My Growing Space #2

[ran]

Thank you Nenella! I hope my plants bloom too...

Phalphal: I really like that CattLadder. Ingenuity.

[PhalPal]

Solay the paint color is called 'Tennessee Haze' and I got it from Home Depot. Usually it takes me a week of painting samples on the wall to make a choice. This one I just picked it up and said 'ok, this is good.' For once it worked out great!!

[dtje2000]

I still need to affix the shade cloth across the top and do some tweaking and shimming, but you can get the basic idea of the structure. I built three as you see in the photo, and I have one to go that will be accessible from both sides, with canopy and shelf on each side as well.

I'm so excited that the reality is as good as the plan! With my seat-of-the-pants ideas, it could go either way...

What do you think?

[rcb]

Looks very nice!

[vcuchick]

OOOOOooooooOOOOOOOOOooooo niiiice!

[Brooke]

Brooke

[syndywindy]

very nice. Is it free standing or is it attached to the wall?

[solay]

Looks very pretty. Good job and idea.

[lmartiny]

Nicely done. Looks good.

[PhalPal]

Wow! Very, very nice!!! I love building stuff!

[Fishmom]

Super idea, and with all the pots anchored to the wall, you won't have to worry about wind knocking them over. I'm rethinking my latest plan!

[kmarch]

This is fantastic!!! I'm going to move this thread into the "Growing Spaces Thread which is like a huge archive of orchidgeeks growing spaces. this is a great idea, very clever and useful to many members!!!

[fred]

good move Kevin

dt
your setup looks really nice
you have done a fantastic job

[dtje2000]

Thank you all VERY MUCH! I'm positively glowing from your praises!

More info... the structures are 6 feet tall, 4 feet wide...the shelf area is 12 inches deep and covered with vinyl-coated hardware cloth. They are free-standing so that I can move them about should I need to (or lay them down in the event we have a hurricane!). The lattice is the plastic molded stuff...so that I wouldn't have to deal with rot on such a thin wood. The frame is mostly 2x4 treated pine, and I used a semi-transparent stain to get the wood to be more uniform in color. The top overhang is 24 inches deep, and intended to support a light shade cloth, which I just draped over the tops moments ago. More and detailed photos will be forthcoming!

Connie, me and my power tools...I love to make stuff, too! My spouse got me a double-bevel power miter saw for Christmas two years ago, and between that and my 18 volt cordless drill I'm in tool heaven...

[PhalPal]

I LOVE power tools dt!! We have really just gotten into them in the past year or so while remodeling. I used to be a die hard saw and screw driver kind of girl, but the right tool for the job sure makes building things a lot more fun!

We recently bought a miter saw and are in the process of doing baseboards and crown moulding throughout the house. I think the first few feet took WEEKS (I'm not kidding) and a lot of laughing but we have it down now and its FUN!

I took to building my own orchid stands and light stands because I just can't find what I want/need to fit my orchids. The only option was to buy a bunch of PVC and/or wood and start playing tinker toys! You have inspired me....I am going to build a prettier version of what I have now. I have a feeling this will never end; I will just keep building a better mouse trap!

[tansyflower]

I bought this shade house from ebay last week for $40.

I thought it was a great idea, as it combines both a shade house and a potting bench, with storage underneath. The front rolls down (but I'll leave it open for winter)

Lots of people seem to want shadehouses. This is one option for people that may be space-limited or that don't have that many orchids (yet).

The only drawback with this one is that it isn't big enough if you do have a big (or even medium sized) orchid collection. I mainly have my small pots and my orchids in spike in here. It is also heavy, as it has a steel frame.

I think one could be made from an old outdoor table with the frame built to measure over the top.

I was also going to buy a proper walk-in shadehouse the same day, but the seller withdrew it at the last minute.

[solay]

I think it's a great idea. I need something like that as well. It would be perfect in a shady area so you don't get hot while re-potting. I may have to try to get me something like that. Thanks for the idea.

