The school greenhouse

[mycologist]

So these are some pictures of the orchid area at school that I took over the winter. I am on the committee that oversees this greenhouse, and I am thinking of trying to improve the orchid culture here. My honest impression is that the conditions are fairly amenable so there are a number of plants hanging in despite not nearly enough attention. It seems like there are some very well established plants here, but I need to look into what kind of diversity is represented. My goals would be to do a better job of representing orchids in their natural habitats (as you can see there are a number of specimen size tropical plants etc. to work with). I would also be interested in improving the health and appearance of the plants, but am not obsessed with having them be "pretty". BTW I am also starting a bunch of seeds in my lab soon and have some flasks on the way, but I am hesitant to add really nice plants to the collection in its current state.

As a start, what are your impressions and any initial suggestions? Should I just butt out since I don't have that much hands on experience? See anything that looks really special?

[mycologist]

[mycologist]

[Brutal_Dreamer]

The photos make it look lovely!

Cheers,
BD

[mycologist]

Yeah, I guess the pictures do make it look pretty nice. I should go back and have a closer look but my impression at the time was that there were a few really healthy plants but most things were really soggy and had a lot of yellow leaves. I think everything just gets blasted with those sprayers. I guess for the sake of the older plants that have become well accustomed to the conditions I probably shouldn't suggest changing things too much. Maybe I'll just find some other spots to play around with like like on that tree fern.

[Ron-NY]

I would check to see when some of the orchids had last been repotted. The medium tends to break down in a warm, wet environment and potting should be done on a biennial basis. Which school are you at?

[mycologist]

I guess I just can't help thinking that we could do a lot more with the space there.

[Tmai]

Just novicespeak here, but I think you are right to want to look closer. I too saw some yellowed leaves in your pics and some leggy plants, although the general appearance and light looks wonderful. And some are real beauties! Your word 'soggy' is definately a red flag for some of your charges. Ron's repot suggestion sounds, well, sound! Lots of work there, but lot's of learning too. I think your goal of getting the orchids in a more natural habitat is a great approach! How better to teach others about orchids and other tropicals than to show them at 'home'? What an exciting committee you are on. I hope they have the enthusiasm and interest that you have. Good luck!

Tami

[leisurely]

I agree with the other members that some repotting is probably in order. I would also re-arrange the plants to give the some look of order because it looks like there is none to the way they are currently hanging.

[magooba]

wow. ! What an excellant employment !!