Darn it!!! Fatalities!

[solay]

Well, I guess I should have expected it. While I was gone for a week some of my orchids suffered. Here are the pics. First pic. was of all three taken prior to my trip and the following are the results afterwards. I think the move into the G/H was too much for them. I since have moved them under the shelves where there's less light.

Question: Is that normal to get the edges to turn light too? I know the leaves will burn but what's up with the edges?

One Paph. was right under a mister nozzle and suffered rot. I think it will pull through. Not sure.

Then I left two Masdies and my Neos with my sister/sitter who didn't bother to water them much. She also mentioned something about the cat chewing on them too. Sheesh!!! Now I'm down to one Masdevallia since these two are goners for sure. The Neos will recover. I think.

Now I'm worried about my trip in January. I'll be gone for 2 weeks. Yikes!

[articuno75]

Cindy the blotchyness and discoloration on those leaves doesn't look like burn. That looks like Thrips attack. It really don't look like a mite attack. Have you seen any weird little bugs?

Now you have an excuse to come out of orchid buying ban. Hehehe. I'm so sorry for your loss.

[solay]

Oh! Oh! Seems just the phals. were effected. I haven't seen anything except ants. Maybe I'll spray them just in case.

[kid a]

NNNNOOOOOO!!!!! I'm so sorry that happened! Maybe you find a cheap misting system or something when you leave in January. You could put your husband to work and have build one out of pvc before you go Just tell him it would be like throwing money in the toilet if he didn't, lol! I am hoping and sending positive thoughts to all your poor plants that suffered.

[Anton]

As Cynthia once said to me, "A GH is always a work in progress".

You can't just put your plants in and go away I'm afraid. ;o

It takes several weeks of moving plants around, adjusting light, shade, humidity, airflow etc until things start to fall into place. Maye there IS too much light coming in.

You may have to experiment with draping some shade cloth over the GH to minimise the light from Spring until Fall, then take it off for winter. Then, like Cynthia and me, drape the GH in bubblewrap to act as insulation and to diffuse the light.

These are only suggestions. I am STILL playing with my GH 12 months after it was built ! I'm still experimenting with insulation to find the happy medium between keeping it warm in winter, to keeping it cool during summer.

I learned a valuable lesson, DON'T ALWAYS BELIEVE WHAT YOU READ !

I bought "supposedly" UV protected construction grade plastic to drape over the frame of my roof which inn turn was covered by 70% shade cloth. Well, after 4 months, it has totally deteriorated to the point where it is just crumbling before my eyes.

When did this occur ? Right when we had 50 to 60 Knots winds, rain and hail. I had to go down to the hardware store at 8pm and in the wind and rain put up more plastic OVER the roof to protect the GH from the weather getting into it. Bearing in mind that mine is a WARM HOUSE !!!!!

I HAD TO KEEP THE COLD AND WEATHER OUT, AND THE HEAT IN !!! Believe me, at 9.30pm in a blustery storm I WAS NOT VERY HAPPY.

Just be thankful yours is a solid structure. Now recounting this was to let you know, there is ALWAYS something you can change or improve in a GH, so PLAN your next move carefully and take all circumstances into consideration and leave no stone unturned.

It will all fall into place and is part of the "fun" of growing orchids.

Good luck and I hope I have given you some ideas.

[patticake]

Cindy... Oh No! As hard as it seems, SOME problems were to be expected with the move to the greenhouse. Not being there to watch and observe for the time away, just made it worse. Keep your chin up. I hope you get to the bottom of the problem. I hope the trip was good, anyway! I left a couple of my "tender" plants with my mom when I was away. My ghost orchid still has one little green root hanging on. The others bit the dust while I was gone. Well, as Jenny stated, at least you can have an excuse to get some new chids. If these are all that suffered out of your many, then I think you did o.k.- By the time you go on your next trip, you'll have figured out who goes best where, etc... It won't be as bad.

[solay]

Kortney, I have a misting system put in by my husband before we left. Seems not all the plants get sprayed evenly. The mist doesn't reach all the plants.

Anton, I think your right. The spots I thought had the most shade will get sun at different times of the day. I did get 50% shade cloth but it doesn't cover the whole GH. Just the top and a quarter of one side.

At least I have a until January to get things running better. Also I was wondering if anyone has problems with the nozzles getting clogged? I noticed today some won't work. Thanks.

[kid a]

Depending on if your water is hard or what kinds of stuff is in it you might need to clean them periodically. Our water here has tons of lime in it and is very very hard so we have to clean the ones in our sinks and the shower periodically to keep them from getting clogged.

[kmarch]

I woldn't write the Massies off just yet. Remember that rot problem I had about 6 months back? One of my Massies was down to 1 good leaf and one iffy leaf and it's making a comeback. I have a nice new leaf that's nearly mature and have had growth on all of my Massies. I've been pleasantly surprised at how they have bounced back!

[articuno75]

Mine have suffered a similar fate and I still have mine sitting.....waiting....LOL, hoping that something will come out of the ashes.

My Lovey Dovey laughs at me cause I water dead twigs.

[digitalgate]

look like burns then look really weird . signh....
we can't even take holiday ..

[Anton]

Blocked nozzles is a constant problem and it is best if you get an inline filter, or two.

They are relatively cheap and filter out all the large particles. If you aren't going to use it over winter, it will pay to drain it too so that the freezing temperatures don't burst the tubing.

[jbigio]

Every failure is an opportunity to learn something new.

[FLaCo]

Sorry to hear that. That one plant on the far right looks like my Zygo. It seems like it doesn't like the humidity down here.

