I’ve taken pictures of a few of my miniature orchids to show you the plants that I’ve been focusing my attention on this week. Currently, my main preoccupation has been to be poised and ready to pollinate my Aerangis macrocentra plants, in the hope that the last remaining flower of my first plant to bloom survived long enough for my second plant’s first flower to open.
I find if I’m feeling a little jaded, taking a tour of my orchids or popping outdoors to reacquaint myself with the plants and nature in my garden is an almost guaranteed way to lift my spirits and rejuvenate my soul. If you’re feeling weary, I hope you can recharge your batteries by spending time with your houseplants, or relaxing outside in your garden, or perhaps escape to visit a park, garden, or enjoy a revitalising walk at a nature reserve nearby.
I’m so excited to show you the orchids I’ve grown that favour cool, intermediate, and warm temperatures! I want to help you find the perfect orchids for the conditions you can offer, so I’ve created three new planting lists that divide the orchids I’ve grown into groups by the temperatures these plants are happiest growing in.
I’ve designed and created so many terrariums, including a number of terrariums and orchidariums that I’ve written updates for (see my Orchidarium, my Rainforest Terrarium, my Tall Orchidarium, my Miniature Orchid Trial Terrarium, my White Orchid Trial Terrarium, and my Madagascar Terrarium). Each terrarium update I publish takes an inordinate amount of time and energy to put together; hence why I’ve not published a full update for this Orchidarium in an absolute age!
I spend a vast proportion of my time running Indoor Trials and Outdoor Trials. When I’m working on Orchid Trials, I find it such a thrill to discover beautiful miniature orchids that look stunning visually, but are also easy to grow and flower. I love to write about these plants to help you discover orchids that aren’t demanding or difficult to grow.
I set up my Tall Orchidarium in November 2019. I am absolutely thrilled with this custom built terrarium, which Matthew (from Custom Aquaria) built for me in autumn 2019. I’m growing a large number of orchids inside my Tall Orchidarium, so I’ve divided up this update (which covers the period from November 2019 to March 2021) into three posts of slightly more manageable sizes.
Welcome to the twenty-fourth and final update from my BiOrbAir Review – Growing Miniature Orchids in the BiOrbAir! Since my last update, I’ve been experiencing problems with both my Miniature Orchid Trial BiOrbAir Terrarium’s LED lights and this terrarium’s ultra sonic misting unit. Sadly, as a result of my BiOrbAir’s equipment faults I’ve had to close this Miniature Orchid BiOrbAir Trial; accordingly, this is the final installment and update for my Miniature Orchid BiOrbAir Trial.
Welcome to the fifteenth and final installment of my White Orchid BiOrbAir Terrarium Trial. I started this White Orchid Trial in March 2017, when I planted white flowered orchids inside one of my BiOrbAir terrariums. My White Orchid Trial BiOrbAir Terrarium was one of my favourite terrariums for a long time, but over the past two years I have been frustrated by tedious problems with condensation coating the inside of this BiOrbAir’s globe, which has spoilt the appearance of this enclosure and obscured my view of the plants inside.
Welcome to the fourteenth update from my White Orchid Trial BiOrbAir Terrarium. In this update, it’s a pleasure to share the sparkle of this Aerangis hyaloides plant’s glistening flowers with you. Yes – that’s right – this miniature orchid’s blooms really do twinkle in the sunlight! I’ve also got a crystalline Ceratostylis pristina flower that you might be interested to see.
I’m currently in the process of setting up a new terrarium, which is very exciting! Don’t worry, I’ll take you on a tour of my new Tall Orchidarium in due course. However, today I wanted to tell you about something unexpected that happened to me, while I was gathering together the materials for this new enclosure.
Welcome to the twenty-third update from my BiOrbAir Review – Growing Miniature Orchids in the BiOrbAir! Since my last instalment, the two plants that were really struggling – Diplocaulobium chrysotropis and Macroclinium chasei have both died. But it’s not all bad news, I’ve got a few orchid flowers to share with you and I’m also celebrating that for this week at least, the tiny aphid species that has colonised the plants inside this terrarium is temporarily under control.
Welcome to the fourteenth and final instalment of my Madagascar BiOrbAir Terrarium Trial – growing epiphytic orchids, from Madagascar, inside the BiOrbAir terrarium.
Since my last update, I’ve made the decision to empty my Madagascar BiOrbAir terrarium and re-plant this terrarium. I found that the Madagascan orchids that I chose to grow together, inside this enclosure, required too strongly opposing growing conditions to make it possible to easily grow these orchids successfully in such close proximity to one another.
In February 2017, which (as I write to you in September 2019) was over two and a half years ago, I decided to create an Orchidarium with an automated misting unit, LED lights, and fans, to house some of my miniature orchids and provide them with automatic care. This wasn’t about creating a beautiful enclosure; I built this Orchidarium to house as many orchids from my collection as possible inside this enclosure and to provide these plants with automated care.
Welcome to the twenty-second part of my BiOrbAir Review – Growing Miniature Orchids in the BiOrbAir! This trial update is not all about success. Since my last update, two orchids have declined – one more so than the other. One plant looks like it’s probably in the process of dying; while another miniature orchid just isn’t looking as healthy as I would like.
Let me introduce you to Phalaenopsis parishii alba, a miniature, epiphytic orchid species that originates from Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Assam, Burma, and the Himalayas.
Phalaenopsis parishii alba is the white flowered form of Phalaenopsis parishii.
Phalaenopsis parishii alba growing conditionsIn the wild, Phalaenopsis parishii can be found growing in humid areas. This miniature orchid species produces flattened roots that nestle into the damp, moss laden branches, which overhang streams and ponds, in the areas where this plant makes its home.
If you’re looking to purchase an orchid, it’s always good to buy an orchid species, or a hybrid, that has a predisposition and willingness to flower. So, with this in mind, today I want to share the joy of two floriferous orchid species with you!
Dryadella simulaI trialled this Dryadella simula specimen very successfully inside my Miniature Orchid Trial BiOrbAir Terrarium.
Welcome to the thirteenth part of this my White Orchid BiOrbAir Terrarium Trial. I dedicated this terrarium to white flowered orchids back in April 2017 – which as I write to you today was exactly two years ago. In this update, I am delighted to share with you the glistening twinkle of Aerangis hyaloides flowers and the glamorous, snow white flowers of Amesiella philippinensis.
In this my first update, you can discover how the Aerangis, Amesiella, and Angraecum orchids that are housed inside my Rainforest Terrarium have grown and developed over the past eleven months – from April 2018 to March 2019. Discover which plants have died and which orchids have thrived during this time frame, in my first plant update for this custom built terrarium.
Welcome to the twelfth part of my Madagascar BiOrbAir Terrarium Trial – growing epiphytic orchids, which are endemic to Madagascar, inside the BiOrbAir terrarium. In this update, I am excited to share the delight of the snowy white, newly opened flowers of Aerangis citrata with you! Since my last update, I’ve introduced a few new orchids to this Madagascar BiOrbAir Terrarium and I’ve recently replaced the moss, to add a verdant green carpet to enhance the plants inside this special terrarium.
I love looking at this orchid; I so admire Angraecum distichum‘s shape and form, this plant’s simple, leafy stems are a thing of beauty. I love to see young and old Angraecum distichum specimens; whatever the plant’s size, I find Angraecum distichum utterly mesmerising!
Angraecum distichum is a miniature to small sized epiphytic orchid species. Angraecum distichum plants can be found growing upon a range of tall trees in a variety of different environments including: rainforests, humid forests, deciduous forests, and plantations.
