Successful & Failed Orchid Projects - Terrarium, Laelias, coco peat & more!

[@MissOrchidGirl]

Hey guys! Before leaving a comment telling me what I should have done with the terrarium, please watch the video in which I made the terrarium, it's linked in the description. I most probably already did what you assume I didn't do lol 😅

[@CheshireNeko-hx3sw]

Maybe more of a drainage later gravel, activated charcoal, sphagnum moss, a little bit of soil and then sphagnum moss again with some bark surrounding the orchid roots area is said to help.

[@ignatiusdeloyolafransiscok4777]

maybe you should try to adding some springtails or isopods to prevent the mold, because they usually used as cleaning crews for reptile terrarium

[@ricardocaliman2830]

@@ignatiusdeloyolafransiscok4777 ummm she had springtails in there.

[@aleksandarhristov6977]

I've had a couple of terrariums, it's just like an aquarium. You need to let it figure itself out and reach a balance. My first one was a disaster, so in the second I added springtails and detritovors to make it bio-active. The mold was prevalent for a couple of weeks but if it was getting out of hand I sprayed it with hydrogen peroxide 3%. The springtails reached a population where I didn't have to do that. Live moss out competes the fungus for nutrients in time and also looks nice. Make sure the terrarium has a false bottom which is filled with LECA to promote air circulation and less rotting. PS I'm sure you have a lot of it :D.

[@kendrayourlove]

I have all of the same advice to give and would love to see you succeed with your terrarium project! I added springtails and isopods to mine with live sphagnum as well as other moss and a variety of Humid loving plants. An all orchid terrarium is next on my agenda, but it’s so expensive starting out with terrarium orchids that I haven’t done it yet.

[@stephaniesands119]

Okay the tiny orchid at 4:30 is THE CUTEST THING EVER

[@Andrea-pd1bg]

I think it is the Schoenorchis Tixieri which was mounted before.

[@lailanashir604]

do you know where she bought it?

[@stephaniesands119]

@@lailanashir604 good question, maybe she mentions where it came from in the first terrarium video

[@Andrea-pd1bg]

@@lailanashir604 nope, buy I m sure Danny can tell us...

[@alexrosen-ambriz8054]

Great terrarium. The stones really give it an earthy flavor. What about adding drift wood? One thing I’ve learned about bark from a bag is that regardless if you keep it outside unopened or not the bark already carries a lot of bacteria or spores. What you can do next time is boil the bark for 30 minutes, strain and lay it out on clean towels. This helps to remove any living organisms.

[@Jimjuit]

I’ve been playing with terrariums large and small for years. This type of fungus dies out after a while. It’s similar to algae in tanks. Once it consumes its food source, it fades. I typically allow a terrarium to season for 3-6 months before adding delicate plants. Another option is to bake the medium in the oven to sterilize it, though fungus spores are everywhere, they can travel via air or rainwater.

[@Meskarune]

All my terrarium attempts have gone moldy. Apparently adding springtails helps and terrarium people have told me molding is somewhat common/normal and you should manually remove the mold with tweezers and paper towels and eventually the tanks reaches equilibrium and the mold stops.

[@momepenni]

Paula from Mexico. Suggestion, I was thinking I would have used different live mosses for the terrarium. Under the moss for a base or substrate, charcoal & bark. If one is not sure of the bark you could bake it in the oven. Or I hear of some putting in microwave oven to kill any pathogens or spores.

[@KP-gw5zv]

I would be leaning towards the mounted set. I am starting to purchase mounted orchids. Thank you for sharing the successes and failed projects. It interesting for me to know that I am not the only one whom tries things with orchids and sometimes they work and other times it has failed. I did notice that your jeweled orchid looks like it liked where you had it in the terrarium. Enjoy your orchids and have a wonderful day.

[@wandashaw3551]

Hi Danny, thanks for the updates! I would be very interested in seeing the mounted Orchids in your terrarium! I've not seen anything like that so far, and it sounds really cool! 😀

[@owentice3261]

Serpadesign here on KZbin is great for terrarium builds! His vivariums are gorgeous, he has a ton of helpful DIY videos!

