my pre-winter 'displays' - Orchid Board

Cactuseed · #1 11-03-2013, 10:19 PM

These are not so much 'display's as where my plants ended up when it got chilly outside here in NC.

The first couple are in my garage, i have a t5 fixture set up by a north facing window. I'm trying to get my big cattleyas cold enough to flower; but one has 3 new growths coming !

Second few are my big phals & some oncidium types in my east facing bedroom window.
Then theres some of my cactus/succulents in a west window.
Then I have a little grow room / humidor / bomb shelter where keep my seedlings

Last one is an agave and sajuaro that i grew from seed; its 21 years old and the agave is a pup from a seed grown.

brn_thmbs · #2 11-03-2013, 10:48 PM

Cool Sarracenias too.

EricaMarie · #3 11-03-2013, 11:32 PM

Cool plants. Your orchids have some diverse roommates. :P Growing a plant for 21 years, awesome.

dounoharm · #4 11-04-2013, 11:20 AM

very nice setups! looks like everything will be fine...I never let my cattleyas experience a cold spell to promote blooming....they always stayed above 55 degrees....anything below that and the plant wants to hibernate and takes forever to get growing again....good luck!

TOMMYMIAMI · #5 11-04-2013, 02:47 PM

Very nice setup. May I ask what do you grow your Cattleyas in? I could not see it from the pics but they look really great and the bowl seems full of green roots, I would love to see detail and know your medium for them. Many thanks

Cactuseed · #6 11-04-2013, 03:31 PM

Tommy - generally they are in a mix of orchiata (the fancy pine bark from new zealand), tree fern fiber, and just a bit of sphagnum. In the first pic the 3 on the right side of the top rack are Cats. I made baskets for 2 of them out of coated chicken wire lined with coconut husk.

Kevin_PR · #7 11-04-2013, 03:40 PM

I like your pots. I really like your moss. Do you give it tap water. How long does it take to grow like that. I love moss.

Cactuseed · #8 11-04-2013, 03:47 PM

thanks !
I give the moss rainwater. Recently installed a rain barrel too. The moss in the clay bonsai pot is live sphagnum. The other is various collected from the back yard. We have poor soil and very shaded back yard so we have many varieties growing all over.
Just fyi , I pot my moss with a layer of peat moss on the bottom, then regular sphagnum, then the live moss. No fertilzer or tap water ever.

TOMMYMIAMI · #9 11-05-2013, 12:18 AM

Many thanks Cactuseed, the potting is awesome, I did not see it is a chicken wire, such a cool idea. They seem really happy in your mix, I am trying new mediums for my cats, mostly either hydroton pebbles, or mix of tree fern and cork chips, some are mounted on tree fern, so far so good. Sphagnum is killer for cats here in Florida, it is already way to humid, hot and rainy the whole year:-)

Kevin_PR · #10 11-05-2013, 04:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TOMMYMIAMI

Many thanks Cactuseed, the potting is awesome, I did not see it is a chicken wire, such a cool idea. They seem really happy in your mix, I am trying new mediums for my cats, mostly either hydroton pebbles, or mix of tree fern and cork chips, some are mounted on tree fern, so far so good. Sphagnum is killer for cats here in Florida, it is already way to humid, hot and rainy the whole year:-)

Yes I agree. I only have 3 years experience growing in a tropical environment, and I have to say sphagnum is not good for my plants. This year I have almost eliminated cork and sphagnum from all my mounts. Even with my pleurothallids, I find sphagnum too soggy in our humid environment.