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Posted on 6:03 AM by Wanto and filed under
By Helen Suddell
Many houses today have a built-on sun lounge or conservatory, which offers a very satisfactory home for orchids. Often these areas contain garden furniture, and the main idea is to provide a place to relax that catches the sun's warmth on those days when it is too cold to sit outside.
These are available from garden centres and other outlets in many shapes and sizes with differing designs. The humidity tray is a shallow tray without holes, because it needs to hold water. Place a quantity of expanded clay pellets in the tray to about 2.5cm (1 in), or just below the rim, and partially fill with water. Now you have created a base for your orchids to stand on where they will receive a small amount of moisture from the evaporating water rising around them; at the same time, the plants will be standing above the water, so their roots will be kept wet but not immersed. You can have as many humidity trays as you have room for, standing a few orchids on each and allowing sufficient room between them for air to circulate.
Place a few smaller pots of ferns or other green plants in between the orchids; these can be kept wetter than the orchids by plunging them directly into the pellets. The green plants, which may be colourful busy Lizzies (Impatiens) or any of the smallgrowing creeping plants that will not become so large as to overgrow the orchids, will do much to create a good growing environment, increasing the humidity around the orchids and generally brightening up the setting.
Orchids placed on the floor would need to stand on concrete or tiles, which can be wetted without harming any installations, and some means of channelling away surplus water would need to be set up.
Orchids growing in humidity trays will need to be removed for watering. The best place to water the plants is on the kitchen draining board or in the sink. Because of the nature of orchid compost (growing medium), a lot of water has to be used at one time, and unless a system of catching the water and channelling it into a container is installed, which is almost impossible indoors, the plants are better taken to a watering place.
Wherever there is sufficient light and warmth, orchids will grow, provided a suitable growing area is set aside for them. Cellar culture is practised in countries such as Canada, where excessively cold winters prevent the use of greenhouses.
An alternative idea to growing on the windowsill is the growing cart on wheels. Growing carts are available from most garden centres and are designed for indoor plants. They have the advantage in that the plants can be wheeled to a light position close to the window during the day and moved back at night. It also makes the chore of taking plants out for watering much easier.
Conservatories that are shaded by large trees nearby are the most suitable, and the danger of overheating in summer is greatly lessened.
These are available from garden centres and other outlets in many shapes and sizes with differing designs. The humidity tray is a shallow tray without holes, because it needs to hold water. Place a quantity of expanded clay pellets in the tray to about 2.5cm (1 in), or just below the rim, and partially fill with water. Now you have created a base for your orchids to stand on where they will receive a small amount of moisture from the evaporating water rising around them; at the same time, the plants will be standing above the water, so their roots will be kept wet but not immersed. You can have as many humidity trays as you have room for, standing a few orchids on each and allowing sufficient room between them for air to circulate.
Place a few smaller pots of ferns or other green plants in between the orchids; these can be kept wetter than the orchids by plunging them directly into the pellets. The green plants, which may be colourful busy Lizzies (Impatiens) or any of the smallgrowing creeping plants that will not become so large as to overgrow the orchids, will do much to create a good growing environment, increasing the humidity around the orchids and generally brightening up the setting.
Orchids placed on the floor would need to stand on concrete or tiles, which can be wetted without harming any installations, and some means of channelling away surplus water would need to be set up.
Orchids growing in humidity trays will need to be removed for watering. The best place to water the plants is on the kitchen draining board or in the sink. Because of the nature of orchid compost (growing medium), a lot of water has to be used at one time, and unless a system of catching the water and channelling it into a container is installed, which is almost impossible indoors, the plants are better taken to a watering place.
Wherever there is sufficient light and warmth, orchids will grow, provided a suitable growing area is set aside for them. Cellar culture is practised in countries such as Canada, where excessively cold winters prevent the use of greenhouses.
An alternative idea to growing on the windowsill is the growing cart on wheels. Growing carts are available from most garden centres and are designed for indoor plants. They have the advantage in that the plants can be wheeled to a light position close to the window during the day and moved back at night. It also makes the chore of taking plants out for watering much easier.
Conservatories that are shaded by large trees nearby are the most suitable, and the danger of overheating in summer is greatly lessened.
About the Author:
Garden Orchids grows for its scent are Anguloa clowesii, Brassia verrucosa, Cattleyas and allied genera, Coelogyne ochracea, Dendrochilum cobbianum, Encyclia radiata, Gongora galeata, and Lycaste aromatica.
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