Orchid Care

[Ross]

Wow! Wonderful Terri. Nice setup. But then Southern Orygun is a wonderful place to raise 'chids. We raised 2 there in GP.

[Bird Song Farm]

Really nice set up Terri, I like the way the lights barely show. I'm going to have to look into those stands, I think I have just the spot for a couple of them! Certainly must be easier to take care of the plants when they are all in one place instead of spread out all over the house like mine are now!

[Tommyr]

Originally Posted by quiltergal

Here are a few pics of my grow space. As you can see I have room for lots more! I'll post another pic this evening so you can see how bright the lights really are.

Sweet! You must get more, plenty of room!

[Grandma M]

Terri

Your setup is similar to mine. I use the same rack but my son cut the top off a bit so I could use the top shelf without standing on a stool. My top shelf is lighted by a light on chains from the ceiling. I can raise it or lower it when necessary. I have both T8 units and T5.

I'm not as young as some of you so I prefer not to carry water to my plants. I grow them in trays on the shelf and drain the excess into a bucket, with a pond pump to empty it. I use a coil hose with a wand on the end to water my plants.

Isn't it amazing what we will contrive to grow our orchids? My kids laugh at "Mom's hodge podge set up"........but it works for me.

[Becca]

Originally Posted by kiki-do

Thanks Ross and everyone for the light info. It was one of those questions I was wondering about, but afraid to ask because it sounded so complicated. Your explanation was excellent and easy to understand. Now you said T8's are in Home Depot, but where do you purchase T5's? And approx. what should I expect the cost to run when I am looking for them? Thanks again, you all are so helpful! kiki-do

The lights for T5 run around 15.00 each from what I have seen so far, I am ordering mine from an online website, I haven't tried looking for them locally, but I really doubt I would find them, but I could be wrong. The light fixture's can very depending on how good of quality you are looking for. Ross can direct you to a couple of websites, and I will post one as well. I purchased a New Wave 2ft 8-bulb fixture for my 18 x 18 x 24 Exo-Terra....it will over hang just a tad, but Ross said that was good. Ross is the expert...he has so much info Anyways....the fixtures might seem expensive...but if you have 2 CFL fixtures that have 2 bulbs each and each bulb costs around 45.00 each, then you can do the math and see how quckly CFLs will add up in the long run. I only bought the 8-bulb because it fits my dimensions I was looking for, well at least the closest two them for T5's. Here is the link to what I got...the website carries a brand called TEK light, but I just couldn't justify the price of two at this time. Oh and this website includes bulbs in their price and they have great customer service!
Buy New Wave T5 Fluorescent Grow Light 2ft 4 Bulb 192W

[kiki-do]

Thanks Becca and everyone,
It's a big help to give me approximates and websites. I will keep note of that for future wants. Having just paid out for heat for my sunroom and extra costs to seal the doors and windows from any drafts....I'm tapped out at the moment. But I appreciate the info and have some time to study and compare. Awesome!
Oh, I have to confess....I said I was tapped out, but managed to make an orchid purchase today, well, actually 4. I have zero control! I went to Woodsprites Orchids today and they are preparing for a Thanksgiving week sale (think that is when) and his inventory got me all giddy! I got an Epc. Siam Jade, a Pot. Little Toshie, a Den. pachyphyllum (think that is the spelling on the tag), and an Lc. Secret Love.
The three Epc, Pot, and Lc are spiked with at least 2 or 3 soon-to-be blooms. The other Den is such an unusual looking small Den. that is blooming size but still weeks to go. Only weeks, not months or years! How do you walk away from that? Is there anyone here who has the antidote to this orchid madness? I'll check back in a bit....I'm sure I have something to mist! kiki-do

[LizT]

