Question - Glass Orchid Pots
 

My husband is a hobbiest glass blower and has his own glass blowing studio here in the house. I have been looking all over the place for rectangular pots to put more than one orchid in for my bathroom, and I haven't been able to find anything on the net that has the proper breathe-holes on the side and drainage on the bottom so I asked him if he could make me two orchid pots with my specifications. I thought it might be prudent to ask if glass is a workable container for orchids - I've used glazed ceramic in the past - and thought that might be of the same moisture retention quality.

Could you offer your thoughts please? I currently have a Kaleidoscope Phal, but would like to have five more for the bathroom, putting three in each container.

Thanks!

QuietMorning

i think as long as you have the right amount of drainage and provide suitable media for aeration you will be fine...and very lucky to have such a talented husband!

**Smiles** Yeah, he's a pretty fantabulous guy! :biggrin: And with talking to him about what I'd like to do, we suddenly have something really neat to do in common, even if he DOES hold up his thumb and complain about how green it isn't! **laughing**

When he makes his first prototype for me, I'll post a pic of it to show it off. If it works well, then I'll let ya'all know that too.

As long as they have good drainage, those should be fabulous pots! You are so lucky to be able to have custom made pots, especially since they are made by your husband. I would love to see pics of them once they are made.

I just asked him if he'd be willing to sell if he enjoyed making them and wanted to make more than just the pots I'm requested. . . .heh. . .he said he'd sell anything. **smirk** It may be a bit before he actually gets to making one - and all glass is a hit or miss, you never quite know what you're going to get when it comes out of the annealer. But I will definitely post and see what happens next when one comes out clean. :)

Wicked Idea!!!!!!!!! :D: very lucky you have a hubby who can glass blow. I very much look forward to seeing pics when done!

That is a neat idea ,will he be able to make holes in the bottom or sides for drainage ?
I have in the past purchased pretty glass vases and using a glass drill ,made holes in the bottom they worked very well but as I tend to be a bit clumsy I would some how manage to break them . The thicker ones don't break as easily though.

I can't wait to see what he can do, both of us are very excited about this! He's been looking for a project to do, and now he has one!

The holes in the sides and bottoms are an easy easy thing in glass blowing and or slumping, depending on what type of container he's making. The hard part is going to be making sure the color of the glass will show vibrant against the dark of the soil placed in the container. There are a couple of options he's going to try for this - so we'll see what works. When I post pics, I'll post pics with and without the orchids in the planters.

So I'm crossing my fingers big time that this will work, I really would love to have his work holding my orchids!

Does your husband do glass blowing as a job, or just as a hobby? Either way, it sure sounds like a lot of fun!

:cloud9: I can actually picture glass S/H vases filled with Leca.... with the appropriate holes ... :cloud9:

Woow, what a great idea! I would love to see the result!

It's his hobby - he just does it because he loves doing it. I think he started working with glass about twenty some odd years ago. The studio is very hot, but he's a happy exhausted camper when he's been able to spend a full day working! :)

I'll post as soon as he has one available for pics! :)

Leca might work better with the transperant coloring than with the opaque - I'll talk to him about it to make sure the holes aren't too big. Thanks for the heads up! I had to look Leca up on Wikipedia, I've never used it before. . .but that's my newbie colors showing, eh? **chuckles**

Another idea might be slots, rather than holes. The glass wouldn't have to be perfect - wavy and air bubbles would be fine, and lend some character. It's really hard to find anything clear that fits the bill.

UPDATE
 

Just wanted everyone to know that the time table for the hopeful glass pots are some time in October/November when the weather cools enough to get studio time. My husband will be working with a friend of his who blows glass for a living as an artisan and they will work together until the technique is perfected. So please stay tuned!! The first glass pots are going to be clear. The pots 'slumped' here at our studio will be the three to six inch pots - the ones at his friend's studio can be quite a bit bigger.

I think that is great, as beginner the glass was very enticing to me as it a very natural medium, which I am into. Alot of the more seasoned growers tend to tell beginners to steer well away from glass, for many reason, ie. no drainage, no or not enough air flow, no light to roots in some cases, sharp edges, but one of the main reasons I was told was there was nothing for the roots(I guess the vele, cant spell it, the shiny stuff on roots) to grab and adhere to.
I use glass in alot of mine and I love it just because at repotting time, its easy to swap it out for something that might go better with a particular plant. My biggest trouble was trying figure out how to stabilize the media,like say, in a shallow bowl. But a few strategically placed rocks or wood pieces(I like rock no decay) with a couple dabs of silicone on bottom of said rock or wood piece works wonders.
And drainage, air flow are very important just round the edges on holes a little.
Best of luck, and happy potting.

I grow nearly all of my orchids in glass containers. :)

http://gildedorchid.com/wp-content/u...k-july2014.jpg

http://gildedorchid.com/wp-content/u...s-july2014.jpg

Corsetiere - it looks like you use LECA in glass for all your orchids, which is attractive to me. How do you handle flushing the media, and drainage? Have you drilled side drainage holes in the glass vases?

I see this is an old post that has been responded to, but since I need to up my # of posts to be able to post pics, why not also respond.

Any update on how these pots turned out?

Thanks.

Quietmorning, I hope your were able to get your glass pots made. It is awesome your husband is able to do this for you. I would love to see the finished results. Glass pots with holes made in them are EXTREMELY hard to find.

Good bump-up, Doofinator...I'm dying to see this project myself!!