[@Trace51100]

He needs to put more orchids on them

[@lisacampbell9257]

I was just going to suggest the same thing! Serpa Design is very good for learning more about building terrariums and vivariums and balancing your environment with your growing environment.

[@katherinelandreth2191]

Yeah! I love that guy!

[@johnmartinez4943]

4th on SerpaDesign. Also, I'm not sure how springtails interact with orchids, but they are known to actually eat mold. I'm not an orchid expert, so take this with a grain of salt!

[@nereisa]

Springtails eat mold, they're safe for many plants...

[@heatherw2037]

Loved it as always ❤. Thanks for everything, seriously!!!

[@helenetrstrup4817]

I managed to locate a place where they had spagnum moss yesterday, I am so happy, I have an upcoming project I need it for. Now I just need a vase, which I'll hopefully get my hands on sometime later this week or next week, then I have everything I need for a makeshift greenhouse, so I can attempt growing keikis from the newest addition to my collection once she stops blooming, she's got 5 spikes, so I don't want to stress her by cutting them back and leaving her to deal with all 5 spikes but she is so pretty I can't help wanting more.

[@plantslut]

that is very exciting news about the rupiculous laelias ! i hope they keep thriving for you

[@aurora_dawn123]

Generally mushrooms are a sign of a healthy terrarium, but I suggest adding springtails, and maybe a couple dwarf white isopods.

[@MissOrchidGirl]

I did, the video in which I make the terrarium is linked in the description, check it out! 😉

[@carpediem.9]

Hmmm curious and interesting to know about the rupiculous ones :) I have mine in a rocky mixture with pumice, they did well this summer but now due to winter time light slowed down, but will keep in mind about other mixtures.

[@chemenginecat3940]

Love love love the tolumnia setup!!

[@diagnostics07]

I am testing a new potting mix I suggest you try out. It is a mixed of perlite with small volcanic rock and vermiculite!! I need to say vermiculite absorbs water like moss and it is working great for me as it releases fertilizer slowly from the reservoir. Wanna try it?

[@hillbillyorchids]

Wow I had an outbreak of that yellow ball fungi on my Bleeding heart plant and my Clovers 🍀 so I had to repot them all

[@jamtea388]

You inspired me to create a terrarium with your last video. I have two little jar terrariums with peperomia and a little native licorice fern. They are doing amazing and I wanted to thank you for inspiring me. At some point I want to make a larger orchid terrarium. I love the idea of using the terrarium for mounted orchids or redoing it with different materials. I also have had trouble with mold on my bark chips, although no mushrooms so far.

[@walterl322]

Yeah, I think that it’s safe to blame the mold outbreak on the soil, but I would suggest putting a drainage layer in the bottom, if you plan to make something similar in the future

[@loho1125]

I have never had succes with rup. Laelias in bark media, but they do okay-ish in rock media in clay pots.

[@dannyc9784]

Hey Danni, Great video as always. I love how you show your fails as well as you successes and explain why you think they failed. In regards to the terrarium how bout you put your cold growers in there with a small A/C unit. You would only need a small one for that small space and the high humidity would be perfect for them🤞😊

[@austinching4028]

I had the same mushroom problem and what I did was I threw all my potting media and the plastic pots I leave my plants air dry and sprayed fungicide and I put my decorative pots under hot afternoon sun and rinsed them with boiling water

[@Veryy93]

I used to have the same fungus problems in the summer, the only thing that worked for me was going out and buy some anti fungus treatment to water with... But saved me from redoing everything

[@travelorchidslondon]

I have laelias and also changed rocks to small bark and they are doing great. I found them to be very hardy

[@Roro041987]

What kind of pot did you use? I'm looking to get into laelias

[@travelorchidslondon]

@@Roro041987 Hi. I am using 12cm plastic pots with manualy made additional ventilation holes

[@dlsgl407]

I'm hoping you put some mounts in the terrarium that sounds fun!