HI ALL ,
I should be taking a shower & getting ready to go take care of my Mother....but I couldn't resist chimming in. My collection has gotten out of control & all the work (of love) is one of the reasons you haven't heard from me. I live with a room mate who has to be to work 1 hr (6AM) before me so I'm up @ 2AM to water the Plueros & mounts every Tue & Thurs. Sat morning I'm up @ 6 AM to water the Pleuros & mounts, a long soak as they won't be watered for 2 days. This way I'm out of his way by 10 AM (shower after plants). Sun is a lazy day, he gets the shower first so I don't get out early. I use the bath tub to water my plants. Two paint trays in the tub, 1 with water 1 to drain. No trips around the house, just from bedroom around the corner to the bathroom. I use casarole dishes as peeble trays so I can carry one tray with many plants at a time. I also have paint trays that I use to carry many mounts to the tub with. Pretty easy till you go over board with plants. I have 1 or 2 (right now 1 died) humidifiers & 1 fan blowing on the plants, in the summer I have one blowing in the opposite direction. My collection is over 100 & I work anywhere from 9 to 10 hours every weekday. I need to set up an orchidarium so I won't need to take care of them during the week. My doctor says I'm not taking care of myself but hasn't told me to stop yet.
By the way I also have a Ferret to take care of. These are high maintance & vet animals but I love him enough that I wake up early to care & play with him before the plants. Ferrets need alot of attention & socialization to be a good companion. Unfortunantly he's beginning to think that to be a good boy he needs to sleep till I'm finished with the plants. I miss his coming & checking out what I'm doing & trying to help. His idea of watering is to just dig the plant out & let it float in the water :
By the way I've had some serious problems with anything but spring water. This year has been a seriously bad year between trying to figure out what was wrong with my plants (non-spring water) & fungus this spring through summer. However the fungus seems to have gone. With lack of experience with fungucides I've damaged my plants. Some have died, some just refused to grow or die, some haven't bloomed as they had before . But the majority of them are coming back . I do check the new posts before bed when I get the chance - so keep the posts & coming.
This organization has been a great source of information & reference. Everyone keep up the good work. It's more appreciated then you may know.

I've taken to long trying on this. Sorry if some of it doesn't make sense. I've got to go now or I won't get everything done I have to do. Sometimes being single is hard but I won't change it.
Take care all - till we chat again. LizT.

[Ross]

Originally Posted by RPfeiffer

I purchased a New Wave 2ft 8-bulb fixture for my 18 x 18 x 24 Exo-Terra....it will over hang just a tad, but Ross said that was good.

The reason I suggest getting a fixture a few inches longer than your shelf or tank is that there is much less light emmited from the ends than the center of the bulbs. T5 is pretty good technology and pretty even, but when you look at them while lit, you can see the ends are pretty dim.

Thanks Becca for that link. The prices are good and that's the first 4 lamp 24" fixture I've seen. My son wants to start growing Phals and Paphs and I think it will be perfect for a small starter collection.

[kiki-do]

Hey LizT, Good hearing from You! Wow, you are a busy bee. It sounds like you surround yourself with your loves. That is the best part, isn't it? Makes everything else pale in comparrison. Please take care of yourself! BTW, love how you figured out your system of watering. Very ingenius. If you get a chance, take some pics of your orchids and ferret, okay? Love to see them! kiki-do

[SheilaJ]

Just found this thread, thought I'd add my setup. I have a spare bedroom growroom with a small unobstructed west window. There is a 400 watt metal halide light hanging over a banquet table. Two large appliance trays with plastic "eggcrate" grids cover most of the table. I have about 24 orchids, mostly phals, with some phaius, minicatts, and spathoglottis, and some odds and ends of foliage plants thrown in. Right now, there is enough room that I can water in place without the excess getting too deep in the trays. The heat from the light helps the water to evaporate pretty quickly. There is also a wire three shelf stand with some old shop lights and a four tube T5 fixture - at the moment, this has only non-orchid plants, but the orchid collection is growing fast and I'm sure it will invade the shelves before long!

When the lights go on, especially the halide, it gets very warm and dry. I have a room humidifier running, probably add about a gallon of water almost every day. (Last winter I noticed some mold on the windowsill, had to dial back a bit!). I have a fan blowing across the orchids under the halide light to keep the leaves cool. I used to have another fan blowing down from near the ceiling but it need repair right now. The humidifier has a built-in fan too.

I keep most orchids in sphag because I don't want to be a slave to watering. I'm trying the minicatts in a seedling bark mix with a collar of sphag on top. I just repotted everything into clear pots - I love being able to look inside for condensation to see if I need to water or not.

I pop in and check the orchids nearly every day, sometimes twice. I normally need to water the small pots about twice a week, the medium pots once a week, and the big pots every ten days to two weeks. So watering visits twice a week work out, with occasionally emergency watering of the littlest ones. Watering doesn't take long - I use a 2 gallon watering can that I fill from the bathtub faucet across the hall - I used to use a 2 quart can from the bathroom sink until I got smarter!

When I go on vacation, I water well and draw the blinds and turn off the lights. We typically only go away for one week in the summer, plus an occasional weekend trip.