I dig around HD and have used several of their offerings. There is a green plastic mesh with 3" to 4" holes which comes in 4' with of varying length. I hang that and the weight of the pots keeps it straight. Good old chicken wire mesh also works. A 8' x 4' wooden 'privacy' lattice works well against a wall which blocks light anyway. I would not use it in the open as it blocks too much sunlight.

Nick

If you are looking for the actual hangers check this out.

http://cgi.ebay.com/5-2-Single-Wire-MICRO-Hanger-for-Clay-Pots-Orchid_W0QQitemZ350234325221QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item518b97b0e5

Have fun, Nick

Sorry, Nick, the website did not get me anywhere.

I need DH to install a grid in my plastic-covered-quansethut-type Greenhouse. I would think it should be the rigid kind, rather then mesh, which might be difficult to secure on the aluminum frame above. Am thinking about chicken wire or fencing wire type. My GH is 14x22 ft. and hanging plants along one side would give me space sorely needed. I first noticed the hanging pots in a photo Arthurm posted here.

Helga.

Helga my husband makes mine out of PVC pipe and fence wire.

Brooke

Helga, i use 2 inch square galvanised wire mesh on the walls. You also have to fashion a hanging device for each pot out of galvanised wire. Certainly expands your growing space though some growers advise against the practice because water drips down through layers of orchids and spreads diseases.

Another good idea, Brooke.

Arhurm, it's the 'you have to fashion a hanging device for each pot' I am puzzling over. Unless this is somewhat easy to do, I'd rather buy them.

The water dripping from the above pot to the lower one, is definitely worrisome. I have seen your set-up and like it. Perhaps one could stagger the pots? Do you water them with a hose or by hand?

I do not have a 'wall' to tie the grid to. It would be a free-standing one, tied only on top to the 20ft.long aluminum rods that make up the GH frame.

My suspended 10-yr.old box-type fan, which ran 24/7 has finally given out. The GH came with an exhaust fan for the summer, but during the winter I ran one, sometimes 2 of these box-type fans at all times. Not sure what the direct air flow does to the orchids. I think an overhead fan would be better, don't you?

I am also wondering if an under the bench misting system or an overhead fogging system would bring best summer temperatures down? I used overhead misters last year, but the orchids got too wet.

When I started orchid growing, I had no idea how much thought and time it involved - but oh' the rewards!

Inge.

There are lots of models of those hooks fashioned out of wire. You need some galvanised wire of appropriate thickness. Not too thin but not too thick either.

You cut off a length with a pair of pliers.

You bend one end into a U

You take the pliers put them across the U and make another U.

Put the bit of wire into a pot, and the bent over U will hang over the side.

Make sure that the unworked end of the wire comes out through a hole at the bottom of the pot so that you can bend it so that the bit of wire remains firmly in place.

I wrote an essay on one of the other glasshouse threads. re. glasshouse operating conditions. It all depends on what you are trying to grow and where you are. I have NIL misters and the box fan is under the benches where water cannot drip on it.

I water with a hose and if a 40C+ day is forecast i water the glasshouse floor thoroughly. If you have appropriate shading and you are growing the right sort of orchids for those conditions, there will be no problems. NB as i said in the other thread i do vary the shading by cleaning glass or in the shadehouse by adding shadecloth. This is not mentioned much but maybe it is not important in some climates.
On the other hand, if i was growing Phals, i'd have a different setup.

There are pots over pots, in the glasshouses and in the shadehouse. As i said above, not recommended by some growers.

My DH makes hangers for me out of suspended ceiling wire. I buy it at the orange big box store on a roll.

Thank you lots for the instructions, Arthurm. Problem solved!
Appreciate your post as well, msmarion. Thank you.

Now on to fighting the foggy, wet days until spring!

Helga.

Hi all,

I've got my own el-cheapo method for hanging small plastic pots, if one doesn't mind them hanging at a bit of an angle. I have these suspended in my small bathroom window, from a tension mount curtain rod.

I secure a plastic zip-tie/cable-tie round the pot, just under the lip, snugging it up snugly, and cut off the end when I have it tightly secure.

For my hooks, I cut apart the white-coated clothes hangers to lengths about 7-8 inches long or so. Then, I hold one end and wrap it round the top bar of my metal step-stool; turn it round and over, and wrap the other end round the top metal bar. This gives me perfect s-hooks for my set-up, threaded through my cable-tie wraps. I adjust the s-hooks to get the angle I want. A nice bonus to having the pots at a slight angle is how nicely the water runs through the potting medium. No damp feet. I have more than one curtain rod in this window; my pots are staggared, so that the water does not run from one pot into another, as others have mentioned. The window is an east window, and it's perfect for my smaller orchids. This set-up would work well for a beginner, who prefers to put their $$ into the actual plants rather than supplies that can be improvised. My whole window is filled, and I have no curtain to be spoiled at an in-shower window. The window is high enough that there isn't any way to look into the shower. The neighboring house is also a single-story house, so my orchids are my curtain. Easy-peasy.

Whatever set-up you choose, enjoy!

girlsaylor

I've handed your directions on to my DH. Thank you girlsaylor.