[@featherweight6196]

I.have an idea for the terrarium have you heard of the dooa terraplates you could use leca as a false bottom covered with living sphagnum and just have the terraplates in there as mounts they are made of a special clay that absorbs moisture out of the air so it would be really low maintenance other than normal mounts. We all know that

[@juliapaust4840]

I've got a victoria reginae x smth. from the orchidman, and it's in kind of grey seramis. Similar small, but just another stone. Lava? Pumice? Don't know, but hope it'll work for me. Currently trying out lava-pumice-zeolith substrates.

[@Trace51100]

Need more terrarium!! With frogs too!!

[@shinrin777]

what if you put the clay pots with the orchids on the floor without the trays or use clay trays? the temperature of the floor would transfer to the pots... maybe add cold objects to the bark like glass beads...

[@witheredaway6747]

Yay, new video

[@melaniebotting6397]

I always had fungus problems when gardening with coco mulch.

[@VersatileNature]

Beautiful plants👌😊

[@juliapaust4840]

Hi Danny. What do you think about trichoderma veride against fungus in substrate? I've been using Hesi. It can be useful, I believe.

[@avryund]

I was really looking forward to the terrarium 😭 maybe a smaller terrarium to start with?

[@SupernovaBetty]

That’s house fungus, it’s nasty. Most mold/fungus will subside with time in mixtures or terrariums but once you get house fungus you have to throw out the medium. My guess would be the coco peat, I’ve had a lot of trouble with it and mold.

[@guidovanasten9233]

What! Did I just get featured in the video 😅! 7:44 guys

[@rhondallyons9842]

So sorry you had to deal with that. I want you to do another medium. I like the terariam idea

[@festivalrangolis]

nice sharing stay in touch

[@amyweller5367]

You need to do a drainage layer and a false bottom in your terrarium. Also, you have to be patient and let the springtails get ahead of the mold. Watch SerpaDesign on KZbin for great tutorials.

[@MissOrchidGirl]

Hi, watch my video on making this terrarium, it's in the description 😉

[@amyweller5367]

@@MissOrchidGirl I did watch the making of the terrarium. It's how I know you didn't do a false bottom with a drainage layer. ;)

[@MissOrchidGirl]

@@amyweller5367 I remember I also explained why I don't do reservoirs? I might have not so here goes: drainage layers trap water, which accumulates pathogens and lead to breaking down issues, I am not a fan of it 😉 my problem is contaminated medium, as you can see in the footage with the monstera pot.. I had 10 pots infested.. No relation what so ever with drainage layers, which not many people do anyway nowadays since they are just not needed in the best case scenario, or detrimental in worst case scenario. According to hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/faq/one-my-houseplants-has-several-small-yellow-mushrooms-surface-potting-soil-will-mushrooms-harm#:~:text=Answer%3A,potted%20plants%20or%20in%20greenhouses those mushrooms are toxic, not waiting around for the springtails to eat the poisonous mushrooms.. if they eat the stuff.. when they manage to multiply.. if they do.. nope!

[@MissOrchidGirl]

@@amyweller5367 also thinking more about it, if the drainage layer would not be rocks, but something more wicking like seramis or leca, it would still be useless. With watering and time small soil particles will clog the gaps. If that doesn't fully clog them, roots will eventually grow into the drain layer touching the botton of the tank, they won't stop at the border. So.. drain layer or not roots will grow on the bottom, into the water reservoir. So yeah I find them quite unnecessary to horrible. But hey if some people believe they do good that's great! 👍 Not my thing though and I would feel highly uncomfortable advising my audience to do something I believe will do harm in time, I can only be responsable for what I say on this channel, what other say is not my responsability, it's theirs. So yeah hope you understand the point of view, just do whatever you think best in the end, but it doesn't mean it's the best thing to do universally and I certainly will never advise drainage layers 😉

[@ehehehehe2815]

