I'm out of space. Well, crap.

[catherinecarney]

Well, gang, there's some benefit to being single after all--around here the only one who can gripe is my daughter, and she (typical teenager) spends a lot of time in her room.....

I did have a few no-ID phals and a couple of Onc. hybrids I got and found I didn't care for, so they went to my mom....Now SHE'S buying orchids...Of course, she has a 20 x 20 room (passive solar heat for the rest of the house) with southern exposure and plenty of dappled shade from the gardens, day/night temp swings of at least 10 degrees, and ambient humidity above 50% even in the winter. Broms (even the difficult ones) grow and flower freely, and she's got a staghorn fern that's the size of a golden retriever, so I figure she's got great orchid growing conditions. I'm SO jealous (grin).

Catherine

[LovePhals]

We all have an addiction problem, Leafmite, your set up looks really good.

[catherinecarney]

It's not just an addiction problem, it's the way we keep getting other people to join us in our addiction....

Love seeing pix of people's setups--give me ideas for how to do a better job with my own. Keep the pix coming!

Catherine

[Leafmite]

Thanks, LovePhals.
I think I am envious of your mother, too. Perfect set up. Sigh.

[RandomGemini]

I just started in July. At last count, I have 17 orchids.

Quilter gal thanks for the link! I will definitely check that out!

[jeremyinsf]

I took Terri's advice to get a rack and T5HO lights this last April. I now have four racks!!

This tread kinda lifted me up when I was in a bad mood tonight - I'm glad I'm not the only one that didn't get a tree (you want me to kill a plant and then throw it out... and spend money on that?!) this year and am instead spending that money on... more orchids. It's what I want, and I figure I probably could put lights on a couple!

Anyway just wanted to chime in. I got my shelving units at Costco.com. They have had them in different colors at different times - a couple of them I got for $76 *delivered* including the shelving liners which I find very useful. They aren't always this cost but I am totally impressed with the quality and price and it was brought right to my door. And when I say "It" I mean "Them".

I haven't put one in my bedroom yet. I've maxed out the electrical in the other room, so perhaps the bedroom is next.

246 orchids.

:-)

---------- Post added at 08:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:28 PM ----------

Oh yeah and wheels included with the Costco racks, if you need those!

[RandomGemini]

Thanks guys! Hubby seems to think this is a perfect solution to my space issues, and the fact that I want a larger orchid collection and don't currently have room. I will probably have to agree to keep the collection limited to one of these units, but I figure, since his server rack takes up about the same amount of space in my basement, I can go with that.

Now, it's just a matter of where to put it... Hrm...

[quiltergal]

You should be able to find the light strips at any hydroponics store. I think they now make them with mounting brackets so you don't have to use twisty ties. I'm using the 6500Ks 1. because they are cheaper and 2. because the plants look better to the eye. I have no problem blooming light hogs under them at all.

As for where to put it...right in front of the window. You can't have too much light.

[jeremyinsf]

How often do you change your bulbs Terri?

[quiltergal]

LOL, not as often as I should. I think they say they need to be changed every 12 months minimum.