Minor orchid update
Time for a minor orchid update. First off the UK has essentially been seeing temperatures in the high 20s°C and regularly over 30°C since May. This summer has been the hottest and driest I can remember. I largely grow cool growing cloud forest orchids in a grow tent under L.e.d lights in my garage. It should be cool enough in the summer and able to be heated easily and cheaply in the winter. This year however the extreme temps and lack of cooling at night has meant utter disaster for my plants.
A result of the temps means I've had to keep the humidity up and the potting media soaked, and even allowing for that, I've lost several plants and most of what remains looks totally crap. Once temperatures stabilise, there will need to be a lot of trimming, re-potting and sorting out. I know I have several of some species and much as it pains me to get rid of them, all the smaller ones will have to go.
Even on my windowsill plants inside, I've had some successes with the Neofinetia falcata as shown in a previous blog, but I've lost a Paphiopedilum that just got too dry and hot despite my best efforts.
The other grow space I have, is a smaller terrarium in my home office. The base is soil with a large amount of begonia, selaginella and some other small low light species with orchids above mounted on cork bark or hardwood sticks. There I've had good blooms from a Bulbophyllum disciflorum
A warm growing species from the lowland forests in Thailand, this has done well for me grown mounted in the terrarium with high humidity and close to a small l.e.d grow light.
As a new blooming - my Zootrophion alvaroi finally did something. A slightly underwhelming cousin of my cool cloud forest plants, this is grows much lower down in Columbian forests where its warmer. Its put out a lot of new growth and one small bloom.
Yes, thats how its supposed to look.
Also in the terrarium I've totally repotted the soil based plants so hoping that all re-establishes itself without looking quite so overcrowded as it did. All grown under cheap l.e.d lights with soil from a grow shop.