Indoor setup for Vandaceous and high light plants

[Mr.Fakename]

I'll soon be on my way to the Netherlands, and the lighting/temperature difference between the South of France and Holland is... a bit dramatic.

So far high-light orchids are outside when weather allows, and right against a window for the rest of the year.

Problem is, that won't be an option when I move; so I'd like to know if some of you successfully grow Vandaceous inside, and what kind of equipment you use.

LED grow lights and horticultural heating mats seem like a cheap and effective solution, but I have no experience with those

[DirtyCoconuts]

Will you have an extra shower at your new place?

[Subrosa]

I grow mostly Vanda falcata and primary hybrids thereof, so no heat mat is required. For light I use repurposed LEDs intended for reef aquaria:

[Mr.Fakename]

Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts

Will you have an extra shower at your new place?

Nope, but there's a small kind of attic so it's possible to build something here!

Originally Posted by Subrosa

I grow mostly Vanda falcata and primary hybrids thereof, so no heat mat is required. For light I use repurposed LEDs intended for reef aquaria

Your setup is very interesting, aren't the plants getting burnt by being so close to the light source?


What concerns me the most is the temps difference, it's been consistently over 35+ °C all summer here, and around 10-15 °C less in Eindhoven. The poor things are going to sulk so bad.

[DeaC]

Mine are outside till temps cool. Then the smaller ones hang in a south window and larger plants are on edge of grow lights since others take up tray space directly under lights. They'd prefer higher light but it's all I can do under my conditions. They share shower with me when needed for that jungle experience. Safe trip.

[camille1585]

I made a similar migration as you, from Lyon to the Netherlands! I live in Wageningen, and work in Den Bosch, not too far from Eindhoven.

The good news is, if you have south or south-west facing windows you can easily grow Vandaceous orchids indoors. Many people in the Netherlands and even the UK can successfully grow Vandas (often in vase culture). You can also put them outside in the summer, just not as long as southern france. If you have other windows, then some grow lights are probably necessary. If you have LED lights plants can be very close to the fixture without burning since LEDS don't put out much heat. Winters can sometimes be problematic here even with south windows, some years the winters are so gray and rainy that we don't see the sun for weeks on end...

If you can accept that they will grow a bit more slowly here than southern FR, growing orchids is very do-able.

If you want some NL specific advice, have a look at the NOV-orchidee group on Facebook (NOV = dutch orchid society). You can always post questions in English, there's always some people ready to help out. Don't hesitate to PM me as well.

[Mr.Fakename]

Originally Posted by DeaC

Then the smaller ones hang in a south window and larger plants are on edge of grow lights since others take up tray space directly under lights.

Are you managing to rebloom them? What kinds of lights do you have?

Originally Posted by camille1585

I made a similar migration as you, from Lyon to the Netherlands! I live in Wageningen, and work in Den Bosch, not too far from Eindhoven.

The good news is, if you have south or south-west facing windows you can easily grow Vandaceous orchids indoors. Many people in the Netherlands and even the UK can successfully grow Vandas (often in vase culture). You can also put them outside in the summer, just not as long as southern france. If you have other windows, then some grow lights are probably necessary. If you have LED lights plants can be very close to the fixture without burning since LEDS don't put out much heat. Winters can sometimes be problematic here even with south windows, some years the winters are so gray and rainy that we don't see the sun for weeks on end...

If you can accept that they will grow a bit more slowly here than southern FR, growing orchids is very do-able.

If you want some NL specific advice, have a look at the NOV-orchidee group on Facebook (NOV = dutch orchid society). You can always post questions in English, there's always some people ready to help out. Don't hesitate to PM me as well.

How do you like it there? Seems like such a nice place!

Oh yes gotta love those winters... And autumns. And springs. No wonder why the country is so green.
The amazing thing is that people will take their bikes no matter how hard it rains, the Dutch are waterproof or something.

