Hello everybody!
I hope this note finds each of you in good health and spirits!

These two plants are giving me much trouble. I just can't seem to find
a good spot for them.
When I keep them in bright light the leaves burn at the edges as though
it's too dry, and in shade the dendrobium gets floppy. They are both
potted in bark and I'm watering them like a cattleya. I am cosidering
mounting the Angraecum (it was suggested before) since I have a Soph.
cernus and a Den biggibum, which are mounted and doing well. But I'm
still not sure how much light to give them.
I'm gonna keep trying, since they are, at the least, still alive. I've
had them for about 18 months or so. I don't keep any records, and it's
hard for me to remember.
Anyway ... hope you all are having a great day! My life is just
wonderful and it's a blessing to be alive!
Bob

bobc wrote:
Hello everybody!
I hope this note finds each of you in good health and spirits!

These two plants are giving me much trouble. I just can't seem to find
a good spot for them.
When I keep them in bright light the leaves burn at the edges as though
it's too dry, and in shade the dendrobium gets floppy.

OOH, so many questions. Are they inside the house, in a greenhouse, or
outside? What type of pot, clay or plastic? It's difficult to adjust
light this time of year. Would it be possible to keep them in the
brighter location and add a curtain to the window? Possibly a fan to
limit the heat build up? You may want to check the orientation to the
sun. If the angle of light changes suddenly, then more of the edges
and backs of leaves are exposed. I mark my pots and when I move them
from one location to another reset the plants with the same orientation
to the sun.

They are both potted in bark and I'm watering them like a cattleya. I am cosidering
mounting the Angraecum (it was suggested before) since I have a Soph.
cernus and a Den biggibum, which are mounted and doing well. But I'm
still not sure how much light to give them.

It's tricky taking nursery grown plants and changing their environment.
Everything is mass marketed for optimum performance and the plants are
never stressed. Changing light intensities or reducing humidity is
especially rough on the matured leaves because they have developed
within the parameters in which they were grown. New growth will
naturally be more acclimated to your conditions, but the new growth may
not take the direction you want. I had a catt in a little too much
shade. The pseudobulbs and leaves grew out flat instead of upright to
absorb the light it needed. It looked good with darker leaves and
bloomed like mad, but in a hanging 4" clay pot it was 3' in diameter.
I divided it 2 years ago. It sulked and spluttered, but now with more
light and two years growth it's upright again.


Anyway ... hope you all are having a great day! My life is just
wonderful and it's a blessing to be alive!
Bob

Love the sentiment.

Bob, I grow my angreacum calc. in both S/H and mounted on a stick, I
just moved 5 plants to the mounts, so far no problem, I recieved them
as compotted seedlings, they had overgrown the pot so I seperated them
out in to small S/H pots, 2-3 per a 3" pot. They were put in to
65-75F, moderate light (bright shade to 1-3 hr dapled sun) and 65-70%
humidity. All my calc. thrived, now I'm going to see how half of them
do on the sticks.

Jack

Thanks Nancy and Jack.
Nancy, the plants are in clay pots on my windowsill with about 40
other plants (mostly orchids, but some Tillandsia, a couple African
violets and a couple jungle cacti).
The relative humidity isn't that great, but it's averages around 40%.
It fluctuates during spring, summer and fall with the weather outside
because the windows are open 24/7 during those seasons.

Jack, I'm gonna try mine on cork bark with a bit of Sphagnum like the
Soph. and Den.
I only get 65 -70% RH immediately after watering or if the humidity is
that high naturally.
But first I may try watering the Ang. more often - it's in very chunky
bark.
I can't have high relative humidity around the orchids since they're in
our living room window and there's no way I'm gonna get to hang plastic
around the plant area - that just won't fly. I don't think it's
healthy to have that much water vapor in the house?

I didn't mention Tolumnia in my post. I really like the plants,
however, it gets too cool for them in the window and there isn't enough
light away from the window. So I won't try them anymore. I may be in
a similar situation with the Ang. and Den. - I may just be unable to
provide conditions close enough to what they need to thrive.

Jack wrote:
Bob, I grow my angreacum calc. in both S/H and mounted on a stick, I
just moved 5 plants to the mounts, so far no problem, I recieved them
as compotted seedlings, they had overgrown the pot so I seperated them
out in to small S/H pots, 2-3 per a 3" pot. They were put in to
65-75F, moderate light (bright shade to 1-3 hr dapled sun) and 65-70%
humidity. All my calc. thrived, now I'm going to see how half of them
do on the sticks.

Jack

bobc wrote:
Thanks Nancy and Jack.
Nancy, the plants are in clay pots on my windowsill with about 40
other plants (mostly orchids, but some Tillandsia, a couple African
violets and a couple jungle cacti).
The relative humidity isn't that great, but it's averages around 40%.
It fluctuates during spring, summer and fall with the weather outside
because the windows are open 24/7 during those seasons.

You may try plastic pots or insert your clay into a plastic container
for added moisture. Humidity trays may help locally. If you keep a
fan running that quickly disperses the moisture. They need air
movement, too. You could also add a bit of sphagnum to the top of the
mix. I've added about 15% to my bark mix for moisture retention. With
a standard mix, of 4 bark, 1 perlite, 1 charcoal, add a little less
than 1 part sphagnum, or for 6 parts combined mix add 1 part of
sphagnum. I measure the sphagnum dry, not packed, then soak it to add
to the mix. It doesn't take much.

