Hi Everyone!
Greetings from Mallorca, maybe no one noticed, but I have been out for about 5-6 months. Suddenly for various reasons, I have to move to a new place. That was the beginning of my nightmare.
I looked up carefully for a new house; it ended up being a condo with a small yard, nothing to do with my last place with a big garden. Even if I searched, thinking primarily about my family needs, I have to admit I paid much attention to my hobby setup; sunlight, space, etc... However, everything suddenly crashed, and the whole moving house was a disaster between my work traveling and the stress of moving, but mainly about the constant win, no breeze, but heavy win my yard has.
From Nov till just recently, I could not correctly shelter my orchids in the middle of the winter, which, BTW, happens to be the worst in the past 20yrs. Hence, I lose around 100 orchids, mainly the warmer genius Phals, sogos, and Vanda families. The rest of the collection became infected with viruses and fungus, and most are still recovering.
I must admit I wanted them all in the trash and forgot about it entirely, but I preserved a little enthusiasm and completed my planned setup to house them properly.
The survivals:
Big plants: almost all adult Catts are alive, one in bloom (here below), and another few boomed at the end of winter. The Cyms and Nobile all flowered beautifully. The Phaps are about to bloom, and the Cata has a spike. Of course, the more robust & tough, that can accept a bit cooler weather.
Mini and Terrarium: Masdies, Draculas, and ... They are all recovering, but some are not strong enough to survive the hot weather that is about to come.
I added some supermarket phals to give some color and for my enjoyment.
What next:
I don't want to keep maintaining the terrariums inside the house. I will give up that micromanagement due to a lack of time and space inside the house.
I'll continue with big, vigorous plants that could be outside all year round in my weather condition.
Due to that, when need it, I'll keep repoting to small volcanic or lava rocks and sphagnum moss, since it has been the two (2) medium that has worked best for me.
The SH has not failed in all plants but doesn't work properly in cold weather outdoors. However, I can do SH in the summer with the Lava Rock if I need to leave for a few days.
Ok, this is my news. I won't be able to be around all the time, but rather come here and talk about Orchids that are still in my heart ❤️ and hopefully will be my primary free time entertainment.
Nice to say hello again and hope everyone is well!
Back Again!
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