Hello from the Yucatan

[Jonna]

We're renovating a house in Mérida at the top of the Yucatan peninsula. Definitely tropical but with a defined wet and dry season, annual lows are only occasionally in the high 50'sF more commonly are the 60's F - about 13C to 18C. It's humid and warm pretty much all year. There are a lot of native orchids growing everywhere in the countryside, I just don't know what they are.

I have zero orchids right now, but they are something I really want to add to my house in several locations. I have an indoor pond with a skylight and filtered light and both an outdoor pond and a large shade tree in the backyard. I need to decide which orchids I can grow in those 2 places. I'm hoping to grow them bare root, attached to the tree or the stone wall. Believe me, humidity is not a problem!

My other thought is that perhaps I could grow some with a few of their roots hanging into the pond. It would be good fertilizer, fish poop, and allow them to pick up as much moisture as they want without drowning. Does that even sound possible? I will have a bog filter over the inside pond with ferns and I had thought to set some orchids among the ferns and let the roots grow to the water if they wish.

I do have a lot of experience building ponds and maintaining water gardens so I know that a lot of unexpected plants do just fine bare root in a pond filter, perhaps it is the always moving water or the high oxygen.

I suppose I should start another thread on individual questions, first I have to learn enough to phrase the questions

[dgenovese1]

Hi Jonna,

Welcome to the OB! You're in the right place if you're thinking about starting up an orchid hobby. There are lots of us here to help you out along your journey.
As for growing chids with their roots in water constantly, I don't know of any that this would be good for, although I'm sure that there are some. Most orchids need to have their roots dry our between watering.

Growing them bare root along a rock wall or in a tree is a fairly common practice. With your humidity levels as high as you've said, it shouldn't be too difficult to select a few and see how they do. You'll probably need to make your selections based on the amount of sunlight that is available in your various areas. I would suggest a couple of encyclias and/or cattleyas to start.

There are several species of both of these varieties that are native to Central and South America, so I am sure that they will do well for you. I must advise you to NOT collect them in the wild. It is not only illegal, but it also depletes native populations that are very difficult to reestablish once they are gone. Try finding a couple plants at a local grower, and see how well you do with them. Post photos once you've got your plants...we'd love to see them.

Good luck! I hope this helps.

[kiki-do]

Hi Jonna! Welcome! I'm getting all excited to hear about your future purchases! We will be here to help, so don't worry about that.
I hope that when you buy your first orchids, you have someone with you to give you some hints as to what would be a good start for you and your area. Some of my first mistakes was to buy orchids that weren't good for my growing area. I would buy because they appealed to me, but that isn't always a good thing for them. However, I am a quick study and learned what does and doesn't work.
I've learned alot here on OB....but still have the urge to buy because "they are too cute not to!" I'm working on that last part though.

[Jonna]

Yea, I'm trying to first figure out what kind would do best in the areas I have before I succumb to just buying the pretty ones I see! There are a lot for sale here (and rest assured, I would never pull them from the wild. There are also some friends that grow orchids but I haven't gotten a chance to go over and see their collections. It helps that I really don't have a good spot to keep them until the house is finished. I'm trying to fill the endless time of the finishing work with some research. Hopefully, we should be moving in in about a month.

I'm reading everything I can find and trying to learn the requirements of the different kinds.

Here are some pictures of orchids in the wild (and some bromeliads) that I took not far from here. I'd love to know what kind they are.









I'm not even sure that last one is an orchid, I think it is but it could be some kind of fern.