Hi Danny, in the terrarium you should’ve added CUC, like spring tails and isopods, they eat the mold and mushrooms. I know you can buy springtails from scarlet macaw pet shop in Larnaca, they ship to Nicosia :) ALSO you should’ve added a drainage layer, with lecca, the carbon is used to purify the water and air :) look up how to set a bioactive vivarium ! i suggest you try it out this way :) also you should use good quality carbon, try buying some for reef aquariums :)

[@MissOrchidGirl]

I did, you have the video on making the terrarium in the description 😊

[@morpheustsuno2985]

Something that might help cold growing orchids survive heat waves/hot summers is the pot-in-pot refrigerator method. I haven't tried it yet on orchids (although that's a project for this summer) but it kept my wasabi alive through temperatures way beyond its comfort zone. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pot-in-pot_refrigerator

[@HongHong-hx5gn]

There is a channel called SerpaDesigns which can help you with that terrarium issue you have. Also, cleanup invertebrates like isopods and springtails are great at helping you clean up the setup you have literally.

[@colemikel8976]

Springtails are ur best friend u usually set back culture and build new ones even when im nit building a tank just so i can use them for my plant grow out comtainers. Its helped so much. But u shoulda did a good drainage layer to much moisture in the bottom layers can create mold u didnt have a good seperation between ur soil tht couldve caused the fungus.

[@MissOrchidGirl]

Bottom layers trap water and pathogens, I don't like them 😉

[@Justusorjustone]

Thanks,now I will change my oncidium to coco mix....😇

[@crestedargo4663]

Hi Dani!! After this video I give up on the idea of growing orchids that need cool environments; they would die for sure where I live... My second Nelly Isler (the first one died after a few months, what a surprise 😭 ) has been growing new pseudobulbs, which are small and their leaves are short and wrinkly; will it die..? Who knows, I think it's likely, it's behaving like yours... Don't know if I will buy another one, other Oncidium hybrids are so much stronger and happy during the hot summer. One last question: I have not seen your african violets in a long time and, if I am not wrong, in a video you said that something happended to them; you had dozens of them and they were very healthy, are they really all gone?!?

[@MissOrchidGirl]

Hi, I couldn't control the thrips on them, orchids took the treatments a lor better than the violets 😔

[@crestedargo4663]

@@MissOrchidGirl Oh, that's so sad 😔 😔 Every region has its own pest problems. I have hardly ever seen a thrip on my plant, but spider mites here are incredibly tough: I have to spray the roses on my balcony with you DIY solution every 3 weeks from May until September to keep the mites under control, but they keep coming from outside, there is nothing definitive that I can do (with chemical and toxic insecticides is not very different, so your DIY solution is fantastic). When two of my Beallaras got infested I had to spray them once a month for three months to eliminate all the spider mites; second and third time I made a 0.8% solution, because I was scared to ruin the orchids. Luckily they are pretty ok now, even though they skipped blooming on the new growths this year; I guess that was to be expected, since I stressed them a lot.

[@avryund]

Did I miss the update on the mini orchids you put in the decorative ceramics

[@bcatita]

Do you have Sobralia orchids? You should do a video about them.

[@jukkaisokoski3625]

Dont you have a ventilation there?

[@sorrelt7974]

How did you get the tolumnia flowers to “shingle”?

[@lisacampbell9257]

I wanted to reiterate on what another person said; you should check out Serpa Design on KZbin. He has great videos on how to build and balance amazing terrariums and vivariums. Although he always recommends using beneficial bugs to help keep things healthy, I have found that they aren't absolutely necessary. I mentioned that because I don't know how you feel about bugs, but I didn't want them in my own... But yeah. 😅

[@MissOrchidGirl]

Hi Lisa, I know Serpa, I mentioned him in my videos and I used springtails in my setup. You should watch the initial vidro, it's in the description 😉

[@mr.spirofucci1493]

Great suggestions but you identified the problem and you know how to fix it. 😉 I hope you try again!!! Btw I'm subscribed to almost 200 planty tubers and you and your channel are number one!!! 😎

[@ricardocaliman2830]

question: why do you grow all of your orchids in pots? You mention that very few grow terrestrial, and I understand you have the preference (which works amazing, by the way), but is there any other reason?

