My Growing Space #2

[kmarch]

In the short time I have been reading and posting on this forum, I have noticed quite a few posts where people are sharing information and advice about growing spaces, from windowsill, to Edwardian cases, to sun rooms and all the way up to greenhouses. So I thought there might be some interest in a thread dedicated to growing spaces where people can post pics of their spaces, share info, ask questions. I find I learn something new every time I visit someone's growing space. This thread will allow us to visit each others' growing spaces in a "virtual" sort of way.

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I'll get the thread started. I live in Melbourne Australia where the climate is somewhat mild, similar in many respects to some places in the southern US. During our winter the temps are around 40F at night and 60F during the day. Winters are fairly cloudy and wet with high humidity. Summers here are hot and dry, 60F+ at night and 85F+ during the day with low humidity (sometimes less than 10%).

The climate here allows me to have 2 spaces one indoors for my Paphs and warmer growing plants and one outdoors for the cool tolerant plants.

Sunlight here is intense and, depending on what you're growing, 50-70% shadecloth is used outdoors. My outdoors growing space gets no direct sunlight yet is broght enough to bloom Cymbidiums, Australian native Dendrobiums and Dockrilla, and a few other things. The first picture is of this outside growing space.

Outside I have to adjust my watering seasonally: in the summer at least twice a week (notice the trays under the Cymbidiums), in the winter about once a week sometimes less. The mounted orchids get soaked once a week in the summer with an almost daily misting to raise humidity, and get soaked about twice a month in winter with little misting.

Indoors I grow mostly Paphs and Coelogyne with a few other things. The second pic shows how I grow in trays in a window. I rotate trays to give the plants on the lower trays a bit more light. In summer I water twice a week and in winter once a week.

Light in the indoors is enough to bloom Cattleyas, Paphs, Coelogyne, and hopefully some Gongoras and Encyclias.

I only fertilize the outdoor plants during spring and summer.

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Take a moment and post some pics of your growing spaces and let us know how you grow your plants in our space.

Cheers,

-Kevin

[dennis]

i feel embarrassed to show mine now after yours but here goes i live in northeast ohio 20 minutes from the pa borderare summers can be quite hot 90+ on some days avg, mid 80's winters can get quite cold. high humidity in the summer dry in the winter. i only have 20 orchids right now waiting for 2 shows in pa coming up to add to it then, mostly phals, 2 paphs,3 drends 1 nobile others are phal type 2 zygos i oncidium and 1 cyb. since this picture everything but two have been transplanted into sh and am using msn fertilizer. lighting is all natural in a filtered south window, the box they are sitting on is my humidity tray that holds around 7 gallons of water and is great for watering them on

[Anton]

Well every one has probably seen my "work inprogress" with the renovation / construction of the GH, so I won't include those images.

First image is my only Phal (Fanjan's Fireworks) which resides on a serving trolley next to the lounge room window which faces north, but gets indirect light due to the front porch overhang.

I have a large beach shade outside originally put there to stop leaves getting into our frog pond, and which by luck happens to be 75% shade cloth, ideal for cyms.

Under there I have 17 cyms, a zyg (Artur Elle X), a D. kingianum and an epidendrum which I am growing from a small kieki and it's starting to take on well.

[kmarch]

Dennis,

Nothing to be embarassed about at all. We all have different set-ups and the point is to gather a large pool of ideas and growing techniques. No competition.

I remember admiring your humidity tray in another thread. It shows that a humidity tray can look like a real piece of furniture and havign a tray of orchids doesn't mean you have to destroy the look of a room. Can you imaging my metal shelves trashing the look of a Victorian parlor filled with oak woodwork?

It looks like oyu have at least 2 Paphs there. What are they?

-K

[kmarch]

Thanks Anton, and your Cymbidiums get enough light to bloom under the tent?

-K

[Anton]

Kevin,

Check out my Web site and see for yourself.
http://www.users.on.net/~op_ink/AD/Welcome.html

This was last year's crop.

[kmarch]

Ok, so I guess the answer to that question is a resounding "YES!" I especially like the light pink one. Very nice.

-K

[Anton]

That's Ann Miller 'Midnight' X Claude Pepper 'Tawny Port' and was grown by my father who died 23 years ago.

Actually forgot to mention they do get morning and some afternoon sun, but anly for around half an hour of each.

[dennis]

Originally Posted by kmarch

Dennis,

Nothing to be embarassed about at all. We all have different set-ups and the point is to gather a large pool of ideas and growing techniques. No competition.

