Its been a little while since I posted, blame work.
Got a couple of ‘basic’ post ideas, orchids, pings, outdoor carnivorous plant bog and starting up in UK botany again this spring but orchids are top of my mind right now.
First up my Paphiopedilum bellatulum – I saw this orchid at the society show I attended back in October last year and was pretty blown away with it. I took a chance on getting one, growing it on a south facing window, slightly shaded and keeping it on the dryer side but giving it more water in the warm weather. It seemed to like me, as I was rewarded with a beautiful spike and flower that’s lasted over a month at the time of writing.
In the ‘cool’ tank I use for my Masdevallias things are growing madly again. The winter slowed everything down – I was getting cold nights which suited most of the species (not all) then days that were not much warmer which wasn’t encouraging growth. Going into spring I got much better conditions with a nice night time drop and still a daytime temp that wasnt too high.
Getting into summer the situation during the day is fine but I’ve added some cooling at night to drop temps that little bit more. Everything is growing well and I’ve been rewarded with growth and blooms.
