maestro

[pmrorchideas]

Hello, Dana;
There have been too many "experiences," but much more learning since I joined Peninsula Orchid Society, and also started reading the AOS publications. I'd picked up much poor information through the years, but now check advice through multiple sources, including notes on habitat, experiences of others who grow most of their plants under lath or outdoors in my area, etc.
I can tell you that mallards eat Stanhopeas, that very few plants survive 15 degrees F (a surprise low), and that when I don't make allowances for a dip in the elevation of the sun, come fall and winter, that I have a good chance of burning the plants that are not protected by shade cloth unless it is in the 40s or 50s outside. I can tell you that many of the local birds like to use the coconut coir for nesting material, which can undo baskets that contained coconut husk chips or perlite, bark, charcoal, etc. They may also plant acorns in all sorts of media and pots. Rats and squirrels may eat plants, cats may bite or chew them a bit, and deer may eat inflorescences, and sometimes a bit more.
Yup! There have been experiences. pmr