Remember last year Christmas Project - orchid shade house.
It was how it look like a year ago. And here is more about my orchid growing background info; I have been trying to grow orchid for a decade with more failures than I can count. They would grow for a while but eventually get diseases or bugs and then die off. All the orchid experts will tell you, growing orchid is easy, as long as you give them what they want, and what they want is very simply. With hindsight, I understand now I wasn't providing the right environment until last Christmas. BTW, I'm not the kind of grower who can spell all the long names, and tell the the difference between all the different species.
In a year, I witnessed the difference between how to do something right with no effort, great result and how to do something wrong with a lot of efforts but no result. Now, they're so prolific , blooming left and right and multiplied two to three times. Not many investments get this kind of return these days.
If you live in zone 9-10 like me, here's the simple general rules for outdoor orchid; 1. 50% Sun - use the 50% shade cloth
2. Watering - every other day. I set my sprinkler timer on Mon, Wed, Fri for 15 mins each.
3. Fertilizing - growth food every other week, bloom food every month
4. Repotting - every year or when crowded
Here's the not so general tips if you want prolific growth in anything, after providing basic supportive environment;
First thing every morning (OK, first thing after you made your coffee/ tea)
- visit your plants/ kids/ significant others
- watch/ listen/ feel their subtle changes, and try to understand why
- make subtle change on your part to see if it will make any difference
- more subjects you get, more controlled experiments you can do, quicker you understand their subtle difference
Even the raspberry growing next to the shade house is very happy.
It reminds me of evolution and revolution. Under the suitable environment, small change at a time; makes the difference of life and death.
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