Brand New to Orchids - Orchid Board

iliketherainforest560 · #1 10-29-2024, 06:49 PM

Hello all, I am new to orchids and wanted to start building a collection of lepanthes and pleurothallis within my dart frog terrariums. Before I make an order from Ecuagenera, I wanted to ask what everyone would recommend for my conditions. My builds for terrariums will have zero fan circulation, and the height of the build is roughly 24 inches tall with around 19-20 inches of growth space for larger orchid species if needed. I live in California and my vivarium temps are 68-75 in winter to 75-80 in the summer.
My humidity is always going to be 70-100 percent. For a picture of how the terrariums are ventilated I added a picture so you can check out the vents (top and bottom). I hand mist my vivariums 1-2 times a day and if needed can position the orchids to not receive any misting so they don't rot.
Thanks for the help guys!

Roberta · #2 10-29-2024, 07:57 PM

First, Welcome!

Your vivarium Is pretty warm for most Lepanthes species (and other cloud forest orchids), your environment is more like "rain forest". When you are doing your research, look for lower-elevation species (below around 800 m near the equator, lower elevations at higher lattitudes). A good source for that sort of information is orchidspecies.com There certainly are plenty of minature species that will grow under your conditions, but you can't generalize by genus, Among the Lepanthes, consider Lepanthes calodictyon and/or Lepanthes telipogoniflora, some of the warmer-growing members of the genus. Also consider some of the Comparettia species. (really colorful) You'll have to get down to the species level. Ecuagenera and other vendors can give an idea of what will be happy in the warm - to-intermediate range with high humidity and little air movement. Another vendor to consider is Tarzane Group, a great source for miniature orchids many of which are warm-growing. Read the descriptions, they're pretty thorough.

Leafmite · #3 10-30-2024, 12:10 AM

Dracula papillosa, Lepanthopsis astrophora, Lepanthes telipogoniflora and Lepanthes gargoyla tend to be very tolerant. Not a Lepanthes but Haraella rectrocalla/orderata would be a good fit for your aquarium and it is often in bloom. There are also the Schoenorchis, Leptotes and many other cool miniatures. Good luck!