[@MissOrchidGirl]

Hi, yes, it's very convenient ☺️

[@vivimannequin]

She explains in other videos that keeping potted epiphytic orchids rather than mounted makes it easier because mounted orchids need to be watered more often

[@dawud7791]

Hi Dani, I have a C.MOTTE SPOT X ERT. KEVIN MARK RAGBIR ‘PINKIE’ I don’t know what it is, it’s huge! I’ve had it for 4 years or so and it was already two when I purchased it. I wish I could send you a pic and maybe you could tell me how to manage possibly dividing it? I need help!!!! Lol it’s out of control!! I grow bonsai, but this is out of my wheelhouse. Thanks in advance.

[@simonzinc-trumpetharris852]

The carbon is mainly used to keep unpleasant smells at bay.

[@vivimannequin]

Most fungus that grow mushrooms aren't that bad for plants. The mycelium underneath just feeds on the substrate giving it nutrients the plants can benefit from

[@galacticbutterfly5590]

I'm happy joey got his 15 seconds of fame

[@aroslinka3293]

It's a great idea to show, that you are only a human, who can make some mistakes from time to time instead of being some orchid god:D I think that the problem with your terrarium could also be in the air movement, because (if I see correctly) there is only a hole on the top of the terrarium and it would creat good environment for the mushrooms D: So next time you may try to put a fan for your orchids and I hope this (and also fresh new media without any surprises xD) could work for you!

[@MermaidGunner]

Would springtails eat this spore??? I have it in a couple plants and am building a vivarium. Now I don’t want to spread what I do have…. Argh

[@haegeurin]

Good

[@sdqsdq6274]

wait a min , isnt that fungus in soil a good stuff ?

[@MissOrchidGirl]

Not all fungus is good, some is poisonous 😊

[@debjanibhowmick5870]

Pour some hydrogen peroxide in the medium. I always do that using a new medium

[@avryund]

"I'm gonna insert another coin" Quote stolen hahaha gonna be my new sayinglol

[@JunFeril]

Might need isopods and springtails in your enclosure to deal with mold

[@QueenLuzun]

Aren't mushrooms actually beneficial to orchids?

[@MissOrchidGirl]

Hi, depends on the 'mushroom', some fungi are parasitic, or toxic 😉

[@leilal544]

Hello Dannie, I’ve been following your orchid channel for yeeeaaars😉. I’ve started following your houseplants channel from its first day and enjoyed it a lot. But now I’ve been waiting and waiting for new videos, updates... for quite a while. Please make more videos. Please give this channel as much attention as you give to your orchid channel, pretty please ☺️☺️🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 lots of love from London 🇬🇧🥰😘🥰

[@MissOrchidGirl]

More vids soon on the second channel 😉

[@leilal544]

@@MissOrchidGirl thanks Dannie 🥰

[@QueenLuzun]

U probably just made the only "outside the lab" conditions for orchids seeds to grow in.

[@oishd6077]

Wait.... You did not mention the 2spikes on the miltoniopsis in the clay pot?! It looks great. I am sad that your terrarium didn't work out , i was planning to do something similar with my tamk after seeing you because fishkeeping is just not working out for me😭 And my aphyllum did the same thing that your Victoria reginae did. ☹️ And idk if you already have it, but the Masdevallia tonduzii is actually a lowland warm-hot grower to the point some say it hates cold. I think you can try it .. it's got some darling little yellow-white flowers.

[@Roro041987]

Another thing with masdevallias is that even though they're warm/hot growing they're also require high humidity.

[@jesselyngonzalez537]

Eww I don’t know why I’m so disgusted by mushrooms… I freak out every time I see one in one of my plants

[@tinajohnsonkcmo]

Some people actually bake their soil to sterilize it, and kill all the mold, fungus, and pests.

[@MissOrchidGirl]

Hi, that accelerates the breakdown process quite a bit and shortens the life of the medium. I try to not bake, or boil my media 😊