My Grow Area

I've been meaning to do this for a while, but just recently got around to actually doing it- lazy me! My grow area is basically just a couple of racks in front of some large south facing windows. I've had the large rack covered in plastic for about 5 years but only got additional lighting for it recently. The terrariums have been here for about two years and have been slowly filling up since I got them. The lighting for the terrariums has been with them since the beginning- there wasn't enough natural light for those plants without it. Additionally, I have another lamp for a bench with some NOID Phalaenopsis I was gifted recently from someone who wanted them gone.

The two terrariums each have more sensitive plants in them. One has my small Nepenthes collection (N. jamban, lingulata, inermis, and dubia) and the other has a fussy Bulbophyllum and some seedlings. The two lower levels of the rack the terrariums are on are occupied by a few Christmas cacti and other succulent things. Between the terrariums and the main grow rack is a large NOID Nepenthes I bought about ten years ago. It's absolutely massive and luckily tough-as-nails as it survives well in our cold and dry house. The main grow rack is spit into three sections and is completely covered in clear vinyl plastic. The plastic covers all of the outside and is taped together. The lowest level of the rack has a large storage bin that the plastic angles into to direct excess water out of the way. It is pretty well sealed and keeps the humidity up between mistings for a few days at a time. The middle level of the rack has lower light plants and ones that are generally shorter and have a more pronounced winter dormancy. The top level is much taller than the others (it has hanging and mounted plants) and is split in half by more plastic. The left half is for plants that like water year-round and it gets watered or misted four or five times a week. The right half has plants that like less water in the winter; it gets misted or watered only once or twice a week and generally has a lower humidity level.

I grow a variety of species and hybrids but I enjoy the species more: they are more of a challenge and therefore much more fulfilling. I won't go over every plant I grow but if you wonder about a certain one in the pictures you can comment questions. Thanks for looking!

 

Naoki, yes it is rather warm from a highlander perspective. The room all my plants are in dips to around 60 degrees F. at night and the heater goes to 65-70 during the day. The Phalaenopsis are tolerant of it even though there is really low humidity. The Nepenthes are a bit of an odd case though: their terrariums are almost always 60% + humidity and they do go down to 60 degrees at night, but they are so small they heat up really fast in the sun. When the sun comes out the terrariums get up to 95-100 degrees for most of the day. I've never noticed any negative affects, but I do observe them very carefully just to be safe. Those high temps are part of the reason I don't want to try more cold-highland Nepenthes; my current plants have adapted well but I'm afraid edwardsiana, villosa, or rajah would not fare as well.

 

Naoki, I have tried to keep the front "door" cracked open for some time and there is a computer fan in the top that can suck hot air out, but our house is so dry that both options drastically dried it out when I tried them.