Golden Gate Orchids - Two thumbs up.

[Duane McDowell]

I got these four from Tom Perlite of Golden Gate Orchids. I ordered by telephone. Tom recommended which ones to buy. The arrived in great shape in spite of our bitter cold here. He recommended shipping to the local FedEx Office (Kinko's) location, which was a great suggestion.
I'm very pleased with the size of the plants - I felt like they were a bargain at $25 each.

[Vanda lover]

I would love to try dendrobium cuthbertsonii again, now that we are in a better climate. You got a bargain!

[rdlsreno]

Tom is really a great person and grower. Good choice!

Ramon

[Vanda lover]

Cuthbersonii can be pretty tricky. How do you plan to keep them happy?

Nancy

[Duane McDowell]

Originally Posted by Vanda lover

Cuthbersonii can be pretty tricky. How do you plan to keep them happy?

Nancy

I've had a couple of them for six months - they've seen the worst that my conditions have to offer, and they seem to be very happy - nice fat growths and lots of roots...
I'm in a terrarium under lights in my basement - it never gets very warm, and it definitely gets cool this time of year! I water most days, and I have fog for a good portion of every day. A fan keeps air circulating constantly. I've been growing them in clay, which helps the roots stay cooler, too. I hope I haven't jumped the gun, but I think they'll be fine - we had some very warm weather this summer, and it never got hot in the basement.
I've got them up closer to the lights than the Lepanthes and Masdevallias - time will tell if that's enough light. My Soph. coccinea bloomed well in the same light, so I'm hopeful.

[Vanda lover]

Those conditions sound ideal. When I grew mine, I didn't have a basement. I would put it in bright dappled shade outdoors in the summer, but I had my own way of cooling them. I used evaporation from clay pots. It worked very well, the little clay pot was always cool to the touch. I used 2 clay orchid pots ,[in case of rain, for drainage] one larger than the other. I set one inside the other and put them in a dish of water, then filled the inner one part way with gravel. I set the plant inside this, so the plant was slightly below the top of the inner pot. I filled the space between the outer pots with polymer gel.
We now have a basement and I want to try again! I'm afraid that we don't have many orchid sources here, though.

Nancy

[Duane McDowell]

Originally Posted by Vanda lover

Those conditions sound ideal. When I grew mine, I didn't have a basement. I would put it in bright dappled shade outdoors in the summer, but I had my own way of cooling them. I used evaporation from clay pots. It worked very well, the little clay pot was always cool to the touch. I used 2 clay orchid pots ,[in case of rain, for drainage] one larger than the other. I set one inside the other and put them in a dish of water, then filled the inner one part way with gravel. I set the plant inside this, so the plant was slightly below the top of the inner pot. I filled the space between the outer pots with polymer gel.
We now have a basement and I want to try again! I'm afraid that we don't have many orchid sources here, though.

Nancy

Nancy,
That's really similar to how I grow Restrepias in a greenhouse that's better suited for tomatoes. It might be worth asking Tom if he ever comes to a show in Canada. He could ship from the show then...
tom@goldengateorchids.com
It's seems like poor stewardship to have a basement and not grow a few of these...

[Vanda lover]

Thank you Duane!
I just may do that. They are so incredible and long lasting! Our basement is not only cool, but also has some good light.
Nancy