That's a very good recommendation, thank you! Are there big shows to attend, like Fontfroide in France?

[camille1585]

Originally Posted by Mr.Fakename

Are there big shows to attend, like Fontfroide in France?

Not many. The largest show is the NOV-dag the first saturday of October, at the Utrecht botanical garden. There are usually 5-6 nurseries present (mostly Dutch and German), and then there are stands where some amateur growers sell their plants.

Other than that, there are local orchid societies sprinkled throughout the county, and many will organise 1-2 small shows every year. The closest ones to you would be in Helmond or Best. Here is the list of the societies in North Brabant :Kringen van Nederlandse Orchideeen Vereniging

There's still a big question mark (like everywhere else) as to when these shows will be able to take place again...


As to how I like life over here, it's quite nice! I've been here for 12 years and have gotten used to the weather... The work life balance and standard of living is generally very good, but the one thing making us start thinking about eventually going back to France is the cost of housing. Renting is expensive, and buying is even worse unless you are in very rural areas.

[Orchidtinkerer]

Hi Fakename, good luck with your move.
I can't help you too much with your question - it is a tricky one. Achieving the right temperature has probably been a dilemma for as long as people have been growing orchids.
I remember reading about a high altitude colombian species being cultivated at the UK Kews botanical garden in the 19th century. Back then they didn't have indoor lighting so they had to rely on the sun for lighting but even in the UK it was too hot for them to flower in summer so the only way it was flowered was to use a water cooled greenhouse! Literally water running down the outside all day to cool it. Unfortunately I can't remember which cold growing high light variety it was but the point is providing colder or warmer temperatures has always been tricky and probably always will require a lot of energy.
I have heard of people spending into the thousands every year to heat their greenhouses.
I would like to know if there is a way to cheat physics and reduce my heating bill this winter but probably not unless I insulate my house more.
It has been mentioned about finding the right varieties for your environment - that does go a long way, the less you need to "tinker" with their growing environment the easier and cheaper they will be.

Heat mats are tricky to use. I have used them and do rely on them in winter but I couldn't find any useful info about heat mats with orchids so the things I have learnt are as follows:

There are plant heat mats and reptile heat mats, then there is heat cabling too. The plant mats are useless and only good for raising temperatures above the mat by a few degrees, the reptile mats are stronger but can become very hot, the cabling becomes hottest.

The reptile heat mats are designed for a small enclosed area like a terrarium, if you use them in an open area they will work but twice the heat will be lost to the surroundings

They dry out the air around them to a very low humidity level. I have caused damage with heat mats not providing enough humidity which can be tricky at times as the heat mats just constantly dry the air around them. If you have kept reptiles like bearded dragons you will know how dry their terrariums get. You need to achieve the opposite, jungle like instead of desert like.
Most will use a humidifier which uses more energy, a simple humidity tray is rarely enough but a humidity tray with a fan blowing on to the tray can be sufficient most times. The fan will distribute humidity far more than a humidity tray itself.

Hope that helps a little bit. The safest way is heating the whole room with an oil filled radiator but that can become more costly. I find it harder to achieve big temperature fluctuations between day and night like this unless opening a window every night but I didn't start growing orchids to start becoming wasteful to the environment.

It is a shame that the low light cold growing orchids are not as interesting as some of the exotic vandas but I have found some lovely Oncidiums and Encyclias that grow well in cold european climates.

My plan is to keep growing small vandas but I will probably have to eventually give up my big warm growers as I can't justify keeping them long term.

[DirtyCoconuts]

I will jump back in to follow up on the grow space in your attic....

How do you currently do your vandas? Hanging pot, loose, case, SH, FWC? I apologize if you have already stated in another thread

With a blank space it is yours to make. I like that. I would get a large mortar tub or pond liner (rigid) and then build a frame of pvc to fit Inside and line that. Then you can decide how to add the light and water but the space is ready to be WET and that’s the challenge bc the light and heat can be made or added. Moisture is harder