[Orchidementia]

That's really nice!! If I had a yard, I'd love something just like that. I'd love a potting bench; I'm using a TV table as my potting/everything else outside porch table. It's handy, but I lust after potting benches.

[arleneg]

dt,

Very nice! If only my husband was into carpentry... Actually, if I had the time and tools, I'd make something for my orchids. The only thing I can do right now is brainstorm on what I want built for my orchids so they can live in the backyard. Then...maybe...hire someone to do my design.

[okianer]

sumer place in greenhouse for some of my orchids

[dtje2000]

tansy, that was a great deal! and more ideas are popping into my head... i never even thought to browse ebay...

and arlene, i have to admit, i'm allllll about my tools. i think i have as much fun building the stuff to support my hobbies as i have with the hobbies themselves...

[fred]

its good building the stuff because it gives one more room for orchids
I have been down that road a few times myself

lol I dont think I ever stop


looks good okianer

[PhalPal]

Very nice Tansy and okianer! It is amazing how many ways we can figure out to grow our orchids given our natural conditions we all have to deal with.

Arlene you can build something!! Tools have gotten so inexpensive and they make such projects a joy. If you need help with the design - I will help you!!! Designing stuff is half the fun!! I'm sure DT will give you ideas too!!

[Gene.Staley]

ok as of yet I don't have pictures, and I only have one orchid.... but for the set up there are three different places an east facing window, a north facing one and a south facing one. I'm actually think north or south because of the hole "indirect sunlight" thing.

[arleneg]

Connie, hubby has enough tools that I can make something. It's the time I don't really have much of.

[CharliesAngel51]

I live in the suburbs of Los Angeles. I have a small collection of orchids which I grow in the house. The temps in my house are usually around 75 deg.F daytime and around 65deg.F to 75deg. F night time. I recently bought a shelf unit which I put up in front of an east facing window.

The unit is 36" wide 72" high and 18" deep. It has 5 adjustable shelves which I assembled this way: working from the bottom, the first shelf is 8" from floor, the second shelf is 8" above that. On this shelf I cut foam board to fit the shelf as I have storage bins on the floor beneath the first shelf and on the top on the first shelf and I didn't want debris from the plants falling into the bins.The third shelf is 4" above this and holds the first of my orchids. under this shelf I have 2 trays filled with water for extra humidity. Thefourth shelf is 26" above this and hold more orchids. The last shelf is the top of the unit and is 26" up from the fourth shelf.

I have 2 cyms outside on the patio and a Den on another table { too tall for the shelf} and a Phal on my kitchen counter. I will move it to the shelf when it finishes blooming.

This certainly isn't anything compared to most of the ones posted here but it works for me now. I like my orchids inside where I can enjoy them more. I may expand to an outside shelf unit for the patio as my collection grows.

[Tommyr]

Very nice Margaret!

[jay]

Very nice. I have similar system and have run into the problem of no more space. I only have 3 shelves though. Maybe it is time to get a larger shelf. You have inspiring me.

[CharliesAngel51]

You can't beat this one for easy assembly. I am 76 and vertically challenged [ under 5Ft. ] it took me about 45 minutes to put together. It would have been faster except I kept changing my mind about distance between shelves. It is a woman's right to do that you know.LOL No tools required either.

[Corey21707]

wow all of you have exactly what i wish i will have someday!!! so beautiful, thanks to you guys ive only been on here a week, and i have learned so much from you!!thanks again... i will attach the ones i have not much, but i just started..

[CharliesAngel51]

You are on your way to the addiction. Nice looking orchids.
Are my eyes deceiving me or is your Paphiopedilum in a glass pot with no holes? If it is, you need to re pot it into something with drainage or the roots will rot.

[PhalPal]

Good eye Margaret! Yup, if you have any orchid in a pot with no drainage it will die on you quickly.

