Hi from Az newbie!

[sardonicscorpio]

I'm a reformed black thumb here in Surprise (just outside Phoenix) who fell in love with orchids in Hawaii and now I'm trying to keep some tropical going down here in the desert. I love orchids, but am having a hard time finding knowledgeable people and relavent information. I just recently bought a house and am having a great time with my plants. I also breed sugargliders. Hi everybody!!
Traci

[mayres]

Welcome!
Lots of people on this forum who love to talk orchids. Tell us what's on your mind and we'll chime in! :-) There are several people who contribute who live in Arizona.
Sugargliders eh? I have a co-worker here at work who also raises them that is routinely taking food samples home for them. Post a pic of them as well as your orchids some time!
mike

[arleneg]

Hi Traci. Welcome to the forum. How many and what type of orchid(s) do you have?

One of our experts on this forum is Cynthia, Prescott, AZ. I'm sure she'll have many answers to your questions.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

I left some info for you on your other thread. Cynthia

[desertgal]

Hi Traci, Welcome to the forum. I live in the southern Ca desert. Growing orchids in the desert is a challenge but I'm having fun. So will you!

[BillC]

Hi Traci, please forgive my ignorance; what is a sugarglider? Welcome to Geeks!! BillC.

[Aniko]

BillC, you've just asked the question which bothered me...!
Aniko.

[mayres]

Sugar Gliders (Petaurus breviceps) are marsupials from Australia or Indonesia. They are tree dwelling, nocturnal creatures often living in groups of 20 to 40. They are soft grey animals with a black stripe running down their back, and a gliding membrane they use much as a flying squirrel does. If high enough, a sugar glider can glide as far as 150 ft. Lots of cool pictures at http:\\www.sugar-gliders.com among other places! mike

[Aniko]

I've never heard about them before, very nice animals! Thanks.
(My pet is a chow-chow .)
Aniko

[BillC]

Hi Traci, You must have a great time breeding the gliders! I checked out Mike's link and they sure looked cute. I bet the baby gliders enjoy when Mom takes to the air. Being marsupials I suspect that adult females have only one in the pouch at a time. Nice thread!! BillC

[MrGreenjeans]

Hi Traci, I live in Sedona, AZ nice to see another Arizonian here.....

Growing orchids in the desert is a litte more challenging here because of the dry climate and heat, but I have been growing orchids here now for 7 years with good success...... One thing you don't have to really worry about is overwatering due to the fast evaporation rate.... the other advantage is that because we have so much sunshine, light is usually not a problem. All of my orchids are inside and do well..... I tried putting one outside one time (cynbidium) and almost fried it, and that was in the shade for the most part. These things just can't tolerate the dryness, sun and the heat, unless you have some sort of climate controlled greenhouse, growing them outside is a different ballgame.