New member from Southwest Va

[Appalachian]

Hello everybody I'm fairly new to orchids, but have a pretty good background with botany. Currently working on an environmental biology degree. Great to see theirs such a good community of orchid growers online. Cheers-Jason

[Dorothy]

WELCOME!
Glad you can join us here at OB
Tell us of your orchids - which do you have and how do you grow them?
We love s - don't forget to indulge us

[InspirChid1712]

I've though about going back to school for botany, but music is too much of a career for me already. Plus, I'm terrible with math! Welcome to the orchid board, I'm new to this as well, but I have alot of orchid experience. What types of plants do you have???

[Appalachian]

catt
-5 random babies from a buddie who didnt want to wait for em to grow (terrarium)
-Brassavoloa David Sander
-saccatum
-aclandiae hybrid
-Mericlone Greenwich 'Elmhurst' AM AOS

Dendrobium
-cacatua
-discolor
-johnsoniae
-nobile

Oncidium
-Aliceara Alice
-Colm Wildcat 'Carmela'

Paphiopedilum
-boxallia
-apple jan
-glanduliferum
-philippinese (comming soon)
-Song of love (terrarium)

Phalaenopsis
-equestris
-Brother pico
-Vladimir Horowitz

Vanda
-Mokara Chao Praya Boy
-Mimi palmer

I also have a pink lady slipper that some guy harvested from the wild. I yelled at him and took the sickly plant, now in the process of nursing it back, a bunch of bromelaids and a terrarium that is an artificial wetland simulation containing about a dozen carnivorous plants.
I'm moving pretty soon and hope to at least double my collection.

[Dorothy]

Are you going to return the lady slipper to the wild?

[Appalachian]

Yes, i dont want to transplant it in the Va winter. I know of 2 nice patches of them at an appalachian bog (a very rare sight in va, and more and more anywhere in the appalachians), i hope to cross pollinate some with it next spring/summer (our weather is very unpredictable in the mountains) at one sight, then plant it in the other. I hope to be able to track it as an experiment towards my degree we will see, it all depends on if the DNA fingerprinting methods i hope to use will work. Anyways if it survives until then it will be returned to the wild next year.

[Tindomul]

Welcome to the Board Jason. Botany is my interest as well. THough Im just starting out. Reading my first intro to Botany text as a Master's student.

[Ross]

Originally Posted by Appalachian

Yes, i dont want to transplant it in the Va winter. I know of 2 nice patches of them at an appalachian bog (a very rare sight in va, and more and more anywhere in the appalachians), i hope to cross pollinate some with it next spring/summer (our weather is very unpredictable in the mountains) at one sight, then plant it in the other. I hope to be able to track it as an experiment towards my degree we will see, it all depends on if the DNA fingerprinting methods i hope to use will work. Anyways if it survives until then it will be returned to the wild next year.

My experience with Cypripedium acaule is that they like acid pine woods.

[Appalachian]

When i was working on artificial wetland research, i found that the native wetlands of southwestern Virginia had an average pH around 4.8, so the acid is there, last time i checked the specific site i believe it was 4.7. Do you think that would be ok? this is a non-alluvial wetland and very secluded (which is one of the reasons i like the site)

[Ross]

Originally Posted by Appalachian

When i was working on artificial wetland research, i found that the native wetlands of southwestern Virginia had an average pH around 4.8, so the acid is there, last time i checked the specific site i believe it was 4.7. Do you think that would be ok? this is a non-alluvial wetland and very secluded (which is one of the reasons i like the site)

Yes! Our pine woods are pretty dry most of times, but acid seems to be the thing. Go for it!