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How I grow Pleurothallid Orchids
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How I grow Pleurothallid Orchids.
At this present time I am growing in two orchid cases (Exo Terra) and have another two planned for the future to set up. I have made no physical adjustments to these enclosures and would recommend that beginners do not replace the top mesh with glass. The reason for not making this adjustment is that the mesh supplies the exchange of new air coming in and stale air going out of the enclosed case. Remember that your ultimate goal will be to provide high humidity however; high humidity with stale air will be the perfect breeding ground for bacterial and fungi.
My small growing case is 18" x 18" x 18" (W x D x H) and I grow all of my leaf cuttings, keikis and divisions within this case. I have added capillary matting to the base of the growing case to soak up excess water which also helps with maintaining humidity. The plants growing in pots are situated on a wire shelf to prevent plants from taking up the water from the capillary matting. Plants that are mounted are hung on the side of the glass enclosure with suction caps. Placed on the top mesh of the growing case are two small refrigeration fans running 24/7. I use refrigeration fans as they are generally more powerful, reliable and waterproof as opposed to PC fans. These two fans supply plenty of air movement inside the growing case. Placed inside the growing case is an automatic mister nozzle that is controlled by a timer to supply a fine mist of RO water over the plants and within the case, this keeps humidity between 70 – 99%. In the summer the mister comes on at 8:00am for 30 seconds and then every two hours for 30 seconds up to midday. From midday it comes on every hour for 30 seconds up to 4:00pm and one last mist for 30 seconds at 6.00pm. In the winter the misting interval times are significantly reduced.
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