Orchid yearnings/compulsions - Page 3 - Orchid Board

WaterWitchin · #21 10-18-2023, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dalachin

Please do post a pic, I am totally building a sill extender this weekend. I’ve been toying with buying a cat perch and adapting it but certainly there is a better way. I want to set up a cool humid area for my dendros and paphs that would appreciate it for winter, but the small aquarium I want to use is just a touch too wide for the sill.

Sorry! Been spending a lot of time with grands this past week. This link is pretty similar to the one I made.DIY: Removable Window Shelf for Plants - created by v.

Saw one recently that was made from a live edge board, which I now need. Just google "DIY window sill extender" and you'll get tons of ideas. I've also seen them for sale on Etsy, if you don't do DIY.

dbarron · #22 10-30-2023, 11:20 AM

Watered this morning in the laundry room and found changes.
Pot. Little Circle (Pot. Golden Circle 'OPRL' x Pot. Little Toshie 'Gold Country' AM/AOS)--something growing in the sheath (not blind after all)
Pot. NEW HYBRID (Pot. Ruby Delight 'Ruby Splash' x Slc. Mem. Trudi Marsh 'Sun Flair') --naked buds (no sheath) but coming along.

Mountaineer370 · #23 10-30-2023, 12:14 PM

I gave in to my yearnings/compulsions and increased my herd by 20 percent. That's right, I went from ten orchids to twelve.

Fortunately, they're both on the small side, for now at least.

In a few weeks, my orchid society will be having their annual festival. The venue forced us to change from a spring date to a fall date, but since we've already had our spring show, we get a second one this year. We will have several nice vendors, so I'm expecting to be tempted again.

Leafmite · #24 10-31-2023, 03:55 AM

Miniature orchids are a good way to go for those who do not have the space. I have some mounted miniature orchids attached to a small plastic trellis that I hung on the side of the cupboard in the kitchen window.

dbarron · #25 10-31-2023, 04:04 AM

Mini-orchids...oh yeah.
Indeed, I'm getting ready today to try to mount some tillsandias and tolumnias and hang in the kitchen window. Gain a bit more space and have (hopefully) a neat display as well.

Leafmite · #26 10-31-2023, 04:30 AM

I am not sure if it is a neat display but it is practical.

Roberta · #27 10-31-2023, 10:40 AM

In spite of having a big yard in a temperate climate where I can grow my orchids outside, , the orchids have filled it and I am STILL out of room. I am really getting into the miniatures. Many have a really good flower-to-plant ratio, as a bonus.

Relemitty · #28 11-01-2023, 08:05 PM

The issue for me is not space but time.
I have shelves in front of my "Good" windows and can always go up with more shelves.

What made me, at least temporarily, stop buying is watering.
This summer with the low humidity, I was watering my Dens, Catts, Oncidiums and 1 Paph every other day.
That is bringing to the kitchen sink, running water for a minute then letting drain on a towel.
I do enjoy the process but that was a lot of time each week.

Now that it is winter, I only water them every 5 days and the Phals every 10 days.
Yeah, I am looking at spending the winter thinking about ways to streamline the watering thing.

The automated watering idea sounds great but I don't think I can do it in my current setup and I have considered S/H but I have gotten them all established in bark and don't want to go all gonzo with S/H just yet.

33 orchids and a lot of house plants may be close to my limit with the work/life balance.

Roberta · #29 11-01-2023, 11:22 PM

Suggest you just water the plants in place... a 2 gallon pump sprayer would do the job. If you put trays (with some depth) and "egg crate" light diffuser sheets (comes in 2 ft x 4 ft sheets from Home Depot) the water has a place to drain, it adds a bit of humidity. Here's what I did back in my condo days.
http://orchidcentral.org/GrowingAreas/indoor.jpg

Watering never took more than 10 or 15 minutes to do the whole room, with that pump sprayer,

Leafmite · #30 11-02-2023, 04:29 PM

I used to grow the orchids in such a set up and had to use a siphon to drain the water into a bucket because the lava rock had to be watered well (so more water). Now I use saucers and bowls which are emptied after watering. I have plastic drop cloth under the shelves to protect the floor.

Because of the fun of watering orchids indoors, I have found limiting the number of orchids allows me to enjoy them more than I did when I had many more.