[Ochin@]

It's been a while since anyone posted on this thread, so I'm bumping it with a panorama of my patio, as you can see, there is a lot of space for more orchids

[Tommyr]

Originally Posted by Ochin@

It's been a while since anyone posted on this thread, so I'm bumping it with a panorama of my patio, as you can see, there is a lot of space for more orchids

Ooooo! LOTS of room for MORE! VERY nice!

[kid a]

OOhhh I wish I had your patio lol. I am dreading when the temps start to drop here lol.

[arleneg]

Natalie, love your patio! You definitely have mooore room for orchids.

[psyc1210]

latest pic of my growing space

[Bird Song Farm]

Really nice JoBeth, neat and tidy and the plants all look happy. That phal really wants to show off!

AL

[Tommyr]

Originally Posted by psyc1210

latest pic of my growing space

VERY nice! Lots of orchidee goodness!

[dtje2000]

I just finally finished my last 'orchid wall' construction project!

My next task is to sort my plants based on care criteria so that my "keep 'em moist" plants are not mingled in with the "let 'em dry out" guys. I'm kind of proud of my walls - I just hope they help me as much as I am hoping they will.

Then I'll do some little things like attach velcro to the corners of the shade cloth so I can fasten it down or pull it back based on need.

So what do y'all think of an old lady's work? More photos are in my This and That album...

[mehitabel]

Those are really good looking, dtje. It's nice looking enough to be parked right at a front door! You have a good eye for proportions, and you must be pretty good with a rule, saw and hammer as well I really am impressed. Your orchid alley is beautiful. Color me green!

Thanks for the ideas. I would love something like that on wheels. Maybe I can talk someone into building one for me. (I've never tackled anything like that myself since I'm not allowed to touch hammers ) I've printed it out.

I've been trying to think of some kind of support that I could hang smaller things on (just for the summer, of course). It would expand the sunny area on my deck enormously if I could go upwards. Also, it defeats the boring, super-functional all-the-same-level thing of benches. AND I could just turn it's back to the sun when it got too hot! !!! Priceless.

About attaching your shadecloth-- how about a grommet kit? Some shadecloth comes with grommets so you can tie it down, but you can attach them yourself, since you're handy.

Thanks for sharing your ideas.

[lmartiny]

That looks great Diana. And, wow, all those plants.

[sunshine]

I think it's great Thanks for the distraction from the drudgery of
housework

[dtje2000]

Originally Posted by mehitabel

About attaching your shadecloth-- how about a grommet kit? Some shadecloth comes with grommets so you can tie it down, but you can attach them yourself, since you're handy.

Thanks for sharing your ideas.

Interesting that you mention the grommet thing... I did consider it, and I even saw that there are grommets as accessories for this shadecloth...but since it doesn't affix with screws, nails, or glue I myself a little intimidated...funny, huh?

And you are more than welcome! I hope it gets your creative juices flowing so you'll know what you want for your plants.

[trinigirl]

That looks great! I am getting so many ideas from looking at yours. I love how you are sorting the plants according to needs. I need to do something like that.

Is that a sunroom you have, I love the looks of it.

[myorchid]

That looks so great! WOW, you have lots or orchids! Wish I could grow outside!

[rcb]

Dt, they look great. What type of wood did you use? After we settle into a house of our own, I was thinking about doing something similar to yours.

[dtje2000]

Thanks, y'all. If it weren't for that big ol' patio I would never have gotten the nerve up to feed this orchid addiction like I have. I feel extraordinarily lucky to have this space...though it has done nothing but eat away at my retirement funds!

Sarah, that area is part of the entire pool enclosure, which is a common feature with Florida homes. The entire back side of our house has this aluminum framed screened enclosure attaches to a covered patio and encloses the pool and a secondary patio area which I claimed for my orchids. The real beauty of the whole thing is it doubles our 'living' area, especially during the winter and spring, as we can leave our patio doors open to the screened area without having to worry about bugs and such. It is one of the absolute best parts about being a Florida dweller, IMHO!

