Orchid Board - Most Complete Orchid Forum on the web !

I've been visiting this forum for quite a while - mostly by following search engine links when looking for information. As I liked what I saw I finally decided to join.

I live in the North-west of Sydney Australia. The climate in the Sydney region is classed as Warm-Temperate. I am, about 40Km (25 miles) inland from the coast and do get cold nights in Winter (around 5C/41F - often dropping to below freezing) and hot days in Summer (30C/86F and above). I do need to heat most of my orchids in Winter and cool (evaporative cooling by misting) in Summer.

I've been growing orchids for around 6 years. I was captivated by the beauty of their flowers and their fascinating survival strategies (symbiotic relationships with fungi, pollination, ... ). I also am motivated by their culture. In fact if there is one thing I would like to share with and learn from others it is orchid culture. At this stage I'm more likely to learn than inform others but I have learned a few things already.

I do not (yet) have a genus I focus on and tend to have a 'general' collection. My current challenge is to successfully (ie flower) an Epidendrum medusae. Happy to keep it alive at this stage - flowering it will come later. Suggestions welcome.

I am also very interested in IT (an ex-telecommunications engineer) and do apply it in orchid culture (I'm developing my own environmental control system - a prototype already in use) to heat\cool my greenhouse and terrarium.

Looking forward to chatting with others on orchid matters.