A Mumbai terrace - Page 2 - Orchid Board

rving87 · #11 10-02-2020, 10:15 AM

My first Vanda bloomed today, a hybrid - Vanda Nopporn Golden Hill. A month back, I had posted on this board elsewhere, asking if my Vandas were getting enough light. Two days post that, I got signs of my first Vanda spike! This is the first blooming for the plant, 4 flowers and 2 unopened buds.

rving87 · #12 10-02-2020, 10:16 AM

Tomorrow, I'll post a bit about the setup

Roberta · #13 10-02-2020, 11:02 AM

The Vanda looks wonderful. I think it is getting what it wants! And I do love the photo showing its location on your balcony. Looking forward to your "setup" photos.

rving87 · #14 10-02-2020, 11:53 PM

The terrace is on the second floor (British 'floor' - Ground, 1st, 2nd). The entry staircase is on the south side. It's 20x13 ft in size, and has a shade at about 12 ft above the floor. The terrace wall is about 3 feet tall.

Most of the orchids are on the wall, with a few under lights, and even fewer hanging. Will post about each section one by one

rving87 · #15 10-02-2020, 11:56 PM

The coast is about 5 km to the west, and there is always a slight breeze through the space. It does tend to get to be at gale force during the monsoons.

As you can see, the water tank is at the same level, so even if the tank is full, water pressure is pathetic. I use the blue sprayer (lithium battery, rechargeable) in the second picture (15 litre capacity) for watering the plants.

Roberta · #16 10-02-2020, 11:57 PM

It looks like the plants get wonderful air circulation. And you still have room for more! (Oh, somebody may actually want to walk there without dodging plants? Too bad... I predict that there will be more orchids...

)

rving87 · #17 10-03-2020, 12:09 AM

Most of my Vandas are in this section of the east wall. They're the ones I got after I mounted my first Vandas and found that to be a hit and miss.

The heat (35 Celcius) and the constant breeze dry out anything in a matter of minutes, even when the humidity is at 100%. It's normally around 75-80% for the city.

This made Vandas dry out very fast and I had to put moss around their roots. These pots also made it easy to move them around. The bottom of the pots (up till the first hole) is filled with perlite/charcoal (there is no hole at the bottom). I did not want Vanda roots to stay or grow into water stagnated there, so I filled it up with substrate. The pots are filled with green spaghnum (loose) with a very thin layer of white spaghnum (loose) near the roots to retain moisture longer. The white sphag gets crispy like biscuits by afternoon.

You can also see the first orchid I got mounted on a wooden block slanted on the left side. I got it as a NOID but researched and it turned out to be a Dendrobium Sonia. Will post about this one when it flowers, this was the one which got me into this hobby, and will always be special to me. (The one on top of the block is a barkeriascandens mounted on a Terracotta tile)

The dendrobium on the right side is a Medium Size Violaceoflavens. Den jenkinsii and cat tenebrosum are hangin' on the left.

rving87 · #18 10-03-2020, 12:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roberta

It looks like the plants get wonderful air circulation. And you still have room for more! (Oh, somebody may actually want to walk there without dodging plants? Too bad... I predict that there will be more orchids...

)

There are more in the mail already

DirtyCoconuts · #19 10-03-2020, 12:39 AM

I have a few questions. It seems like the orchids have wire mesh on both the inside and outside. Is that correct? Is that to hold them in place in the wind?

The water tank is huge and very enviable. Can you put it up on blocks? Even a few feet would give you a bit of pressure from gravity. I don’t know the floor’s make up but if it can hold that water It can probably hold a few cement blocks, maybe

I really enjoy seeing other people’s growing area and your is certainly one I could spend some time in. Thanks for sharing and taking us there with you!

rving87 · #20 10-03-2020, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts

I have a few questions. It seems like the orchids have wire mesh on both the inside and outside. Is that correct? Is that to hold them in place in the wind?

The water tank is huge and very enviable. Can you put it up on blocks? Even a few feet would give you a bit of pressure from gravity. I don’t know the floor’s make up but if it can hold that water It can probably hold a few cement blocks, maybe

I really enjoy seeing other people’s growing area and your is certainly one I could spend some time in. Thanks for sharing and taking us there with you!

It's a bird net, to keep them out. Crows especially are always a nuisance. There is a space on the North side where the net doesn't cover the plants, and I'm constantly worried about that. Just today they uprooted a baby adenium for no reason

The pots are held in place by wire holders attached to a thin steel wire stretched across the edge of the wall. You can see it in a few pictures, but I'll put up a close up soon.

The water tank is cemented to the floor and would be a major piece of work during COVID, which I avoid. Anyways, I've moved to RO water for the last couple of months, so it makes no difference for me.

I use RO water (2ppm) with 25 ppm Nitrogen of MSU mix. We don't get it here in India, so I mix it myself from raw ingredients. I then bring it down to rainwater ph with a batch of concentrated citric acid+apple cider vinegar I have ready. I pre-tested and measured ph & ppm, so now I just have to measure fertilizer by weight and acid concentrate by ml. Takes me 10 mins every evening to get a full sprayer ready for the morning.

Have seen very good results with this routine, so I guess this is going to be my way of watering now.