Biting the bullet

[Gcroz]

SO, not sure if any of you remember me, but I had a small commercial greenhouse here in New Hampshire. Long story short, we were away when a freak early deep freeze, coupled with unknown heater problems, occurred while were were away for a wedding. We lost all the plants in the freeze. We are also, now, finalizing our divorce. So, I took a hiatus from orchids. Now I'd like to start collecting again.

I'd like some advice for growing Paphs and Phrags under lights. I was a commercial orchid grower, but I have never grown under lights. I will have a nice basement to work with at the new house I'm moving into on August 1. As of now, I have a division, of a division I sold, of Phrag. Cardinale 'Birchwood' AM/AOS in a windowsill.

Look forward to chatting again and getting re-acquainted with folks here.

 

[AdamD]

Welcome back, sorry to hear about your losses. As one who has come back from a hiatus, it is an opportunity to zero in on the species and hybrids you want. I'm also a basement grower. My advice is build a room in a space with water hook up and a drain. A window is preferable too for air transfer. Build/ buy shelving racks to optimize space and light. Make sure your fuses can handle the load of lights/ fans/ humidifiers. There are plenty of threads to check out on basement growing if you search threads. Looking forward to seeing the growth!

 

[troy]

I know divorces are very heavy in a bad way usually, I use growing orchids to unify my spiritual self in a positive way, I hope your orchid reassociatian is a great experience for you, just don't forget they take alot of time.....regulating temp, watering n such...

 

[Tom Reddick]

Welcome back to orchids. I too recently returned after a several-year hiatus.

If it is of any help, check out my Coryopedilum Chronicles series over in the Breeding and Production section. About a month ago I set up an indoor growing area (and in a windowless room- so similar to a basement on that score), and hope it can be of some use to you.

 

[SlipperFan]

Welcome back, Gcroz! I hope orchids can bring you peace of mind after so much turmoil.

I grew orchids under lights for many years before I got a greenhouse. Two big differences come to mind: 1) you have to watch for flower spikes - they like to get tangled up in the lights, and they like to hide behind other plants, and 2) you have to be more careful in watering, which took me much longer under lights than in the greenhouse. Otherwise, similar things apply: Some plants need more light than others, you have to look for micro-climates and grow according to your temperature/light conditions, and always humidity.

I suppose there are other considerations, but those are what immediately come to mind.

 

[NYEric]

Welcome back.

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

Has it been that long... I must be getting old. Welcome back, and sorry to hear of your troubles.

 

[Gcroz]

Thanks everyone. Good to see some of the regulars are still here and to meet new folks!

I feel a little overwhelmed, perhaps because greenhouse growing, to me, is so much easier. But, learning growing under lights is also exciting, so I'm enjoying the learning curve. I'm having big trouble resisting buying lots of plants, or getting division of division of my best plants that other people got from me.

Patience is not exactly my strong suit... lol

 

[cnycharles]

welcome back!

 

[NYEric]

Lights should go well with cool temps.

 

[Gcroz]

Lights should go well with cool temps.

Well, moving in on August 1st, so how cool it is remains to be seen. No windows and there is a furnace down there...

 

[Tom Reddick]

Thanks everyone. Good to see some of the regulars are still here and to meet new folks!

I feel a little overwhelmed, perhaps because greenhouse growing, to me, is so much easier. But, learning growing under lights is also exciting, so I'm enjoying the learning curve. I'm having big trouble resisting buying lots of plants, or getting division of division of my best plants that other people got from me.

Patience is not exactly my strong suit... lol

I have done both extensively in my life. They are very different, but indoor growing has many advantages. The two greatest I have found are that you have far more control over growing conditions (and a dramatically lower risk of catastrophic loss due to something like a heater going out on a winter night) and pest control is far easier as well. Growing indoors it is easy to cultivate pristine plants.

As for the temptation to buy lots of plants, I think that is an eternal and incurable infection for us all

 

[Ozpaph]

Welcome back. We look forward to seeing photos.

 

[My Green Pets]

Congratulations on the divorce. Marriage is such an unnatural state imposed on us by all those hocus pocus religions.

Sent from my SM-J327V using Tapatalk

 

[cnycharles]

Congratulations on the divorce. Marriage is such an unnatural state imposed on us by all those hocus pocus religions.

:rollhappy:

 

[Kalyke]

Ackers flasks is a good place to get phrag flasks. Chuck Acker is a true professional, and I am sure you can ask for information.

 

[Ozpaph]

Congratulations on the divorce. Marriage is such an unnatural state imposed on us by all those hocus pocus religions.

Sent from my SM-J327V using Tapatalk

I love being married!

 

[abax]

Welcome home!

 

[John M]

A little late to this conversation; but, welcome back! So sorry to learn of your freezing disaster. I went though that too, back in 2008. It left me feeling numb for months! Bummer about the divorce too....but, if you're not happy, it's probably for the best. I wish you good luck in the future with your plants and relationships.

Growing under lights is actually better IMO to growing in a greenhouse. I originally built a greenhouse because I had so many plants; but, you give up a lot of control. In the basement, I was in total control of the temperature and the light intensity and day length and therefore, the watering and feeding regimen too. In a greenhouse, I always must check the weather report to help me decide what sort of care I'll give my plants that day. Plus, in my area of the world, I have 4 months a year where the plants do not grow....in fact, they go downhill slowly. Just as I begin to get concerned, the light begins to increase again and the plants reverse their slow death march. Under lights, your plants, will grow twice as fast. Just be sure to build your grow area with good materials and equipment and design it in the most convenient configuration and you will do great! Best of luck!

 

[AdamD]

I love being married!

Good, I'm not the only one!