Unique Question

[impossible]

Hello all. I am so glad that I found this forum. My wife and I are expecting a baby girl within the next few weeks. We have her nursery all set and made a decision early on to include as many plants in her room as possible.

We were sitting in there this evening and came up with the idea of hanging a small box above the crib for orchids to hang and grow as a living mobile.

There were many orchids hanging in the Lincoln Park Conservatory during our visit to wonderful Chicago a few years back. These are the inspiration for our "mobile".

The room has a window to the east and a window to the south. We have installed cellular shades, so the room will maintain a temperature in the 70s day and night with opaque, indirect light.

There is a ceiling fan and a small floor fan, along with a humidifier.

I am hoping that these conditions create a culture that would encourage a wonderful and unique plant to grow and inspire.

Any advice, recommendations on genus, species, etc?

Is this an unrealistic idea?

Thanks for reading and taking an interest!

Cary

[lily99]

Hi! Welcome to Orchid Board.

The mobile sounds like a cute idea. I have a 3 yr old and a 6 month old who both like flowers. How close to the window will you be hanging the plants? Plants like Cattleyas like a lot of light, and prefer to be closer to windows than Phalanopsis. I would recommend a sheer blind over the south window to prevent the plants from getting sunburn. I don't have any experience growing mounts, so hopefully someone more knowledgeable will give some more practical advice.

Have you thought about how you will water the mobile so water doesn't drip into the crib? Also, make sure pieces of the loose growth medium don't fall in the crib. Babies will eat anything!

[susiep]

Really cute idea! My suggestion is to make it something that can hold several different plants at the same time. Also you need to be able to swap the plants out so you can easily water them in the sink. Plus if you have extra plants, you can always have something blooming. Use plants in plastic pots to keep the weight down. Make sure this hanger is well anchored into the ceiling so it will be safe for the baby to sleep under! Try mixing orchids with plants with nice foliage, like ferns. Make sure they are non-poisonous! Good luck and post pictures when you get it finished. Oh and pics of the baby, too! God bless!

[Doc G]

My advice is to hang it just beyond the foot end of the crib. The baby will see it and you will be able to service it easier. And no potential for squashed baby.

[shadec]

it is an interesting idea
however, be careful with putting plant and soil in the nursery, the bacteria (and even tiny insects etc) inside soil/bark-chips/pots is not only dangerous, but to a young child who is still under the weakening immune system of the mother (for the first few months the baby has no immune system of its own) it is potentially lethal.
while orchids are exquisitely beautiful, i would not recommend putting plants of any kind in the nursery.
i would however, encourage the mass keeping of orchids and also plants in general, just not around the baby!

[Pilot]

I'm with Doc on this one... keep it nearby but not overhead. If you cultivate the spikes well they can easily arc overhead and give the lil one something to coo at!

Incidentally, my wife is due with our first baby next week!!!!! She's absolutely uncomfortable and thinks the gestation period of a human baby should really be just 7 months. LOL

Congrats!!!!

p.s. If you can get some phals to grow in something like hydroton, pest/bacteria/insect control is a cinch! Might want to look into that.

[Ray]

I like the concept of plants in the nursery - we did that with our kids (mostly because my collection had outgrown the "designated orchid area", so they were everywhere) - but I think you might be better off with surrounding plants, not overhead ones.

However, with those cellular window shades, I question whether there will be enough light, and even if it's enough for low-light plants like phals, that constant temperature will lead to no blooms.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

For certain vandaceous miniature orchids all you need is a stick mount or a tree fern mount. Some need moss to keep the roots constantly wet, others don't. Check to see which ones can handle shade.

I don't recommend growing Bulbos. Many of them use flies as pollinators, that's why they smell like fish that's been laying out in the sun for a long time or dog poop. Even some of the "non-fragrant" or fragrant ones are meant to attract fruitflies.

There could potentially be other minis that can go on a mount and grow in your conditions, I just can't think of them off the top of my head right now.

This way, you don't have to deal with the media rotting or lots of insects crawling or swarming around. It should keep potential harmful things away from the baby when you hang the plants in the nursery.

I like the idea of keeping the mobile at the foot of the crib, not directly over it. You still have to take the water dripping down into the crib after a good watering into consideration.

Cool idea.