Covered Porch

In the spring of 2003 I built a roofed porch in the back of the house to summer most of my orchids.  Two sides of the porch are protected by the L-shape of the house, and thus the porch is open to the East and the North, which is ideal because the afternoon sun can be very intense and hot in summer.  Here is a view from the East side of the growing area, and a view toward the North from the dinning room. I've since replaced the green shade cloth with 60% black shade cloth.

The roof is covered with clear corrugated polycarbonate sheets (which probably isn't needed because it never rains during the summer months here).  I used to have green shade cloth stapled onto the underside of the rafters to protect the plants from the hot sun. Now, I use black shade cloth over the roof. (I need to update the photos sometime.)

I, also, used to grow masdevallias, with great success, against the north wall of the house all year, where they are kept away from hot sun.  I gave them all away in early 2004 because watering them became a chore.

Front of the House

I keep cymbidiums and many of the laelias on the benches and on the trellis on the south side (front) of the house all year.  They are protected from the rain and frost by a deep overhang and the warmth radiated from the house.

During the winter months, I move cold-tolerant orchids such as Mexican laelias, bifoliate cattleyas, sarcochilus, and Australian dendrobiums from the covered porch in the back of the house to this area for more sun and warmth.

Wardian Case

I used to keep moisture loving orchids - mostly angraecoids and minicatts- in a Wardian case. Orchidarium was the commercial name of my Wardian case which is made of plexiglass with a light fixture on top.  It was lit by 3 biaxial fluorescent tubes.  By using a fogger I was able to maintain high relative humidity in the case, but there was no reliable way to control the temperature - especially on hot days in the summer.  I had this case sitting in front of a large north-facing window in the living room.

I use the past tense in the above paragraph because I have since dismantled the case and given away most of the "fussy" growers.  However, I do miss those beautiful angraicoids.

Greenhouse Windows

When I purchased this house about 15 years ago, I had two greenhouse windows installed. One is over the kitchen sink, and the other in the third bedroom which I use as a study/orchid room.. I use the one over the kitchen window primarily as a display area for the blooming plants, which makes cooking and washing dishes more enjoyable. I use the one in the study ( 4 feet high by 6 feet wide) to house  intermediate/warm growers for the winter months.

A couple of years ago I had a 3' x 3' skylight installed in the study and tried to grow vandas there, but I couldn't provide sufficient humidity. I gave up on vandas and ascocendas completely, and I now have some high-light demanding orchids under the skylight. (But they all go outside as soon as spring arrives.)  I no longer grow vandas, as it seems to be too dry and, also, too cool at night.