Mini Greenhouse questions

[Roberta]

Consider getting that shadecloth soon. I have found (the hard way) that March - from the middle on - is the prime time to toast orchids because the mid-day sun starts to clear obstacles like houses and trees, suddenly subjecting the orchids to a leaf-burning blast. (They'll do fine with overall heat, but light has to be increased gradually and that is not what nature does as we approach the vernal equinox)

[mildwhiskers]

Will do Roberta! Is 50% shade cloth as you suggested just a good one to start out with? I understand that I may need to experiment with different % shade cloth to accommodate the amount of sunlight throughout the year as well as the differing light levels of my plants.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by mildwhiskers

Will do Roberta! Is 50% shade cloth as you suggested just a good one to start out with? I understand that I may need to experiment with different % shade cloth to accommodate the amount of sunlight throughout the year as well as the differing light levels of my plants.

I think 50% is a good place to start. Much less and it's hardly there. Higher percentage some plants won't get enough. If you have low-light plants that need more shading, you can always double it. I get my Aluminet from shadeclothstore.com It comes in pre-cut sizes with finished borders, shipping is fast.

[mildwhiskers]

Thanks so much for the store recommendation and for all your help Roberta! And thank you everyone for giving your inputs, getting a new greenhouse can be quite overwhelming

[Parasocks]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all the responses. Sorry i took so long to respond, i was travelling.

This has really got me thinking. The main reason for the greenhouse was to have a place to keep my orchids warm in winter. It seems like the mini greenhouse is not much of an option as the night time heat loss is very high.

I think I am going to look at converting a empty space behind my garage and boundary wall into a greennhouse instead. Its a small "passage" around 1.5mx8m surrounded on 3 sides by a wall. not ideal, but it might work for me. I think it gets around 6 hours of sun a day. I dont think it will be too expensive to convert, the geeenhouse polycarb sheeting is around $150USD.

Looks like im about to head down the rabbit hole...If you know of any good greenhouse resources online, please let me know. Or if you have any good tips, please drop me a message.

[ArronOB]

Originally Posted by Parasocks

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all the responses. Sorry i took so long to respond, i was travelling.

This has really got me thinking. The main reason for the greenhouse was to have a place to keep my orchids warm in winter. It seems like the mini greenhouse is not much of an option as the night time heat loss is very high.

I think I am going to look at converting a empty space behind my garage and boundary wall into a greennhouse instead. Its a small "passage" around 1.5mx8m surrounded on 3 sides by a wall. not ideal, but it might work for me. I think it gets around 6 hours of sun a day. I dont think it will be too expensive to convert, the geeenhouse polycarb sheeting is around $150USD.

Looks like im about to head down the rabbit hole...If you know of any good greenhouse resources online, please let me know. Or if you have any good tips, please drop me a message.

Sorry to be negative all the time, but it sounds like a spot with not enough sun or air movement.

I would start by looking up the light requirements of the orchids you wish to grow and then measuring the light at different times in the passageway - using a smartphone, tablet or a camera. There is plenty of detail on how to do that on the net.

[Parasocks]

Originally Posted by ArronOB

Sorry to be negative all the time, but it sounds like a spot with not enough sun or air movement.

I would start by looking up the light requirements of the orchids you wish to grow and then measuring the light at different times in the passageway - using a smartphone, tablet or a camera. There is plenty of detail on how to do that on the net.

I think your comments are extremely helpful, not negative. I was planning to run a fan or two in the space for air control, I think you are right and light could be an issue.

I will check out a couple of sites this weekend. Maybe I can find a better place.

[ArronOB]

I think what I would do in your position is pretty much what I did in the 90s when living in Sydney.

Start with an honest evaluation of your situation and climate. Is it really suitable for growing orchids?

Assuming it is suitable, but marginal (cold winters being the main issue) then tailor your collection around your conditions.

Can you take some plants inside for the coldest three months of the year? If so, then like me, you could bias your collection towards colder growers, but have some plants which are marginal, and some warm/hot growers which have to go inside for the winter.

My warm/hot growers are phals, bulbos and some species catts and i take these inside for winter, but we don’t have much space inside so that sets a limit.

The ‘marginal’ plants are the ones which can struggle through winter. I grow these in a shadehouse, year-round. My hybrid standard catts are in this category. By spring they are looking a bit worse for wear, but they recover well by early summer.

If I have a plant in this group that, after a year, doesn’t seem to like the conditions then I dump it the bin with no regrets.

Then there are the cool/intermediate growers. These grow outside in the shadehouse or more often under trees year-round. Most of the Laelia, dendrobiums, stanhopea, coelongyne and Oncidium types are in this category. They just grow like weeds - outside - with almost no care. They are actually the healthiest because they are well suited to their environment and not struggling along in suboptimal conditions and thus catching every disease or pest that comes by.

Then there are the cold growers which I wish we could grow but can’t. I’d put miltoniopsis and hybrids with a lot of odntoglossum in this category. Our summers are too hot for them and they slowly decline and die. You might have better conditions for these.

So I guess what I’m saying is you can build up a collection of exotic orchids suitable to your climate but only if you match your plants to what your climate really is and what facilities you can offer. And if your plants requirements really do match your conditions then it’s a far nicer position to be in then struggling along growing things in conditions that don’t really suit.

I hope I’m not sounding condescending or stating the obvious - we don’t know your experience level so I’m just guessing you are a relative newcomer to the hobby.

[Parasocks]

This info was really useful and i did not think of it like this. In hindsight it seems obvious, i should have built the collection around the climate, not the other way around. I built my collection around what i saw at shows and what looked pretty, not based on my environment.

I am reviewing all my orchids care requirements and so far it seems like i have been lucky and none of my orchids are cool growing.

I had a look at last years temps in my environment, it seems like my lowest winter temps outside were just above 5 degrees C, most days it was above 10.

Thank you for the excellent advice. I will stick to orchids that can grow in my environment without a greenhouse. Its the much easier and cheaper option.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Parasocks

This info was really useful and i did not think of it like this. In hindsight it seems obvious, i should have built the collection around the climate, not the other way around. I built my collection around what i saw at shows and what looked pretty, not based on my environment.

We all get sucked in by that beauty that we just HAVE to get... and figure out later how to make it work in our environment. Nearly impossible to totally escape the temptation, but if you can keep those "indulgences" to a manageable level and focus on mostly getting what grows easily in your outdoor climate (and I think that there are LOTS of orchids that will do just fine) you can enjoy while not making yourself crazy...

That's why about 90% of my orchids grow outside (always room for one more), with a small greenhouse (that isn't getting any bigger, it's stuffed) for the warm-growers that I just could not resist.