My Front Porch Mini Greenhouses

[kjones1957]

This is my front porch. It sits ESE and everything gets full sun from 6 am until around noontime (pegs the light meter). Bright shade after that. We have been in a heat wave here with daytime temps slightly over 100 with 90% humidity. Miserable. I have been misting several times a day, watering every day or every other day (media is bone dry after 8 hours in this heat) and keeping a fan running 24/7. I also have trays full of water on the bottom shelves. So far everything is doing fine, although I did lose a couple of buds on my psychopsis until I figured out that it wanted more water than what I was giving it. It is now in bloom again. The stanhopea was a little shocked at first, but it seems to be doing well now.
I also have a covered back porch that is four times the size of the front. I have all of my shade plants out there and some shelves with a grow light set up where I can acclimate plants to being outdoors before I move them to the front where the sun is so brutal. (I just bought a bulb. medusae that is under the lights right now.)
I want to build a real greenhouse in the back yard this fall. I don't have any room in the house to winter all of my plants.

[Paph]

Looks fabulously!

[Brutal_Dreamer]

this looks great! (And I love bulbo medusae - I got one this year too!)

Cheers,
BD

[walingwaling]

neat!
a bit confused about your brassavola, 2 different colors on 1 plant?

you may opt and slow down the fan in daytime, blows too much hot air around, and give it full speed at night.
just my thoughts...

[kjones1957]

It is a Bl. Mililani Stars "Nalo". Yes, the flowers start off dark purple. As they mature they get lighter and lighter until they are white with faint purple veining. By the time the bloom is spent it is solid white. The flowers last eight weeks or so and have a wonderful sweet, perfume scent that is very strong at night, which it gets from it's b. nodosa background. That is the third flower that has bloomed off that spike. It is definitely one of my favorites.

I keep the fan on low and it ocillates. Just enough circulation to dry off the excess moisture when I mist.

[walingwaling]

thanks karen for info!

[Germinatorman]

I love seeing other people's growing areas and the ingenuity they use to get the plants what they need. I too dream of a greenhouse one day - our collections definitely expand to just beyond our ability to maintain!!!

[kiwiorchids]

Hey nice... Your neighbors must be sooo envious of your sparkling porch! FYI, i love the brassavolva especially the way it starts off purple-Fantastic!