Jack, I'm gonna try mine on cork bark with a bit of Sphagnum like the
Soph. and Den.
I only get 65 -70% RH immediately after watering or if the humidity is
that high naturally.
But first I may try watering the Ang. more often - it's in very chunky
bark.
I can't have high relative humidity around the orchids since they're in
our living room window and there's no way I'm gonna get to hang plastic
around the plant area - that just won't fly. I don't think it's
healthy to have that much water vapor in the house?

The comfort zone for humidity is between 40 and 60%, a little more
won't hurt with good air movement. You cna't let it accumulate ex. an
unvented bath or shower because of mold and condensation. Most houses
get too dry during the heating season, during the winter a humidifier
near your plants would rapidly be dispersed throughout the rest of the
house, especially with a forced air system. Because you keep windows
open during the cooling season, I wouldn't worry then.

Are your plants actually on the windowsill? If you could track down a
narrow table and keep it a couple of inches away from the wall, the
cold draft would fall to the floor and not roll across your plants and
pots. I've also used clear shower curtain in the window to help divert
the flow of cold air. A fan from the side or center of the room aimed
at the window would help push the draft away from the plants. It would
disperse the cooler air outwards along the wall.

I bought a frame to an old china buffet for $5, with the intent of
making a growing cabinet for seedlings. Nothing there except the shell
and legs, the drawers or doors were long gone. It's long enough for a
4' florescent, and big enough for about 3 flats of small plants. I
will paint the inside with white exterior paint, replace the doors with
plexiglass or framed vinyl. The fans and lights can be plugged into
GFCI outlet, and should be fine with careful watering. Because it is
on legs, there is room for a drain and a container to catch the runoff
when I water. If it doesn't work, I won't have much invested in it,
and will still have the light for another application. I really want
to convert an entertainment center. Basically the same but taller, and
with concealed storage for drainage and supplies, etc. I'll find one
at a garage sale or discarded next to a dumpster that will work for the
mods I have in mind. Then I can call it a "Wardian Case" and have a
nice display that will satisfy T's esthetics for room decor.

I didn't mention Tolumnia in my post. I really like the plants,

Aren't they cute? I have more trouble breaking the spike on the
prionochilum. I grow mine mounted. You didn't mention the orientation
of the window. South should work, East or west may work. A lot
depends on obstructions both inside and out.

Best wishes,

Nancy

Nancy G. wrote:
You may try plastic pots or insert your clay into a plastic container
for added moisture. Humidity trays may help locally. If you keep a
fan running that quickly disperses the moisture. They need air
movement, too. You could also add a bit of sphagnum to the top of the
mix.

Thank you Nancy ... I will try adding some sphagnum to the mix, and
slip the clay pots into plastic containers (don't know why I didn't
think of it myself). I could lightly pack the sphagnum into the space
between the pots ... keeping that moist would be a big help also, I
think.

Nancy G. wrote:
The comfort zone for humidity is between 40 and 60%, a little more
won't hurt with good air movement. You cna't let it accumulate ex. an
unvented bath or shower because of mold and condensation. Most houses
get too dry during the heating season, during the winter a humidifier
near your plants would rapidly be dispersed throughout the rest of the
house, especially with a forced air system. Because you keep windows
open during the cooling season, I wouldn't worry then.

I do use a small humidifier during the heating season, with a small fan
clipped to the top of a 75g fish tank. Our house is heated by hot
water with radiators. I've always thought that wasn't as drying as
forced air, but still the humidity around the plants sometimes drops to
a low of 20% especially when it's very cold out.


Nancy G. wrote:
Are your plants actually on the windowsill? If you could track down a
narrow table and keep it a couple of inches away from the wall, the
cold draft would fall to the floor and not roll across your plants and
pots. I've also used clear shower curtain in the window to help divert
the flow of cold air. A fan from the side or center of the room aimed
at the window would help push the draft away from the plants. It would
disperse the cooler air outwards along the wall.

Some of the plants are in the window and I have a shelving unit with a
little supplemental fluorescent lighting in front of the window. I've
just recently moved the two plants in question to the shelves, so we'll
see what will happen.


Nancy G. wrote:
I bought a frame to an old china buffet for $5, with the intent of
making a growing cabinet for seedlings. ........ I'll find one
at a garage sale or discarded next to a dumpster that will work for the
mods I have in mind. Then I can call it a "Wardian Case" and have a
nice display that will satisfy T's esthetics for room decor.

What a great idea!! I have an old, hand made glass tank (48"x18"x18" -
LxWxH) that I am going to (someday) make into a terrarium but the
bottom will be the 18"x18" side. I'm picturing a slice of a steep
hillside with a waterfall and a couple small pools and lots of plants
(of course). I have the tank, some rocks, and a small water pump. I
just have to figure out how to put it together and incorporate enough
light - the windows are off limits. I've already tried explaining that
many of the existing plants will go inside this terrarium - but P just
doesn't understand how cool it will look sitting in the window! G
She also isn't keen on me putting a shower curtain across the living
room window - even if I get one of the ones with cute fishes and
seahorses! I just don't see what the problem is!?! G


Nancy G. wrote
You didn't mention the orientation
of the window. South should work, East or west may work. A lot
depends on obstructions both inside and out.

The window faces ESE - more or less - the sill is 15" deep. There is a
nearby tree (Abies concolor) about thirty feet tall and growing. It's
less obstructive in winter, since the sun's angle is more in line with
the window then. The tree isn't mine so, I won't touch it ... and my
neighbor, the owner of said tree, refuses to. Ah well ... maybe it'll
fall on his truck some day! g
Thank again, Nancy, for your help.
Bob