Renee, I used all pressure treated wood, decking screws, steel bolts, nuts, washers, plastic composite lattice, and vinyl coated hardware cloth. I was going for something I could make in a uniform manner that would resist the weather as much as possible. I used a deck stain on the wood to give it all a uniform look. Probably a bit of overkill, but I regard it as plant furniture and wanted it to be somewhat decorative. I'll cut the overhanging portion of the shade cloth into lengthwise strips to make it look more fringie rather than oversized. Underneath all of the shadecloths I stapled a layer of the same black nylon screen used for the enclosure...it was leftovers that the enclosure crew was going to throw away so I glommed on to it.

[patticake]

Wow!! My uncle and Aunt have a home on Marco Island, and it has an enclosure like that on the back over their pool area. How I wish... They don't grow plants, either. What a waste! Your area looks fantastic! Absolutely beautiful! Thanks for the pics!

[syndywindy]

Very nice, I keep telling my husband I need something like that for outdoors. Problem is, them I would start buying more orchids. That in itself isn't terrible, but I'd have to bring everyone in for the winter, so where to put them all. I'm wondering that already with what I already have. but I like what you have done. did you do all the woodwork yourself?

[HoneyB]

Hi there! I live in a small apartment in Brooklyn, NY and I've become passionate about orchids this year. I'm looking to expand my capacity to keep plants and ensure the best environment into the winter. I'm hoping some of you experts will let me know if I'm heading in the wrong direction or acting on bad information.

Right now I have 13 orchids (Phals, Dens, and an Oncidium hybrid) with 3 in my smaller kitchen windowsill and 10 situated around a double window in my living room. Both are Eastern exposures, but they are partially blocked by the apartment building next door. I have a WonderLite on a timer in the living room as well as a small fan on all the time. Over the summer the humidity was between 45-55 and the temperatures 70-90. My plants seem happy and healthy sustaining blooms and growing new leaves. The blooms on the Phals have recently been singing a bit, so I reduced the WonderLite from 12 hours a day (6AM-6PM) to 8 hours (8AM-4PM).
Attachment 27206
My plan for winter is to weather seal the windows and install 2x10 shelves halfway up the height of the windows as well as a 2x12 (5 foot long) floor shelf in front of the living room windowsill (approximately 18 inches high) for a tiered effect making optimal use of the available sunlight (but not taking up too much space). I'm getting at least 4 humidity trays (1 for each windowsill and 1 for the nearby radiator). I got 2 more small clip fans and I have a small blowing space heater and I want to arrange the 3 fans and the heater to create a mini-jet stream that circulates the warm air and humidity without letting it disperse too much throughout the rest of the room/apartment. I'll have them on timers so that something is blowing at all times, but the heater will likely only be on at night.

I'm looking to make use of my expansion by buying some of the following plants: Aerangis biloba, STANHOPEA wardii, ANGRAECUM eburneum v. superbum, several Brassavolas, Oeoniella polystachys, Paph. Deperle (delenatii x primulinum), Epi. Dainty Lady x Oe. pseudoschumanniana, and Blc. Goldenzelle 'Lemon Chiffon' AM/AOS.

So, if you've made it this far THANK YOU! And I'd love to hear what you think of my plan, especially what you think might not work. Do I need a humidifier? Are any of these plants a bad match for my situation? Will my jet stream work? That kind of thing.

[rcb]

Honey - not sure about your plans, I'll leave that up to those who grow in their houses, but just wanted to say you are going to love the Oeoniella polystachys - it's just a wonderful little plant. And the fragrance is heavenly.

[patticake]

I grow strictly in my home, (no choice) AND I'm in upstate NY! Cool! I find that having several plants grouped together near a window, it helps raise the humidity up here in the winter! Good luck with your new chids!

edit: In the winter when humidity is low up here, I don't use my fans. I only use them during the humid summer weather.

