Orchidarium Changes

[ronaldhanko]

Originally Posted by bballr4567

My wife was really impressed with your orchidarium, so much so that she almost gave me a green light. LOL

Just an amazing collection.

Almost? Sounds like you have a little persuading to do. Should be a good time to do it, too.

[Goods14]

It would seem like the moss, when kept in check, would give the plants a more humid and cooler microclimate around the roots. Either way, it adds a nice touch to the mounts.

[ronaldhanko]

I think it's probably a good thing, it just spreads madly though I think the addition of the two new fans will help keep it down a bit.

Interestingly, I had several small plants, including a Bulbo that were completely covered by moss, but when I pulled the moss off them they were perfectly healthy and seemed to be doing fine in spite of being covered.

[Goods14]

I bought a Bulbo from a very good Bulbo grower who was selling out that was literally totally covered by moss except for the newest 4 growths or so. The root growth within the moss mass though was amazing. The roots were at least three times the size of the rest of the plant.

[ronaldhanko]

The plants don't seem to mind the moss at all, nor the live sphagnum when it grows all up and around them.

[Paul Mc]

So, did you build your orchidarium yourself? Your making me want one, lol...

[ronaldhanko]

Thanks for looking and commenting, Paul. I did build it myself - actually son Edward and I built it, he did his part for his senior project. I built one previously in Houston when we lived there and have made some changes in this one. It's mostly aluminum and plexiglass, so it's also rather light.

[Paul Mc]

How ever did you come up with the design?

[ronaldhanko]

Paul,
My inspiration came from an article in the 1980 AOS Bulletin by Ralph and Joy Stiller, but the design is really mine. I wanted something that would be light enough to move if necessary, large enough to hold a bank of 4 foot fluorescent lights and would allow the plants to be visible and the design really came out of that. IMO it leaves quite a bit to be desired in terms of design, since I am not an engineer, but it serves my purpose. It has also evolved, the second case being somewhat different than the first, and if I had to build it again, I would make further changes. There's another post on my blog describing the first and second orchidariums and how they evolved.

Orchids in Bloom: Orchidarium Changes

[Paul Mc]

I actually just read them! Lol... You have inspired me, but alas I'm no engineer, lol... But the wheels are turning! WOW!!!!!! Keep inspiring my friend!