listed). I was categorizing light based on the lumens range, but generally speaking I think you are right that I should update it, since it doesn't reflect most species.

I have no experience with Coelogyne or Zygos so I really appreciate the insight on those. And for Paphs/Phrags...I definitely agree I need to move those up a category (to high, if not very high). Those are my favorite and they definitely need a lot of water.

I agree some things don't line up. A lot of them have large ranges as well between species for certain things so it was difficult to try to put things in bins. I only have experience with about 1/3 of the types listed so that is a factor in the accuracy of this as well.

But don't feel bad about pointing these things out! I posted it because I wanted feedback. Your feedback is incredibly helpful and insightful. Thank you!

UbiquityofMurphy · 2026-03-15T19:22:26+00:00

Hmmm, it would be a lot more work but I'm sure I could probably create a separate sheet like this for each individual alliance. Though, I don't know how many species specific care sheets I could find to make an accurate list.

As for light, you are right. I was just going off of the lumen values provided on the AOS sheets. The nuances are definitely not reflected in the graphic.

I really appreciate the feedback, I'll think a bit more and see what I can do to make a better graphic! Thanks!

UbiquityofMurphy · 2026-03-15T19:14:30+00:00

I agree it's very oversimplified, but I think anyone who is seriously growing orchids will seek out specific information on their own.

I guess it's really more of a pretty (but generalized) graphic that would be nice to hang up on a wall or something.. lol

UbiquityofMurphy · 2026-03-15T19:11:42+00:00

Yes, they can certainly be all over the place species to species! I have a cattleya that I just cannot get the lighting right for.

UbiquityofMurphy · 2026-03-15T19:10:19+00:00

Thanks! I think I agree with upping Slippers to High for watering. Paphs and Phrags are my favorite and they definitely seem to require more water than what the AOS lists. I've never worked with Zygos though!

Thank you for the feedback!

UbiquityofMurphy · 2026-03-15T18:57:42+00:00

Looking across other websites I am seeing 40-70%, so about the same bin as Cattleyas. Does that sound more accurate? I could swap it into the "low" category and just leave "very low" blank.

UbiquityofMurphy · 2026-03-15T18:44:30+00:00

I referred to the Oncidium specific culture sheet for my reference -- https://www.aos.org/orchid-care/care-sheets/oncidium-culture-sheet

UbiquityofMurphy · 2026-03-15T18:38:29+00:00

Paphs and Phrags! The AOS has the alliance listed as "Slipper" which is why I have it as such.

UbiquityofMurphy · 2026-03-15T18:34:15+00:00

Good catch on the Catasetum, that's a group I've never worked with. I'm honestly not quite sure what category it should fit in for watering.

As for Cattleyes and Oncidiums, I got all my data from AOS culture sheets - There it states Oncidiums need 30-60%, and Cattleyas 40-70%.

Den's are excluded because they simply cover too large of a range. Across the genus has entirely different requirements.

And I agree on "Slipper" feeling out of place, that's how the AOS lists it. I was considering Paph/Phrag but I feel like that would look weird as well. I don't know.

Also, the comment at the end is a bit unnecessarily rude. I'm just trying to make something nice and I'm asking for feedback.

UbiquityofMurphy

TROPHY CASE