I live in the philippines a tropical country.... I love orchids and i grow them outside in the northwest part of my garden are the dendros and cattleyas which is partially shaded and the southwest are the cymbidiums,vandas and oncidiums... I want to buy phals where do i put them? do i need to build a greenhouse to care for more orchids? This is my house and here you can see the net over the dendros and the other side are driftwoods for the vandas....
If you have a significant dry season you may need a greenhouse to maintain constant high humidity for orchids that can't cope with dry spells.
hi Michael, Its rainy season here though its not raining much yet it usually starts from may to dec... Though most of the time its hot here but i always water my orchids daily with a water hose in fine spray. if its too hot i water them 3x a day especially the vandas...
Rubyrose, I only wish those of us who love to grow these plants were as fortunate as you! Depending on what part of the world the orchid you wish to grow originates, you may have to modify your care just a bit. That is why I personally believe it is important to know the scientific name of your specimen IF you are growing species orchids. Since you and others from your country have made it known you also grow hybrids, then you have to go with the more generic known information about that tribe. In South Florida there are many commercial orchid growers that use greenhouses. The weather in South Florida is not "tropical" as it is in your country, it is semi-tropical, but most of the year it approximates the natural growing conditions. But there are those few evenings in the middle of winter when it can be cold. Not wishing to loose their investment, they utilize a greenhouse so if necessary they can add some artificial heat. But in your case, I'd say at the most, all you would need is some shade cloth. If it gets hotter than the orchids prefer, growing them under a light shade cloth will reduce the amount of direct sunlight and help to keep the temperature more tolerable, especially during the times you are misting. Your care techniques are great! In the late summer, my "tropical atrium" can reach close to 100 degrees F (37.7 Celcius). As a result, we have quite a few ventilation fans to constantly move the air. But most of the year it remains a comfortable 85 degrees F(29.5 C) or lower, never below 55 degrees F (13 C). The material I use is both thermal and blocks the sun in a similar way the shade cloth works. But in the winter, when there is snow on the ground, it also protects all my species from the obvious damage of a hard freeze. I'd be willing to bet there are commercial growers in your country. I'd try to locate them and learn exactly how they grow their various species. Chances are, they will be using little more than a shade cloth or perhaps something stronger to fend off the fierce storms that can attack your country. If they are using a shade cloth, just ask what strenght they recommend. My guess, you won't need an honest-to-goodness greenhouse. I know lots of orchid growers who would love to live in your neighborhood!
Hi, I'm in Ecuador which is fairly similar in climate to Phillipines. I have something that I call a "greenhouse" but which is actually a shade-cloth and plastic structure designed to keep the sun and wind off of my more delicate plants. It doesn't get appreciably hotter in there than in any other part of my garden, but it does keep my orchids from getting sunburnt. Maybe something like that would be of help to your vandas in the dry season; I know it helps mine.
Thanks for all the info.... i really do appreciate it. I wish i can locate a grower who really grows orchids and not just import it from other countries, I think we have a local orchid society here but the site is down. I have several native orchids here most are dendros and one cymbidium where one of our tenants in mindoro found it and one cattleya.... I also have the sanggumay its a dendro but dont know the scientific name yet... the vandas are growing pretty healthy even if they dont have shade but i would want to know the specific name of each one and i just keep on browsing the names and i use the flower to check for the name.... I am also planning to grow orchids in one of our land and make it as a business but i am still on the process of sorting out local suppliers and international as well...Most of the growers here within my vicinity before grow vandas with no shade but ascocendas and other broad leaf vandas are in the shaded part. I saw that they use a net to shade over the dendros, cattleya and phals.... Its just so happen that the growers and the land that they are leasing had been converted to a commercial space where buildings had been erected. now i dont know where to buy or source out anymore .... there is a lady here who only sell orchids for me but i think she dont know the exact way to care for it since my rhyncostylis leaf got burned. I move it to the side where my dendro are now. My ascocenda whose roots are already stiff and brown have small roots now i trim off the old roots and i am happy it have new roots now. All the sites that i have checked here which show pictures on how they grow orchids have no shade for the vandas... i checked the orchid asia site and saw it...Well, i hope in time i would really learn more about orchids cause i have more time now since i dont work anymore and only have a small business which gives me more time to tinker with my orchids. I am also growing hydrangea.... hope i have a bigger space maybe i will have more plants....
You're doing fine RubyRose! See if you can find a copy of Dr. Motes' book on vandas on the internet. I mentioned it to you in an earlier post. Someone in your area will surely know of a source for shade cloth. If nothing else, the plastic form of screen wire will also work as a temporary substitute for those orchids that appreciate stronger light. There are also lots of importers of juvenile vandas in SE Asia. Check the net over there. You can probably buy them cheaply if you buy enough at one time.
Sanggumay is dendrubium anosnum. I have a sister in law who have an orchid and mums plantation in batangas and she uses an overhead net. She is into cut flowers and sells her them on flowers shops. She has a net and her flooring is volcanic rocks which provide the humidity. Her plantation is 2.5 hectares. Mostly, those who are orchids gardeners here in the philippines(if your plants are not that many) do not have green houses. Maybe what you need to know are the specifications of heights of your orchids for them to bloom. The cymbidiums love cool climate like baguio or if acclimatized (only the dwarf ones)can withstand hot places. A friend once told me she had a group of orchid breeders in laguna and they meet once a month. Since las banos is very near your place, go there and ask. There are so many local species in their gubatum building. You'll meet many orchid breeders there. My sister in law attends so many fora and classes there in las banos.
Rubyrose. you are lucky. Phillipines is a humid/tropical paradise. You can grow orchids outside , almost all year. I know people growing in their backyards hanging them from trees. Beautiful! Try to get in contact with a local orchid society or group. They will show you how they do it in your own country.
Yeah rubyrose...I'd say shadecloth is all that is required if that. How about putting them in trees that way you keep the humidity and they receive filtered light? Ed
That really seems to work for me, for the species I have that appreciate filtered light. Just make sure that the tree you use doesn't have a deciduous phase that corresponds to your hot/dry season. (I was having great luck with coral trees, but I didn't realise that they lose all their leaves in the windy phase of the dry season. My cattleyas survived fine, but I'm worried about my vandas...)