[HoneyB]

Originally Posted by patticake

I grow strictly in my home, (no choice) AND I'm in upstate NY! Cool! I find that having several plants grouped together near a window, it helps raise the humidity up here in the winter! Good luck with your new chids!

edit: In the winter when humidity is low up here, I don't use my fans. I only use them during the humid summer weather.

Thanks Patticake! Do you use humidity trays? I thought airflow would be important to keep the standing water from going wonky...

[mehitabel]

Hi, Honey. Your plan sounds very good. I can see you've given it a lot of thought, and have covered all the bases. You do have to tweak a plan, however good it is as things come up, and I'm sure you're prepared to do that

Here's my comments on a couple of things:

1. Wonderlite -- I have these in my south windows and keep blooming phals under them. They are wonderful! If your phal flowers were singed, the lights may be too close to them. A shorter period won't necessarily help, and it reduces the total amount of light your orchids are getting. Just move the spikes further away from the light,eg 6-8" off to the side. Yes, I would increase the time again to 12 hours.

2. Winter -- winter indoors is hard on all tropical plants, almost whatever you do. Until last year, despite my best efforts, every winter meant at least 10% suffered a serious decline. Not right away, but around February, after four months of it. Obviously, their ability to adapt to the conditions was being severely tested, and all of them couldn't make it.

Last year I had almost no problems, the difference was cranking the heat up to 65 minimum from 60. Can't say that is what did it, but I'm not going to crank it back down.

My point, tho, is that what you end up doing in winter is to help your orchids survive, maybe grow a little. It's almost impossible to do more. The light just isn't sufficient. In winter here, we get no more than 3-4 days out of 7 where the sun shines at all. And it's weak sun when it does shine.

It's easy to provide enough light for phals because the leaves are low enough so the plant can be near the lights. For tall-leave plants like catts, oncids, encyclias the tall leaves meantthat most of the plant has to be too far away from the lights to get any meaningful amount of light. They also need more light to thrive than phals do.

3. Humidity trays are good. They raise the humidity at leaf level to about 50%, which is about the best you can get with heat running. A humidifier has to be cleaned constantly to keep it from becoming a health hazard. They're also expensive and they break down. Get a hot-steam vaporizer instead. These are cheap, so if they break down you're not out $50+, but more like $12. Also because they heat the vapor, they don't need the constant cleaning. However, don't expect it to do that much against forced air heat, especially if the space is largish.

4. Your heat stream -- Sorry to say I don't like the idea if you intend to aim it in the direction of the plants. I think it may end up being very drying to your plants. All the books say to aim fans at a wall, not at the plants. I think that your jet of warm air might be all right if you aim it at the wall. Presumably, a fan directed at a corner or a wall sends the air up, along the ceiling, and then it drifts down, much gentler.

5. Aim for a balance of factors: light, air, warmth, water and fertilizer have to be in balance. If they get unbalanced, problems result. This means as light goes down in winter, you have to reduce the others (except for the air) to keep the balance.

6. New plants -- can't comment on your selection, I'm sure others will do that. But go easy buying new plants in winter. Buy a couple, see how they do, then a couple more. In my experience, winter is a lot harder than summer despite every effort and the best lights money can buy.

Hope this doesn't sound pessimistic, it isn't meant to be. But not much point denying winter indoors with forced air heat is hard times for tropicals.

[HoneyB]

Originally Posted by mehitabel

Hope this doesn't sound pessimistic, it isn't meant to be. But not much point denying winter indoors with forced air heat is hard times for tropicals.

WOW! Thank you sooooooo much for taking the time to share all that information. And yes, I'm totally ready to tweak! I love the vaporizer idea and will experiment with fan direction. We don't have control of the thermostat in our apartments here in NYC, hence the space heater idea. Ultimately life is a BETA test, but I try to arm myself with as much information as possible. So thanks again!!

[Kaci Lu]

I am new at this also. I live in Ok. Winters here are milder and moister. I was hoping I could get away with a sunny east kitchen. I almost always set a pot of steam every day and I bake at least twice a week. My plants are lush and green on my NE porch. I have lights for winter as well. Is this enough?

