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New to Forum, Not to Orchids

12 years ago

Hi all,

I'm Colin. I have been growing orchids for years, but have recently gone a little mad! I have started to dabble with breeding and flasking in a small 'mad scientist' home laboratory and am keeping a blog about it.

I am the president of the small 'Coastal Valley Orchid Society' and am also active with the 'Orchid Society of Santa Barbara'. I studied Zoology at UCSB, but am a nut for all things Biology, both plant and animal.

I grow mostly Cattleya Alliance stuff, and have recently taken a special interest in the (somewhat taxonomically confused) Schomburgkia/Laelia/Myrmecophila group.

Anyway, I look forward to reading and posting more here . . .

Here is a link that might be useful: Mad Orchidist Blog

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Comments (5)

kayjones
12 years ago
Welcome!
User
12 years ago
Ditto Kay--welcome, Mad!

You will find every stripe of orchid enthusiast here.
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Yea the UK forum is pretty slow but aren't they all at one time or another. I think they're up to about 250 members now including some from Oz. Like Komi said, some great Ang info to be had there. There are also some pretty amazing photographs to be seen on that forum. Speaking of people here being 'nice', you should check out the thread on orchids in the house plant forum. They mention how intimidating the orchid forum is and how apparently many have had less than ideal experiences. I was thinking it was a lot better than it used to be...haha MB
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That monster is WAY too huge for my growing space. Paphs and phrags tend to die if I so much as look at them. Catts, on the other hand tend to do quite well for me. Orchids (with a heavy leaning towards minis) make up the vast majority of my plants -- of plants that have nice or interesting flowers, I find orchids much easier than most -- and that includes AVs. (AVs tend to die on me unless I grow them in terraria ... then they grow like weeds.) I have a few chids I'll try to post here later for those who might be interested.
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ashes_of_the_fire
12 years ago
read your blog, thought it was cool. your set up makes me think that I could succeed! just one thing that you may want to try for an additional innoculation against infection in your flasks is a good dose of cinnamon. It should stop/slow bacterial/mould growth. worth a shot in a test flask. it may make the difference.
ginnibug
12 years ago
welcome!
jodik_gw
12 years ago
Interesting blog, Colin, and some real beauties in the flower department! Thanks for sharing!

Good job on the Harbor Freight greenhouse... we have one, also... mainly used spring, summer, and autumn, but I don't have it heated... and since it can get mighty cold in the Midwest, it sits empty during winter months. I wish I could have had it built on a concrete knee wall, but since I didn't get to choose that part, it sits on pressure treated lumber, and has a pea-gravel floor, slightly pitched underneath for drainage.

The clips that come with the kit aren't enough to hold in the panels, so we screwed them in, after using a weather resistant caulk/sealant. Worked out fairly good, overall... especially considering that we live in "wind alley"! The winds here can get so strong, but knock on wood, I haven't lost a panel yet! I can see you enjoy yours as much as I enjoy this one... even though I can't use it year round.

I do need to add a second fan this coming summer... the one just isn't enough. I know yours is filled with mainly orchids... while mine contains a myriad assortment of plant material... my actual business being roses and other perennials. I have managed to keep a few orchids alive and thriving indoors, but it's too dry... mostly Dendrobiums and a Cym backbulb I'm sprouting.

I'm enjoying watching your flasking and propagation... so I hope you continue to write in the blog.

Breeding flowers is a hobby for myself, as well... though Amaryllids are my passion, and a lot easier for the novice, like myself. I also dabble in breeding Daylilies, another easy one.

Welcome to GW, by the way... I don't get to the Orchid Forum that often... but I did enjoy perusing your blog!

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