Back Again!

[SADE2020]

Hi Everyone!

Greetings from Mallorca! Maybe no one noticed, but I’ve been away for about 5-6 months. Suddenly, for various reasons, I had to move to a new place, which was the beginning of a nightmare.

I carefully looked for a new house and ended up choosing a condo with a small yard—nothing like my previous place with a large garden. Even though I searched mainly with my family’s needs in mind, I must admit I paid a lot of attention to the setup for my hobby: sunlight, space, etc. However, everything quickly fell apart, and the whole move turned into a disaster due to my work travels, the stress of moving, and, above all, the constant wind in my yard—not a breeze, but strong, heavy wind.

From November until recently, I struggled to properly shelter my orchids during winter, which, by the way, turned out to be the worst in the past 20 years. As a result, I lost around 100 orchids, mainly warmer-growing types like Phals, Sogos, and the Vanda family. The rest of the collection became infected with viruses and fungus, and many are still recovering.

I’ll admit, I felt like throwing them all away and forgetting about it, but I managed to keep a bit of enthusiasm and completed my planned setup to care for them properly.

The Survivors:

Big Plants: Almost all my adult Catts survived, with one currently in bloom (pictured below), and a few others bloomed at the end of winter. The Cyms and Nobiles flowered beautifully, the Paphs are about to bloom, and the Cata has a spike. These are, of course, the more robust and hardy types that can tolerate slightly cooler weather.

Mini and Terrarium Plants: Masdevallias, Draculas, and others are all recovering, though some may not be strong enough to survive the coming hot weather.


I’ve also added a few supermarket Phals for color and my enjoyment.

What’s Next:

I no longer want to maintain terrariums inside the house; I’ll let go of that level of micromanagement due to limited time and space indoors. I’ll continue with larger, more vigorous plants that can stay outside year-round in my climate.

When needed, I’ll continue repotting into small volcanic or lava rocks and sphagnum moss, as these have been the two mediums that work best for me. Semi-hydroponics hasn’t failed entirely, but it doesn’t work well outdoors in cold weather. However, I can use the lava rock for semi-hydroponics during summer if I need to be away for a few days.

So, that’s my update. I won’t be around all the time, but I’ll come back here to talk about orchids—they’re still close to my heart ❤️ and, hopefully, will be my main source of relaxation in my free time.

It’s nice to say hello again, and I hope everyone is doing well!