[HoneyB]

Originally Posted by Kaci Lu

I am new at this also. I live in Ok. Winters here are milder and moister. I was hoping I could get away with a sunny east kitchen. I almost always set a pot of steam every day and I bake at least twice a week. My plants are lush and green on my NE porch. I have lights for winter as well. Is this enough?

Ooooh, I like the idea of a pot on the stove for my kitchen windowsill!!

[mehitabel]

Sounds good to me, Kaci Lu. A sunny east kitchen full of warmth, a little steam? Sounds like orchid heaven to me Cat or dog heaven, too, if you have one, not to mention any stray hungry people

You just have to keep a close eye on things so you notice quickly their response to conditions. There's a lot of trial and error in figuring out your conditions and how to adapt them to the orchids' needs. Just another room in the same house can be a lot different.

[Kaci Lu]

Oh I get a lot of stray hungry people. I guess there is something about farm food. I have a wall in my kitchen that I was thinking about covering with wine corks I collected. I was told it is a good medium for hanging orchids.

[sruane]

Hi Honey,

As a fellow BK grower, I think what you've got planned could work. I have west facing windows (nothing blocking me though b/c I face an avenue on the 5th floor) and have managed to pull my plants through last winter (I have about 55, including things that do not belong in a Brooklyn apartment, like a bunch of vandas, some of which I've managed to bloom! A side note, I find that nobile dens do quite well over winter and flower well and any other den that takes a bit of a break during winter anyway, like D. jenkinsii. I also have other Dens, an Angraesum, Aerangis, a Zygo, and smaller vandaceous like Neostylis, plus some Phals and Onc types/intergenerics).

You will see less growth for sure in any warmth lovers. As far as what plants you plan to grow, again, I pretty much buy what I like and then either manage to succeed with it or not (I can't seem to bloom a Paph). My humidity varies between 35 and 60 in winter, depending, humidity trays give a 5-10% boost in the area. My plants seem to adjust and while they don't thrive during winter, they do ok enough. Summering them on my fire escape seems to help them revive.

I've attached my own shelving pic just to give you an idea about how I doubled my good window space last year (with the help of my husband!). I also have 2 other windows of the same proportions in my bedroom where I've got more plants (but not more shelves...yet). And in my kitchen window, I have my vandas hanging from the curtain rod and then a shower curtain rod wedged into the wondow frame for a second row of vandas. Oh and in case you are interested, I got the shelves and brackets at Ikea, they are made of glass.

Good luck!

Sara

[orchidlover55]

HoneyB, we are glad to share the love for orchids you have found and I want to to the forum

[Dendian]

Hi HoneyB and to the forum.

I have my orchids in a kitchen windowsill/greenhouse window and so I always like to hear other people's ideas of what to do for the winter (1st time winter for me and my new orchids).

However, I have a few notes on kitchens and orchids, picked up in my readings which might help somebody else out there:

Orchids do not like hot steambaths or cold drafts, so keep away from the boiling tea kettle, hot steaming spaghetti draining and the refrigerator doors.... I think baking would be ok, cause your orchids won't be right above the stove....

Ripening fruit gives off a gas which can cause bud blast , so keep orchids away from the fruit bowl or any compost pot.

Also, I have seen noted in lots of areas (books, etc) that orchids store the sunlight they receive in the summer to help keep them alive in the cooler and less sunny winters, so I think that the fire escape summers probably help your orchids alot surane. Keeping them in the window all summer might not be as good (like I did), but that is what I have now so we will see.....

I will watch this tread with interest to see all the ideas on how to make plants happy in the house.

[nenella]

Dt, that's a beautiful 'orchid house' well done !!!!!!!!!