I remember admiring your humidity tray in another thread. It shows that a humidity tray can look like a real piece of furniture and havign a tray of orchids doesn't mean you have to destroy the look of a room. Can you imaging my metal shelves trashing the look of a Victorian parlor filled with oak woodwork?

It looks like oyu have at least 2 Paphs there. What are they?

-K

im not embarrassed just joking as i have just started into growing these. as soon as my last of my kitchen jobs are done we are going to look into a conservatory type room off the back of the house so i can have more room. as far as the paphs a Paph. Vanguard 'Dark' x Paph. sanderianum and a Paph Black Brier X Grand Master 'Candor Autumnal' AM

[kmarch]

Ah yes, now I remember you mentioning those crosses previously in another thread. They're good crosses.

-K

[sandra]

Kevin, Awesome! I'd rather get locked up in your orchid room than at the Hershey Chocolate Factory which I thought, nothing could ever beat...until now! I see you've put fans on the shelves for the orchids. Living here in Fla., the summers are thick, hot, the air is still. I'm going to buy a few fans to keep the air circulating on them for the coming summer. Just beautiful Kevin.

Dennis, I wish mine looked as pretty as yours. I just started my own collection for the first time a few weeks ago. I feel like a new mother. I keep going on to the patio, looking at them, positioning them, etc. I'm very excited as one that I purchased on the sale rack had a spike with another spike growing from the first one and now I've got 4 big buds. I'm soooooo excited about this.

Anton, I went onto your sight and all I can say is, WOW. Your orchids are absolutely, positively gorgeous.

[Vivienne]

What a great idea for a topic! Here is my 'setup'. I'm a newbie so don't have many plants... yet!

I live in Colorado Springs, Colorado (elevation 7,000'). Our climate is very dry and our temperatures are unpredictable (this week we will have highs ranging from 40F one day to 70F the next). Night time temps are generally in the 20s and 30s. Summers here can be intensely hot, then again I've seen it snow in June. Thankfully, I have a new townhouse with a great atrium. All my orchids are indoors.

The atrium is 10' x 22' (north/south) with no windows. The ceiling is 10' high with 3 3'x6' skylights evenly spaced. Due to the angle of the sun the north end is the brighter light, the south end gets only indirect light. Temp ranges are ~63F at night and ~75F day. I mist every morning, use humidity trays on all plants and have a fountain and humidifer on the south end. One more note, the south end contained a flower bed when I moved in, so I'm able to soak the soil (under the rocks) for added moisture. I've been in this house for 6 months and so far so good. The white phal (north wall picture) bloomed (Jan 20th) for the first time in 3 years.

Pic 1: south wall
Pic 2: southeast corner (paphs and phrags)
Pic 3: southwest corner
Pic 4: north wall closeup (cym, howeara, phals)
Pic 5: west north stairway entrance

[kmarch]

Sandra, I'm glad you like my set-up, thanks. And yes I find the fans are essential. Good air circulation is essential for the prevention of all kinds of rot and fungus and to provide a fresh atmosphere. Here in Melbourne our summers can be 40C+ (105F+) and the fans also serve to cool the plants off a little. I actually should have more fans than what I do, I really should have fans on the smaller shelf on the right or perhaps a large oscilating fan for the whole area.

Vivienne, Thanks for posting the pictures. It's great to see how people incorporate their orchid growing right into their living spaces. It's good evidence for how many orchids can be grown in the home without special conditions. The "bright indirect sunlight" part of the room will be nice for all sorts of orchids that don't like the more harsh direct sunlight.

Cheers

[Anton]

Vivienne, I bet you play them nice music as well.

[dennis]

Views: Replies
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Members: 4,062, Active Members: 872

from these numbers i would say that we are missing about 867 areas that the active members are growing thier plants in
why
come on folks lets see them pictures

[dennis]

Originally Posted by Anton

Vivienne, I bet you play them nice music as well.

with all of them on the floor i bet she does not have a chocalate lab

Vivienne love your pics and the way you got everything arranged

[Anton]

Just to follow on, if you want tips on getting good photographs, I am a professional photographer, plus there are a few keen amateur photographers as well.

With our help, maybe we can help Forumites to get high quality images to show our babies off in their best light on the Forum.

Most of my pictures are taken on my point n shoot Olympus digital camera, so you don't need top end stuff to get good images.

If you need help you can contact me at anton.drew@internode.on.net.

NOW GET TO IT OR ELSE I'LL MAKE YOUR LEAVES WILT !