Orchidarium shelf, self made (DIY).

Orchidarium shelf, self made (DIY)
(pictures of 24 October 2012)

Orchidarium shelf  DIY, the beginning
(pictures of 27 March 2012)

As always, space is tight and instead plants ... are never enough! After mounting the mini orchidarium I noticed that in my kitchen there was a lot of unused space, of course it was a bit high, and not really practical, but doable. Top of the refrigerator then there was just a nice space. So I recruited a volunteer. (!) At first I just wanted a simple shelf to better accommodate some poor Phalaenopsis in intensive care, in that corner does not come a lot of light, the window is two and a half meters far, a lamp was requested. I recycled an IKEA lamp built up with an energy saving light bulb 'Philips Tornado 23W 6500K cool daylight' for 12 hours a day with a timer-clock. The plants I settled ​​there were all a bit battered because saved in various garden shops for a few euro, after some time I started to think about how to provide them with a good air humidity ...

Phalaenopsis Violacea, the first flowering!!!

Phalaenopsis violacea  coerulea, orchid species,
adult flower detail
var. coerulea Malaysia x Dark red "Norton"
(picture of 10 September 2012)

Mini orchidarium, a glass case to set up

Phalaenopsis species and primary hybrids, seedlings:
Violacea coerulea , Bellina Ponkan, Equetris Apari,
Mariae, Pulchra, Hieroglyphica x Mariae,
Equestris aurea x Cornu-cervi flava,
Lueddemanniana x Fasciata

When I started growing orchids I didn't have a clear idea of the variety of species in this family of plants, only after reading everything I could find on the net, I started realizing it. The earliest species that I dared approach were phalaenopsis, I found on Ebay very interesting auctions and I attended. I won! I managed to have some young specimens of phal I studied for a while: violacea var. coerulea (Krulls Smith x Dark red Norton), bellina Ponkan, equetris Apari, mariae, pulchra, I also got interesting primary hybrids  : hieroglyphica x mariae, equestris aurea x cornu-cervi flava and lueddemanniana x fasciata.

First plants in my mini orchidarium

Phalaenopsis Violacea,
orchid species,
roots with fungal disease.

Buy on EBAY can be beneficial but it all depends on the seriousness of the seller, even if the percentage of positive feedback is the maximum does not mean that everything will go as you hope ...
I participated in a series of open auctions from a seller who seemed very trusted, I won almost everything that I had fixed and so I paid a single shipment for up to 5 young phalaenopsis species. The ads said "vigorous young plant," there were also photos and plants seemed healthy.

When the courier rang I was not in my skin, I was elated and could not wait to see my new awaited plants to populate the mini orchidarium just set up. It seemed to me on Christmas morning! The first impression I got was that the leaves seemed grown in the dark, were thin and very pale, I was afraid it would break. Then I started looking into the vessels to check the roots. A disaster!

New purchases: Phalaenopsis violacea and ...

Phalaenopsis Violacea,
young orchid species, first flowering, 
potted in sphagnum moss
(picture of 5 August 2012)
var. coerulea Malysia x Dark red "Norton"

Is a long time I want to see a flowering of Phalaenopsis violacea and Phalaenopsis bellina, unfortunately, the various attempts to purchase I've made so far have been disappointing. Last Saturday we had plans to meet a dear friend fond of orchids like me, I jumped on the bandwagon, we took him to meet my favorite orchids seller (Orchids & More). I discovered recently that only 2 miles from my house is located one of the most well-stocked greenhouses of orchids in Germany! A great place. Towards the end of our visit,in the last hall, I saw a group of phalaenopsis with flower stems in growth, they were phal. Violacea ! (var. Malaysia coerulea x dark red Norton).
Unfortunately, all the plants had recently been the victim of a fungal disease, so even if new leaves were beautiful, some roots and old leaves was not the best, but the stem was perfect, and she was calling me ...