[kavanaru]

Jonna, I see you have bBrassavola nodosa and Oncidium cebolleta growing near your house, and also large Thillandisas (the Bromelia), so it means that almost any Cattleya, Epidendrum, Laelia, Guarianthe (this was Cattleya in the past, and you may find stillsold as cattleya) and Rhyncholaelia (this was Brassavola in the past, and you may find still sold as cBrassavola)would do fine in the region. Also Catasetum and Cycnoches would feel good there (these two are great plants, but the flowers do not last very long - maybe for two weeks) And many Oncidiums too. I think you could also grow Phalaenopsis without problem. And you could even have growing Spathoglottis and Phaius on the ground (by the way, your last picture is neither Orchid nor Fern but coming from the tropics, it could be whatever, as there is a los on convergence to that "look" in different families). I would even try Stanhopeas and Coryanthes


Here is a list of plants I would check for:

Laelia anceps
Laelia tenebrosa
Laelia purpurata
Rhyncholaelia glauce
Rhyncholaelia didbyana
Cattleya mosiae
Cattleya luedemaniana
Cattleya labiata
Guarianthe skinneri
Guarianthe bowringiana
Guarianthe x guatemalensis
Guarianthe aurantiaca
Epidendrum stamfordianum and Epidendrum ciliare (two great plants, but any of them would do fine)
Any Catasetum you like (my personal favorites: Ctsm pileatum, Ctsm expansum, Ctsm tenebrosum, Ctsm macrocarpum, Ctsm planiceps, Ctsm barbatum)
Cycnoches chlorochilon
Cycnoches loddigesi
Oncidium splenddum (but almost any Oncidium would do it well)
Psychopsis (formerly oncidium): I would try with the hybrids as they are easier: Psychopsis mariposa, Psyc Mendenhal, etc
Phalaenopsis, Phaius & Spathoglottis: what you find and like

Here you can have a closer look of many of the plants mentionned above and many others:
Cattleya Orchid Source - Cattleya Orchid Species
Cattleya eldorado

here another one, it is in Portuguese, pero se entiende
CATASETUMS

[priz_m]

Welcome to the OB!

Well Jonna, sounds like you have the perfect conditions to start quite a collection!

Here's a thread on water culture that may be helpful with your fish tank endeavour

Onc. Sharry Baby in water culture

glad to have you on board, can't wait to see pics of your chids!

[Jonna]

Wow! I've spent the last several hours reading from your links. Thank you.

Kavanaru, I enjoyed all of the links and looked up every recommendation. I can't say I've absorbed it all but I'm going back to read again and keep learning. Incredible pictures in your gallery as well. Spanish is my 2nd language and I was amazed at how much Portuguese I could read, it is much harder to understand it spoken, for me, than to read. There are a lot of Brazilians here and I can't really understand much when they are speaking.

I believe I've seen Rhyncholaelia digbyana growing here, frilly and green blooms. I have some names now to take with me when I go shopping. It remains to be seen how well labeled my options are however. I'm excited to go and visit the orchid nurseries with my small amounts of new knowledge.

Priz_m, thank you for that link on growing in water. I'm still unclear on some of the terms but I think if I can find one of the orchids that they had success with I will try growing it in or near the pond. I do have areas that are partially submerged with water flowing higher and lower over rocks. It may offer an option to try, I worry that it has too much sun however, full sun until around 2pm and the sun is quite hot here. When we have moved in I can get a better idea of the micro climes and make better choices.

Am I right that passive hydroponics just means growing in water with perhaps some fertilizer? and SH is semi-hydroponics, but I don't really understand what that means. I will go and google and see what else I can find out.

Growing in ponds is similar to what is called Aquaponics, where the plants and the fish are symbiotic and contribute to each other. It does limit what you can use to treat the plants as you must also consider the health of the fish. If the plant can be lifted, it's a lot easier. Aquaponics is mostly focused on food crops, both the fish and the plants. I don't eat what I grow in ponds, not the fish or the plants. The same principles apply though and both grow better in my experience.

[Royal]

Hi Jonna! Welcome to the OB! Ramon has some great suggestions for you. Let me just reinforce a few of those. The Mexican Laelias are some of my favorite plants. They are very forgiving and very showy. The Calleya/Guarianthe he listed are also great choice. Just about any Brassavola will do well for you too as will most Encyclia and Epidendrum species. But these are all high light plants. For shadier spots Stanhopea and Phalaenopsis are great choices too.

I look forward to seeing your new setup complete with orchids!