How I Water and Feed the Mini Orchids in My Orchidarium

[@dierkschurack-ye9kr]

Ein sehr interessantes Video. Gefällt mir sehr. Ich liebe auch sehr diese aufgebundenen Pflanzen. Grüße aus Deutschland. Dierk

[@robertforrest7956]

Mine are heavily misted every other day with distilled water and weekly fed with 1/4 strength feed depending on season and bloom times. Humidity is kept around 80%. Your vid is very interesting and your routine is excellent, the plants are proof of that. 🙂

[@CloudforestVibesOrchidsMore]

Thank you so much!! You’re routine isn’t too dissimilar.... I’m sure your plants are happy and healthy in that as well! I more or less built this tank around Lepanthes orchids but it has proven to be such a good environment for a vast number of different orchids. The watering routine I had evolved into what it is now after growing them far too moist at first. That extra 10% humidity goes a LONG way in keeping Pleurothallis types happy but keeps it interesting when trying to maintain a moist/dry cycle. I would be up a creek without all those fans! Do you grow yours in a greenhouse or a terrarium?

[@robertforrest7956]

@@CloudforestVibesOrchidsMore my unit is 4 ft wide, 3 ft tall, and 2ft in depth, it's the grand Cayman from orchidarium yrs ago. Many yrs ago I worked in several greenhouses one owned by the Peterson's, you may have heard of them... They have both since passed, but they are the family that trained me on all types of orchids while in high school. I to was keeping my plants a bit to damp, but now with an extra fan they are having a better cycle of wet/dry and have responded greatly. I now use a 1000 watt LED light instead of the florescent lights that came with my unit. Light is dimable down to 20%, so this helps with seasonal lighting. Many of my plants are species which were from my cousin John Klinger before he passed a couple yrs ago. I've been looking for Tolumnias and some of the new very small Cats., But not much luck, or prices are way to high. I've very much enjoy your content since it is so close to what my interests are in plants. 😊

[@CloudforestVibesOrchidsMore]

@@robertforrest7956 thank you so much, I am very happy you are enjoying my content so far! I never thought I would start my channel but there really is a huge void in these types of plants and terrarium style enclosures. I’m far from an experienced grower but figured honest information about anything should be able to help others and hopefully be able to inspire others to try out some orchids that they may not otherwise. Sounds like you have had a pretty amazing orchid journey yourself! I’d love to sit down and pick your brain one day about your training from the Peterson’s! What a special gift that is! Anywho, thank you so much for being a part of my channel! I hope you continue to stick around and enjoy my videos and content! Happy growing!

[@EliezaBaby]

Stunning 😍 I love miniature orchids. Killed 3 and that's where I stop . 😅 Great job and inspiring 👏

[@oscarrox]

Really useful demonstration of how to feed and water mounted orchids. I'm hoping to mount some of my smaller orchids, thanks for the advice :)

[@alexferrari8413]

Thank for this. Im planning an enclosure for my collection and your channel is some great insight

[@Joe-nj3bb]

Got my first mounted orchids two weeks ago from J&L in Connecticut. Gastrochilus japonicus (East Asia) - Fragrant Bulbophyllum barbigerum (Western/Central Africa) Foul Fragrance - I thought this one would not need as much watering and I liked the foliage.

[@World_of_Cacti]

Thank you for making this video, I really needed some info on this subject! :)

[@CloudforestVibesOrchidsMore]

It’s been a long time coming! Hard to advise people on such a broad topic but I hope it helped! Thank you so much for watching! 😊

[@Meskarune]

Thank you so much for this video. It was really helpful.

[@carmengomez-munoz4723]

First time I see your channel, very impressive ! Orchids are very pretty and healthy looking. What approach do you have or recommend when your orchids are infected with thrips or any other diseases. I am currently struggling with thrips. HELP!!

[@michaelmccarthy4077]

I'm glad I'm not one of those people that gets upset by the word "moist", this video would have been extremely triggering.

[@CloudforestVibesOrchidsMore]

LMFAO!!!! 😂 I have an ex who might be hunting me down after this one. You ever see the guy on jackass who hated mustard get fed mustard? Kinda like that.... 😂 Thanks for the laugh and thanks for watching!

