Orchid growing area under mango tree...

[Kilmiquix]

Hello, all! I wanted to share my growing area with you and solicit any feedback you may have. I know it is hard to give feedback when there is one area with many types of orchids, but I welcome any comments or suggestions.

Live in Coral Springs, FL (Broward county). The tree is a rather large mango tree. The plants on the east side get morning sun and the west side gets dappled afternoon sun. Everything else gets dappled light at some point, is in bright shade, or medium shade. (I'm still working on identifying the intensity of the shade/sun bit.) Anything closer to the trunk, of course, is in deeper shade. I keep my phals there and on the northern branches.

There is a lot of air movement as we live on a canal, so there has been an almost constant breeze. Maybe too much?

Everything in the area gets watered every other day with the bare-root vandas getting watered daily as it is bone dry by the evening after a morning watering. Probably because of the air flow? Even the phals, with moss mixed into bark, get watered every other day. Is this normal and ok?

I don't have a humidity checker thing, but with the canal there and the fact that I wet the grass under the tree every morning, I think there is enough humidity.

There is a mixture of dendrobium (hard cand and soft cane), catts, phalaenopsis, vanda, Grammatophyllum, epidendrum, and some yet-unidentified rescues.

These pics were taken around 11:00am.

[estación seca]

That looks perfect for many orchids. Most epiphytes with exposed roots need to be watered daily if it doesn't rain. As for the Vandas, you are familiar with the Motes Orchids Web site. If you sign up for their newsletter you will get their monthly growing guide.

[Dufchick]

Your tree is lovely. I had 2 tiny trees I was gifted and neither one lived. I think it makes a perfect place to hang all sorts of plants here in Florida, best of sun and shade.

[DeaC]

Super tree and great set-up for your lucky plants. Oh how I could just get lost in that space and never come out.

[Kilmiquix]

Thanks! I do get lost under the canopy a lot. I also keep looking for places to hang more orchids! Is that bad? Lol.

I am a bit concerned about what's going to happen to some of the orchids, especially the phals, when we have to trim up the canopy. We need to bring the height down, but that means we are going to lose a lot of the shade.

Hopefully, we can wait until after hurricane season and just do it bit by bit.

I'm also eyeing my fence area. It's so empty right now. But, it gets full sun ALL day long.

Any suggestions?

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Kilmiquix

I'm also eyeing my fence area. It's so empty right now. But, it gets full sun ALL day long.

Any suggestions?

More shade cloth, higher percentage... It is easy to subtract light, harder to add it... Sounds like a good place for high-light plants such as Vandas. and L. anceps. The shade cloth takes the "edge" off of the intense sun, while still letting the plants have their light.

[Kilmiquix]

I'll have to look into some shade cloth ideas....

I do love vandas...what else is high light like vandas?

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Kilmiquix

I'll have to look into some shade cloth ideas....

I do love vandas...what else is high light like vandas?

I grow L. anceps and relatives under only very light shade cloth in an area that gets full sun all day in summer and they bloom profusely. Cymbidiums need only slightly more shading (Mine live underneath the L. anceps) Rupiculous Laelias also like lots of sun. And Bifrenaria. Also Eulophia.

[estación seca]

Terete Vandas, and hybrids down to quarter-terete; and Renanthera hybrids, grow in full sun in Florida. Also Arundina and some Sobralia.

[Kilmiquix]

Thanks for the suggestions; I will check them out. When you say full sun, do you mean full South Florida sun qith no shade at all? Because thats my fence area. Difficult area due to sun intensity.