Phalaenopsis in greehouses

[chris1948]

My very first question however not my last. I was lucky enough to talk our local Walmart into selling me 22 left over Mothers Day orchids last month. I have them all out in my greenhouse on a couple of shelves after I repotted all of them. The temperature inside the greenhouse presently runs somewhere between 80 at night and 123 or so during the daytime. I currently have them at the north end of the greenhouse with the door rolled up and also have the east side rolled up. I have no power currently to the greenhouse and am looking at getting a generator soon to run some fans. I've been misting the orchids a couple of times a day and so far they seem to be doing ok but I want to make sure that the higher temperature isn't going to be a real problem with them. The humidity is also a problem. As the day progresses of course the humidity goes down. I have one large black plastic tub covered with cheese cloth and full of water at the moment to try and raise the humidity, I don't think it's working very well and will have to add more. I'll be fabricating a misting system that I can use when I move the orchids to the other greenhouse I bought but haven't put together yet due to the heat. Any ideas, suggestions or whatever will be greatly appreciated.

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[Orchid Whisperer]

The growing temperatures you have are significantly higher than is normally recommended for Phals. Since your plants seem OK, I won't say those temperatures are wrong, but USE CAUTION.

You don't have power in your greenhouse; so, have an electrician install power. That is certainly an essential part of operating a greenhouse. Unless your greenhouse is located far from your house or a power line, running power will work way better than getting a generator. You wouldn't leave plants in the greenhouse in winter without heat, right? Install the power and run fans. This is more important than building a second greenhouse.

An easy way to increase the humidity is to hose down the entire floor each morning and each night. Much better than a tub with cheesecloth and cheaper than a mist system.

[bil]

Wow! 123F? That's 50C.

Personally I daren't keep phals in the greenhouse in Summer, as even with 50% shade cloth they would burn.. We go to 40 here, and mine get misted every half hour.

In winter they go in, but as an under bench plant, well out of direct sun.

[chris1948]

Then I shall move them outside into a shady area

---------- Post added at 08:08 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:42 AM ----------

Do deer like to eat orchids? Reason I ask is that even though we live in town the deer come in and just love to eat plants. They munch on my Hibiscus and have even taken nips from my Hydrangeas.

[Raqsharqi]

I have my most of my phals in the greenhouse. I put 50% aluminet on top, and in the orchid area, an addition double layer of 70% stuff from the garden shop. It is still at the high end of their light tolerance. We have a swamp cooler, and most days that keeps the temps down to the low 90s. On hot, sunny days (over 100), and especially now, during the monsoon, I mist several times during the hottest part of the afternoon. I can't say I'm having stellar luck, but that's largely due to major problems when we were getting the greenhouse put up.

[lepetitmartien]

Phals in glasshouses should have a level higher of shadow than other plants. Or you'll develop a lot of multiples troubles (fungus, bacteria) destroying little by little the leaves.

[chris1948]

My orchids, except for the ones still blooming or the one that is getting ready to bloom are all situated on shelves at the north end of my greenhouse. This end gets the most shade from the trees around it. The other three are sitting on a table in front of the shelves. With the sides up there is quite a good breeze that blows through it, it's just the Texas heat that's the problem.

[Leafmite]

I think deer eat nearly anything unless it tastes obviously bitter. I discourage the deer by planting tansy, rue (probably the most bitter of herbs) and two types of wormwood in my garden. When we had a particularly bad year with the deer, I potted up some wormwood and rue and put the pots among my other tropicals. No further problem.

[chris1948]

I figured they'd eat them. I've started putting Milorganite in with my Hibiscus, Hydrangeas and other what I consider 'edible' plants. I know they stay away from my Angel Trumpets since their poisonous. I may give your idea a try also, thanks.