My Desk Location: will or will not work?

[REEFSTOCK]

no way... not the same one who authors books on reef keeping?!?!?! I figured there would be lots of crossover stuff between reefing and orchid care... but shazam!

I appreciate the long thoughtful post! I can't follow it yet, which means I have more reading to do

[REEFSTOCK]

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

cause if it's ultra rare and you wanna grow it and keep it alive, you better put in the time and effort.

Otherwise, if they're commonly grown resources are limitless.

While exciting and interesting, I'm am not ready for the rare game, both in time and experience.

[peeweelovesbooks]

Well, I can tell you I currently grow the following orchids in my office:

1) Phalaenopsis (2 pf them)
2) Sedirea japonica
3) Cadetia taylori
4) Laelia alaorii
5) Laelia harpophylla

I've successfully grown:

Oncidium Twinkle
Oncidium Sharry Baby
Many, many phals,
Neostylis Lou Sneary 'Blue Bird'

Having said that, I live in Miami, work in the downtown area like 5 minutes from the beach. My office is on the 17th floor, with 3 HUGE east-facing windows.

I've given phals to some of the support staff who don't have an office, but only a cubicle with flourescent lights. They've been able to keep the phals and have made the re-bloom in that environment.

Good luck!

[REEFSTOCK]

Originally Posted by peeweelovesbooks

Having said that, I live in Miami, work in the downtown area like 5 minutes from the beach. My office is on the 17th floor, with 3 HUGE east-facing windows.

Have you been able to see how hot it gets in there... I assume the air never really goes off in such a big building; or do they turn it off on the weekend?"

Thanks,

Fritz

[Becky15349]

I think growing in an office would be fine, the only concern is that you provide enough light for the plants you want to grow, in addition to adequate air movement. You will probably need to provide supplemental lighting - people frequently purchase light trays for their orchids that have 4 flourescent tube lights; 2 red and 2 blue, to provide the correct light spectrum. If you have windows, an East or west exposure is usually ideal, south is okay too, but the plants may require shading in a south window so their leaves do not burn.

Air movement is also really important, since this will help your plants dry out faster after watering and prevent rot. This can easily be done by using a small 6" desk fan on low near the orchids at ALL times. I think the fan is crucial because offices are usually pretty stagnant...you don't want just "air circulation", you want the air actually moving...this is what orchids are used to in the jungle, since they are up in trees where there is breeze.

I have humidity that is around 50% RH, so you should be okay...but I think humidity is less of an issue than light and air movement...IMHO. Focus on getting the light and the air movement right and you really should be fine.

Hope that helps!!

[Gwenchanter]

My best advice is to buy a cheep phalaenopsis from a grocery store, take it to your office and just give it a try. Sometimes the only way to know is to test the environment. Then, based on the symptoms your orchid might show, you know what kind of adjustments to make. No one has a perfect growing environment from the beginning but the successfull growers are the ones that "listen" to what their plants are telling them and make adustments.

Ususally the phals they sell at the supermarkets or places like home depot are time-tested and bred to be hardy to withstand shipping and general abuse by employees who know nothing about orchids and beginners too. That's why I would reccomend starting there, and they are ususally pretty inexpensive. Look for a really good root system, good size and number of leaves and plenty of good shaped flowers. The best situation is if they are in a transparent or semi-transparent plastic pot because you can see the root system easily and the plastic keeps the moisture in if you are growing in a pretty dry enviroment. I would reccomend sphagnum moss as the medium also to keep it nice and moist. I don't think your office will be too big of a danger for rot as long as you make sure not to get any water in the crown of the plant, you should be good!

Hope this helps!

[REEFSTOCK]

That helps alot Becky, Gwen. By your descriptions I have the perfect setting (other than perhaps the heat). My desk gets great airflow, and has a full spectrum T-5. I could set that on a timer... the plant would just have to deal with it... when I work late... which happens less and less now that the company is off flying

I get good airflow at my desk its gentle, but enough that I can feel a little cool when it gets as low as 74 in here and I am doing lots of geeking out on the computer.

LinhT... do they really have orchids at the groceries here?

[peeweelovesbooks]

Originally Posted by REEFSTOCK

Have you been able to see how hot it gets in there... I assume the air never really goes off in such a big building; or do they turn it off on the weekend?"

Thanks,

Fritz

Hey there. Building management actually does turn off the A/C during the weekends. I would say my office is never really hotter than 75 degrees during the time that I'm there, and that's highballing the temperature. I use a mix on my phals that I have found works wonders because it retains moisture but is never wet. The roots are fat and healthy: 1/2 coir and 1/2 monterrey bark (repotme.com)

I plant my miniatures in a mix of: hydroton, sponge rock, cork, moss and charcoal. (also from repotme) Everyone is happy. My laelia alaorii has put out about five new growths since I bought it and it is now developing very healthy roots. So is my Laelia harpophylla, and my cadetia flowers a lot. The cadetia is growing 3 new leaves. My Sedirea's roots are going crazy.

I water these MWF (friday being the heaviest watering day) But I water them religiously. I also mix up a batch of MSU and KLN and take that to work (I should be more constant with this though, Sigh) The phals can go one week without water, sometimes 1 week and a couple of days (but not often).

[REEFSTOCK]

I make thousands of gallons of RO... I'm tempted to run the effluent through some pots Its been through a floss and two carbons before it is "rejected" by the membrane....

[LinhT]

Originally Posted by REEFSTOCK

LinhT... do they really have orchids at the groceries here?

I think they have them at Trader Joes or Byerly's sometimes, Fritz. If you just want to get a cheap phal to experiment with, we can go to Home Depot when you feel ready. If you want that slipper orchid on my FB picture album, we'd have to find that at the orchid nursery out in Plymouth.