RV traveling mini orchids

[bjmac]

Almost there! This purple color is amazing.

[bjmac]

The trumpet has opened. What a big bright bloom on a small plant.

[bjmac]

Saturday is sale day and then we are full-time RVers. We will settle with the sale and then on the road. We are heading to the Smoky Mountains for the first leg of the trip. Hope to leave the 100 degree Kansas weather for cooler conditions. The neofinetia terrarium is now full. The addition of Senzai and Kujakumaru finished the empty spaces. The Kujakumaru was in bloom when I received it. It has wrinkled leaves with some yellowing and is quite different. The Senzai finishes my want list. Good thing we are in a RV with limited space, many neos to choose from.

[Pattywack]

BJ, Congratulations on completing your collection. You didn’t waste much time and your new plants are beautiful. I’ve not seen much about Kujyakumaru, peacock. I believe Matt has this Neo, he used to post often here and I throughly enjoyed his enthusiasm in collecting these amazing plants.

The Senzai is a special little one for sure! I looked for a very long while for my plant. Had it not been for Satomi, I would probably still be looking.

Good luck with your sale, congratulations on being permanent RVers. Enjoy!

[DTB]

Hi Bjmac,

Firstly, your terrarium is AMAZING! I think this is the gold standard that we all aspire to. Thanks for the inspiration!

Could you tell me a little about your initial build?
I am really interested in how you have set up the base of the tank, I can see that there is water in the base, is this across the whole tank or isolated to the corner?
Also, have you suspended the planting area above the base of the tank or does it continue down to the glass? lastly, is there much substrate or is everything growing off the timber and cork backing? I would assume weight was a big consideration as you move it around a bit.
I hope my tanks grow to even a quarter of what you have created, bravo!

[bjmac]

DTB I have a 4 inch open area in the front corner that I can siphon from. It has a fiberglass rock wall to keep the orchid mix from falling in the opening. A fiberglass tree stump comes out of the corner opening and two-thirds up the back wall. This is stuffed with water wicking cloth with holes drill in the stump. The rock wall and tree are covered with Marcgravia and Peperomia and hard to see now. There is a 3 inch layer of matala (expanded plastic), except in that corner for drainage. This keeps the orchid mix from soaking up water. I leave about one half inch of water on the bottom under the matala and have to add some now and then. A screen top covers the matala with 2 inches of orchid mix for the terrestrial plants and cork slabs on the back wall for the orchids. I mist by hand every other day and this has kept the humidity around 75%. I have two 9 watt jungle dawn leds for lights with a glass cover with a one inch gap.

[DTB]

Did you fiberglass the log yourself? It looks fantastic in the images! Can you tell me, are the holes drilled in your stump so the Marcgravia and Pepperomia can get water directly from the wet cloth inside? I remember you mentioning your lighting when I first set mine up. I am feeling the 5 watt difference between the single 13 watt light i have and the 2 x 9 watts in yours may be making a big difference. I need to wait until Spring here in Australia to know for sure but I may follow your lead and add another light.

[bjmac]

Originally Posted by DTB

Did you fiberglass the log yourself? It looks fantastic in the images! Can you tell me, are the holes drilled in your stump so the Marcgravia and Pepperomia can get water directly from the wet cloth inside? I remember you mentioning your lighting when I first set mine up. I am feeling the 5 watt difference between the single 13 watt light i have and the 2 x 9 watts in yours may be making a big difference. I need to wait until Spring here in Australia to know for sure but I may follow your lead and add another light.

I bought the stump and rocks at a fish store. Yes I inserted the Marcgravia and Pepperomia in the drilled holes. Luckily the stump was hollow so I could add the wicking material (Hygrolon). I also added some strips of Hygrolon under the cork slabs were the slabs joined together. Both of the Hygrolon cloths run down to the water in the bottom of the tank.

[bjmac]

The sale went great. We are now in Pittsburg, KS waiting for the settlement of the sale. The terrariums made the first trip fine. Nice to be finished with the sale, what a relief.

[orchidsarefun]

Go and see these guys on your travels.

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