[@zoeyalexiou3800]

Definitely subscribing😍😍☮️🪴

[@CallmeRood]

Damn. I'm definitely going to kill the Masdevallia I ordered... But I'll do better in the future. Beautiful plants!

[@JessicaQWoo]

Thanks for sharing this video! How do you control algae? My mounts are catching a lot of algae on their mosses and some have gotten their leaves infected

[@CloudforestVibesOrchidsMore]

So.... it’s tough for sure but it really depends a lot on lighting. It grows a lot less quickly under the artificial light but it is inevitable ultimately. It is the main reason I change the moss on my mounts every year in the tank. The Lepanthes especially really seem to love a good freshen up and take off like a rocket after. I have not used any chemical treatments except for physan a few times and it doesn’t seem to do much except kill mildew/mold and live moss... I’m sure there are products that do better but I hate using any chemicals on these little plants in the tank. Scared of them rejecting them and losing them. My best suggestion would be try changing out the moss and treat them with peroxide once you get the old moss off the mounts. The algae WILL come back but it will buy you time and give me fresh media for the plants to recover in. Best of luck, I hope this helps! Thank you so much for watching!

[@vamosaltemacongabrielmende3965]

Quite interesting

[@apc7716]

Calodyction can tolerate the same temperature than telipogoniflora ? I don't now if they are the same needs to mix them on the same tanks ?

[@CloudforestVibesOrchidsMore]

In the wild they may grow in somewhat different conditions but I assure you they grow very well together in intermediate to warm temps. Telipogoniflora will tolerate more heat than calodictyon but they both settle down well in temps from the low 60’s at night all the way up to around 80 daytime. I’ve had them both for almost 3 years now and they have always grown side by side. I hope this helps! Thanks for watching!

[@randbasic]

Thanks for the great video and info. Would it be possible to see you mixing up your ferts/supplements/additives? The parts/per/million thing kinda throws me. Do you use a device to measure the amounts? Can you recommend a msu fert brand that you like/use. Thanks again, be safe and keep the videos coming :)

[@CloudforestVibesOrchidsMore]

Great questions! I have been working on a video where I show how I filter water and how I mix my nutrients. I’ll have to get that out soon! I only have a TDS meter and a PH meter I got off Amazon. I mix things up by the gallon because it’s easier for me to use and most things are measured by the gallon when mixing. I use the repotme dot com brand MSU fertilizer and have had great success so far. Almost time to buy again, actually! I hope this helps and will be sure to get another video out about this topic soon! Seems to be a really popular topic of interest! Thanks for watching as always! Happy growing! 😊

[@randbasic]

@@CloudforestVibesOrchidsMore Thank you! Cant wait to see the video. I just picked up the RePotMe MSU, KelpMax, and Technaflora MagiCal. I’ve got the PH & TDS meters coming as well. Thanks again stay safe, and keep on keeping on. :)

[@creativestudio4873]

I got a question. On another video you replied to someone that your humidity level is around 80% - 86%. Obviously it varies a bit from winter to summer but, with that humidity level and the fans going. How dry do the the barks/mosses get with that high humidity? General rule of thumb for people raising orchids in plain ole pots is water when dry or let the roots dry out before watering. With your humidity levels there still must be dampness to a degree. Just wondering how that goes in your setup. Thanks. Great videos!

[@CloudforestVibesOrchidsMore]

So…. The tank stays between about 89-91% humidity and the only things that dry out completely are the plants on bare bark. It takes them about half a day to dry fully. The tent stays between 80-86% and due to the greater volume of air (especially fresh air from the house) and all the fans, things dry much quicker depending on media. Bare rooted plants dry after several hours, sparse moss after a day and mossier mounts after about 3-4 (temp dependent). The live moss mounts take about 2-3 days and the treefern is between 1-4 days, depending on size of mount and proximity to the window. The thing I have most issues with is zombie moss in pots. It never dries…. Nor does pure small bark. Thanks so much for watching and for the question!! I hope this answers it, I know I over complicated it a bit but there’s more to it than a short answer does justice! Happy growing!