[NicC]

I would be concerned about too much heat which is drying even though it is from a radiator. Good to protect against drafts, however.
I have a whole house (apartment) humidifier on the furnace that runs all the time both for the orchids and for me. I also use humidity trays but even with that rarely can boost winter humidity to 50 %. With your eastern exposure and a blocking building don't attempt anything that the books say requires bright light (vandas, Catt alliance) and stick with the lower light requiring plants and you will be more satisfied with the production.
good luck. I have found window sill growing very gratifying.
Nick

[Kaci Lu]

I have seen the ripening fruit thing. Just how far from ripening fruit? I have a pretty large kitchen. I can move the location into another room on the east side. I may do that. I just received word someone is bringing me more terrestrials from Fl. I have good friends! It may be a far more sinister gift...they may be getting me as addicted as they are. Oh well, there are far more terrible things to be addicted to. It's suppose to get down into the 40s tonight so all are inside.

[katrina]

WOW! Dt you did an excellent job there!! That's awesome!!

Makes me wish (even more) that I could grow my 'chids outside year round.

Almost forgot...my husband built me a shade area for my 'chids this past spring and I opted to just staple part of the shade cloth in place. I know it's not the most popular decision but it worked great for me...I didn't want any flapping of the cloth. I used one of those construction type staplers and when you want to remove it...just use pliers and pull the staples out. Simple.

[HoneyB]

I've been totally distracted by my expansion project and have barely been online at all, so I'm just getting to see all these great responses. Thanks everybody!! Pooled experience is such a great resource. I finished my shelves and I'll be posting pics soon!!

[HoneyB]

Originally Posted by sruane

I've attached my own shelving pic just to give you an idea about how I doubled my good window space last year (with the help of my husband!).

Great minds think alike...my new shelves look very similar. I was too nervous to go with glass though. I'm working on the pics right now so stay tuned!

[PhalNewbie89]

This makes me a little nervous about winter. We usually don't have terrible winters but it does get cold and we had a terrible ice storm last year. So thinking of that ice storm. If it hits us again I would proly end up going home to my parents and the heat in our apartment would be off...How would you suggest I transport my orchids to ym parents with me to keep them warm while putting them in and out of the car?

[HoneyB]

Okay, I posted pics of my newly reconstructed windowsill on my profile in the Living Room Windowsill album. But I'm going to try to put up a few here to get the hang of this photo thing!

[Riona]

So I got ambitious finally and made my orchid mount. Didn't turn out as a tree like I wanted at first, but it still is nice. Though a bit front-heavy. I need to find a rock I can put in the base. . . And before you comment on the health of my orchids, most of them were on clearance when I got them, so not in great health. And the top 2 levels are all the same plant. I split the first into thirds when I took it out of the pot, and then the top one a single bulb came off, so I mounted it in thirds, though you can't see the "baby," and I don't entirely know if it'll end up living or not.


I made it into an I-like shape to hold it up. Figured that way I could hang the orchids by somewhere in the middle instead of right on the ends of it. And it didn't end up needing any sort of bracing(though I've got some braces in case it ends up needing them later)


I used cedar fence posts for it(they're a bit rough) and hung some hooks from the top of them. Then I drove in some nails most of the way to hold those on. Entire cost of the project was under $20. I had the nails/screws, the hooks were $1.97 for a pack that had twice as many as I needed, and including the brace post that I don't have on now, I spent $14 on the wood.


Just for fun. I had the wood sitting in my kitchen, and that guy had climbed up one of the nearly 6' uprights and was chilling. He's outside in the garden(alive) now. I shooed him into a baggie and let him go since I couldn't grab him because he was jumping away.

Of course if anyone can figure out something I could use as a wick to get water into the sphagnum around the roots without taking all of the boards down, I will love you forever

[Stelios]

nice one. I love the cute visitor.
I can't think what would subsidize a wick but i would try using some silicon gel to create rims guiding the water around.

[lmartiny]

Riona, that is quite clever. I like it. I too use rescues for mount experiments. For the most part they make it. Or, you can always replace at some point. The way you have it mounted you can just take it outside and hose it down good.

[dtje2000]

That cedar frame is great! More ideas...I love it!