I KILLED my collection

[Wrebbitrocks]

ahhhh, i finally had the time to make a greenhouse. it was nice too. then silly me took out the ENTIRE collection from inside and stuck them in the greenhouse in our dreadful arizona heat. stupid move.

i went back outside the next day to find them all cooked, DEAD. i frantically moved into the shade in the hopes that any would survive and actually cried a little. so many years of collecting and so much money trying to keep them alive... sigh

a couple did survive though. amongst them an oncidium twinkle 'little star', an orange epidendrum, and a zygopetalum. the others that survived look pretty ratty and im not sure they'll make it but im not giving up on them yet because theyre still green on some parts.

those are a beautiful giant yellow cymbidium, which my best friend gave me for christmas which was the worst loss and im hoping those now bare pseudobulbs can kick in some new growths, my dendrobium sauaru gold 'sunset' which i JUST went outside to find chewed up by my dogs (which wasnt that bad because they somehow removed the dying half from the healthy new part....go figure), and two phals that are burnt but somehow very healthy on the green parts. the crown leaves died but the crowns still look green in the center. think they can regrow? i have these outside under the porch where its still bright but cooler.

for right now. im gonna try and save the onc. twinkle because it seems to be the healthiest and i liked it alot when it was in bloom. and now i get to start all over. yesterday i went to tj's and bought myself a new oncidium sweet sugar. very pretty. now to save up and get the collection growing again. lesson learned: arizona SUCKS haha. heres the two oncidiums.

[Eyebabe]

My goodness Wreb I am so sorry!
What a horrible thing!
Did your greenhouse not have enough shade? or was it a circulation issue where the heat just built up inside?
I would give anything with some sign of life at least a few months but I'm an optimist.
I will be interested how you solve your greenhouse issue because obviously you built it to hold your collection and it sounds like it's not useable currently.
Good luck!

[Gin]

I am very sorry , they will look bad for a long time but in time some may recover .. Gin

[lambelkip]

it sounds like a few of them will survive. don't give up on any of them, until they're completely dead.
you'll need both shade and cooling for your greenhouse.
If you haven't already, join the Tucson Orchid Society. The other members should be able to give you advice on how to make your greenhouse more orchid-friendly.

[marydaniellesantos]

I'm so sorry. I'm glad you're so optimistic though.

[Lady Tottington]

this is so sad! I'm surprised you only cried a little, I would have gone into hysterics! But, you know what this means don't you? You'll get to rebuild your collection with new strategic purchases!!!!! Wishing that your rescues will come back happily and better than before.

[Imperial_Exotics]

So sorry to hear that.

Any greenhouse, be it in Arizona, California or even someplace cold like Nebraska can become a killing box in the summer time if not properly regulated.

A good thermometer and good ventilation are an absolute must no matter where you live. Home Depot stores carry some very nice very high flow floor fans that move a heck of a lot of air. Great for dropping 120 degree + temps into acceptable ranges on really hot days.

Good shade helps as well. I have a nice stand of Black Bamboo next to my greenhouse, and the temps are easily 20 degrees cooler in their shade.

Chin up, learn, bounce back.

[Oscarman]

That is bad news. Froze mine last fall/winter, so I feel your pain.

Hopefully your survivors will perk up and carry on. Good luck in the recovery.

[Wrebbitrocks]

oh gosh. thank you to EVERYONE for all the support. its very comfoting. yes i learned a lesson and this will teach me for next time.

i dont really know what went wrong. the greenhouse was VERY shaded. one side was completely shade cloth and one side pointing north was clear plastic. it was just a triangle shape like a tent: the shade cloth side pointing south and the plastic north to avoid the suns scorching southern rays to touch the plants.

inside, the light meter only read 1200fc. i wet everything down and sprayed it to make it cool and humid. the front and back to it didnt even have walls. so the air flowed freely from one side to the other like a tunnel west to east. there was a breeze too and the sun never hit the plants directly.

i was very disheartened and i took it down seeing as how my plants died in there. so from now on im just going to stick my plants under the porch. its nice and cool and somewhat bright, about 800fc and the plants get about an hour of direct sun in the early morning without scorching. i dont know if its enough light to flower though but here in az, its just impossible to stick anything in the sun.

even parts of my garden are dying even though its supposedly full sun. my citrus tree leaves are all curled and my crepe myrtle is also dying. i should just move away from here.

anyways, i think that im just gonna buy some flourescent lights and have an indoor setup. do regular flourescent bulbs work? because i have a fish tank that could hold plants with pebbles on the bottom to help with humidity and the cover has a flourescent bulb. would that work? im going for a setup similar to quiltergal as that one seems to be the most applicable to my space conditions. plus it seems that theres ALOT of plants on those racks

[Brotherly Monkey]

did you take any readings of the humidity in there?