[@creativestudio4873]

@@CloudforestVibesOrchidsMore I'm going to try and do the same type of set up. Right now I have only a few orchids and I have them in a storage container. I have a cool mist humidifier that I connected a hose to and goes into the container towards the bottom. And I have a small computer fan running and layed a clear plastic bag over the top. Its not sealed. Only towards the back it open. Also have a temp humidty guage too. I can't really say much if it trurly acts as ventilation. But, originally I only had my humidty kept at around 60%. After seeing your video, I cranked the humidty up to 80%. A few weeks before I did this set up I bought a in spike orchid. For the few weeks. It just stayed green and didnt see and bud growth. Then put, in my simple set up. There was slight growth. Now with this set up at 80% humidty the buds are growing everyday. Seems like a happy plant now!!!. Huge difference! !! Only thing now. I have a orchid that I bought and it ended up with a poor root system. Any tips on trying to regrow the roots? Should I move it and isolate it and do the typical things for regrowth or can I do something in my set up and take advantage of that nice high humidity?

[@CloudforestVibesOrchidsMore]

@@creativestudio4873 so happy to hear of the success with the higher humidity! That’s awesome!! What type or orchid are you trying to recover? Almost all orchids will appreciate good high humidity while trying to produce roots but there’s a fine line sometimes between moist and too moist for some orchids. I can tell you I swear by first rays kelp max and calimagic CalMag at 40-60PPM once or twice a week during recovery. It REALLY makes a huge difference!

[@apc7716]

Just a question why add calmag isn't more efficient to water with normal town water wich have calcium and another day with rain water ?

[@CloudforestVibesOrchidsMore]

So, for me at least, my tap water would poison these plants. The TDS of my tap water is around 200ppm and it smells like water in a swimming pool. As for rain water, I have no way of collecting it where I live, so it’s just out of the question. I use my own tap water ran through a series of ZERO brand filters and get the TDS down to 0ppm before adding back in the exact balance of nutrients I want to give whatever plants I’m feeding. May seem a bit over the top but it’s the only way to know for sure what my plants are getting. The other reason I use calmag is that the plants really seem to love it and it does wonders in providing strength to growing plants. Anyhow, thank you so much for watching! Happy growing!

[@prestonnorris9822]

Have you seen the rain collection barrels that attach to storm drains? Just wondering if that could be helpful in any way. Love your channel and plants! ☀️🌿👏🏼

[@CloudforestVibesOrchidsMore]

@@prestonnorris9822 thanks Preston! I have seen them but my unfortunately have no way to collect at the apartment complex I live in. Hoping to move to a new place in the spring and be able to open up more options for collecting water and expanding my grow areas!

[@Whatsuporchids]

Hi Bobby, very nice video! I tried making a video about fertilising orchids and I gave up... Maybe Take 2 will work better 😂 How long does it take you to water all the mounts? Seemed like a big job 😊

[@CloudforestVibesOrchidsMore]

Fertilizing is such a tough topic to speak about... we all have our own little ways and thoughts behind what we do and finding a way to express it all is quite the daunting task sometimes! I look forward to seeing your video one day when you do make it! The tank is pretty easy, maybe 10 min with the sprayer and the tent is about 30 min with the sprayer. Flushing is what takes forever. Usually about 20-30 min for the tank and about 2 hours in the tent! It’s all worth it in the end though! Thanks for watching and happy growing!

[@Whatsuporchids]

@@CloudforestVibesOrchidsMore I know what you mean! Takes me forever to flush all the plants 😅

[@andylevra2452]

Do you ever water them in the tank?

[@magizhmaranfpv9583]

Why didn't water the leaves ?

[@andresgil1449]

It be cool if you labeled on the video the orchids you are working with I can’t spell their names

[@clintparsons3989]

I have tried everything to get this right except giving up and ignoring them, which is what I'm trying now. They can fend for themselves with whatever water they get from the mistking I water my nepenthes with. If they die, they die and if they live they live. It's in God's hands now Haha

[@CloudforestVibesOrchidsMore]

I hate to hear that! They can be tough to recover when things start going wrong. I hope they turn around! Sometimes ignoring them a little ends up being the answer. Best of luck! Thanks for watching!

[@JonesJones-np2kq]

Lepanthes telepogoniflora LET ME KNOW IF ITS FOR SALE 😊