[digitalgate]

the more i look at this, The more it look like chemical burns.. Does it smell like any chemical
you know? Beer, whisky, soda, ....

[chefatplay]

If it's chemical as Digital wonders, could it be Chlorine in your water?

[cassier]

Sorry about your harmed babies and I hope that they recover.

It took me a while to get my greenhouse functionable without burns and too much heat. The first day that I monitored it was 105 degrees in Oct. I then put a fan, curtains(Yea real curtains in a greenhouse), and 75% shadecloth. One year later I put in a misting system(I started school again and could not be in there everyday to water and mist). And not to mention the moving that I did to find just the right spot for this one and for that one. A greenhouse is a work in progress I think.

[solay]

Well, today I went out and took a close look and found a few tiny spider webs on some of the orchids. So I guess I have mites. I sprayed every plant in the G/H with with insecticide.
Not sure about the chemical burn. I used tap water prior to moving them in the GH. They did fine with the tap water. Now the misting comes from the main pipe. Wouldn't the water be the same as the tap?
Oh, and I've lost a few more leaves off two of my Neos. I've got them back to being moist from bone dry. Hope they will bounce back. I'm still hoping for the two Masdies to recover. So far no change.
Now the nights are dropping down to the 50s and I need to get the heater going ASAP. Sigh...this orchid growing isn't easy.

[cassier]

It is very tricky business is it not?
I hope that your neos will bounce back.
Becareful with the heater. It may dry your plants out too fast.
The first year that I used mine I tried to keep the temp at 80(stupid me).
Some of the orchids need a drop in temp to flower the following year.
I know that our temp ranges are very different.
Have you gotten a thermometer that sends the temp inside to a remote(thingy) so that you can keep an eye on the temp.
You can adjust the temps from that.
Last year I did not run my heater.
Good luck with all your plants and the greenhouse

[brookn]

I know you will figure it out, it's just a bump in the road. For just having set it up, you are doing great so far!!

[solay]

Cassier, how low do you let your G/H get at night? I got a thermostat that controls the 110v fan but I can't find one for a 240v heater. Seems they are all for 110v. What do you use to control your heater temp.? Thanks.

Thanks Brookn, Jenny, Patti, and Kortney. Ya, must keep trying. Although over all the orchids in the G/H is well. I think it may get too humid at times for the Catts. Can a Phal. get too humid? I thought they liked it moist?

Anton, you've been very helpful from the beginning. I'm going to look into bubble wrap this week. Seems the weather is changing fast. I need to figure the heating part before winter gets here. Thanks.

[brookn]

The more humid the better for my Phals, and they like to be pretty warm also. I try to keep mine above 60F, though my bellina likes to stay warmer than that.

[Anton]

Cynthia has a huge roll alongside of her GH and rolls it over for the winter, and then rolls it back up for the summer. She was the one who put me onto it.

Here's the pikkie of her set up: Baffle over vent and cooler with RO tank attached to and warmed by the GH IMG06464 photo - Admiral Schnitz photos at pbase.com

The bubblewrap it on the right.

[Brooke]

Solay sorry for your problems but you will get it figured out.

Have you checked with Charley's Greenhouse or FarmTek for your heater thermostat?

Your catts and phals can take all the humidity you can give them if you have fans running. Even in the winter with the heat running, my g/h has tons of humidity. I have more problems in the summer with lack of humidity than the winter.

The thermostat is set at 60 because of some of my warm growing phals and a few catts that want to be grown at 65 and above. Get yourself several min/max thermometers and set them around the g/h. You will find micro climates and can move plants accordingly. I have one table in the path of the heater where it never goes below 62 and I move all the warm growers to that area. The masdies and lycaste get moved from in front of the cooler wall, to another area that stays at 58 at night. If I didn't have the warm growers, I would keep the heater at 55 to save the $$$$$$$.

Your pictures above appear to be sun damage, not much, but it doesn't take long for a phal to burn from the sun, particularly if they have been grown inside way from direct light.

Finding spider webs in the g/h does not necessarily mean you have spider mites. I don't see the typical mite damage on your plants. You could have regular spiders in the g/h and they build webs too. I have watched my baby spiders grow up this year and it has been fun. Regular spiders eat "things" so they are the good guys. When I water, the spiders living on the plant runs up to the top of the foliage and glares at me. In the spring they were the size of a grain of rice and are now about the size of a pea.

Hang in there, greenhouses are really nice but they are also not carefree.

Brooke

[Vivienne]

As many have stated... growing orchids is a learning process. I know you'll have all the kinks worked out with the greenhouse. Keep at it!!

[cassier]

Solay,
The first year that I used the heater I tried to keep the temps at like 80 degrees(unrealistic and expensive)
Last year I put the heater on low and at like 60 degrees. I don't think that it kicked on all that much. Heat accumulates during the day in the gh. By the time morning comes the plants have not had a chance to drop in temp. I mainly think it is very important to keep the plants from cold winds.
Again we live in very different climates it gets colder where you are.
Just have some patience and an outside thermometer in the greenhouse that sends a signal in side to the remote station to let you know what your temps are. You can check on them several times a night to know what you are dealing with.

[PhalPal]

I'm still confused by the white edges on the phal leaves. I have never seen such a thing?????

In my opinion, ants are never good. They have no benefit to our orchids and are very often helpful to introducing/supporting insects that are harmful. I would put getting rid of the ants high on my priority list.

[solay]

I've put out ant baits. Hope that'll get rid of them. At least the Dens. seem to be doing well. They like the G/H.

Thanks everyone for all the advice. I will take more pics of the G/H for the growing spaces thread soon.