My other hobby

[xraygirl]

You got some beautiful 'chids there! I'm a bit of a lazy grower too. They gotta tolerate hot Carolina temperatures to live with me. My phallies and seedling vandas stay inside the house, but everyone else goes outside... I want to try my hand at deflasking but the prices of vanda orchid flasks are too much for me to risk killing them all. I've gotten interested in some cool growers, but I don't have a 'cool' space for them to grow happily in. My favorite orchids are the vandas, cause with them you can drench (mine are all in hanging baskets) them 1-3x a day and they're happy. Not to mention their uniqueness of their roots and flowers! But I don't fertilize or anything. I had katydids attacking the blooms this past summer, and I get a bad ant problem when the plants put out their 'happy sap', but some Sevin mixed up and sprayed on takes care of that in a jiffy

Pic is from my biggest vanda, which was a valentine gift from the boyfriend, with double spikes. Sucker had almost 30 flowers on it!

 

[Montium]

I get periodical invasions of thrips that make me want to set fire to them ( not good for the orchids ) but I haven't seen them this year. That's a great Vanda, I used to have a real drive for them but now I am trying to grow Archnis, I finally had one bloom for me last year.

Here are a few shots of the Arachnis and one of a V.gigantea.







Any more orchid nuts out there? they make great plants for chams as the love the water.

 

[nick barta]

I get periodical invasions of thrips that make me want to set fire to them ( not good for the orchids ) but I haven't seen them this year. That's a great Vanda, I used to have a real drive for them but now I am trying to grow Archnis, I finally had one bloom for me last year.

Here are a few shots of the Arachnis and one of a V.gigantea.







Any more orchid nuts out there? they make great plants for chams as the love the water.

I'm not sure I want a plant that stares at me…in that way on the last picture!

Nick

 

[cosmic charlie]

Orchids are as addicting as Chams and as varied. For almost every climate there is an orchid. I have learned that I don't have the dedication for the intermediate to cool orchids. If I can't grow them outside all year, I don't buy them anymore. I used to have hundreds but now I'm probably down to seventy five to one hundred.

Here are a couple shots

yeah florida is not the place for cool growers. If you have a basement that usually is good enough for the intermediates. I never got my draculas to bloom. I was going to set up fans to bring in cool air so I could get the air around the draculas down to 40. but sold the house instead.

Although the nursery where i got them in connecticut had them out with other intermediate species so it may have been something else I was doing.

 

[Montium]

I have always wanted Draculas but after I couldn't grow the " warm " masdevallias I just never bought any. There are plenty of warm growers out there to have fun with.

 

[chameleongirl66]

Very pretty! I have an orchid that Hubby bought me last year. All the blooms are gone however I've had 3 new leafs grow but can't seem to get it to bloom again for the life of me. Not sure what Im doing wrong. Any pointers?

We also have dart frogs....azureus (which are breeding like crazy) and aruatus. Also have madagascar day geckos and a couple lizards

 

[cosmic charlie]

Very pretty! I have an orchid that Hubby bought me last year. All the blooms are gone however I've had 3 new leafs grow but can't seem to get it to bloom again for the life of me. Not sure what Im doing wrong. Any pointers?

We also have dart frogs....azureus (which are breeding like crazy) and aruatus. Also have madagascar day geckos and a couple lizards

make sure it gets a temperature drop. thats will induce spiking