Heh! High elevation tropical orchids! I've got the temperatures, but still need protection from winter rains and humidity reinforcement when there isn't fog! And there geophytes that do well here! Higher elevation mediterranean and (with watering) Andean bulbs and tubers. Not quite sure what I can do with bumper crops of oca (Oxalis tuberosa)...and then the need to build a sun house that gets warm enough to produce a good summer dry dormancy Argh! Robert in sunny cool San Francisco where there is a chance for a tiny amount of precipitation to break the 45 day wet season dry spell (exceeded only by a 46 day spell in 1877), but nothing in the forecast for significant rain. So. Yes, watering all the winter bulbs. Argh Argh! On Mon, Feb 21, 2022 at 3:41 PM Robert Lauf via pbs < pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote: > All excellent points, and a great explanation for why plants are rarely > invasive in their native habitats! > As for orchids, it's absolutely right that orchids have successfully > adapted to virtually every environment except the arctic. Matching > particular orchids to particular environmental preferences is easier than > one would think, because in a greenhouse of any significant size (larger > than a phone booth) it's practically impossible to avoid varying conditions > here and there. So an unhappy plant gets moved around, and when it > suddenly grows better and starts blooming, it is never moved again. > Orchids that grow in cloud forests are probably the hardest and will indeed > have you doing some elaborate engineering to replicate their comfort zone. > By contrast, last summer I finally got a Eulophia petersii to bloom, by > giving it a really big pot to accommodate the large succulent roots and no > water whatsoever for fall, winter, and spring. It's an orchid that sure > thinks it's a cactus. Duplicate the Arabian Peninsula in East Tennessee, > and you have it made. > Bob > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… > Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> > _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net>