QUESTIONS  AND  ANSWERS

How can we save on p&p	Many times we send out parcels where there is a lot of spare space in the boxes.  It is not alot more effort to place more plants into the boxes and each time you add another plant you effectively reduce the cost of the postage to you, eg. plants on sticks or struck cuttings I can usually get 6 plus or minus 1 or 2 plants depending on their size into a $6 box so 1 plant = $6 postage and 6 plants in the same box = $6. Larger plants particularly plants in traditional terracotta orchid pots, I can safely get 2 into a box but I usually have room for other smaller plants that can be placed all around the main plants, consideration from my point of view is that they get to you without any damage.
How do you tie the Orchids on?	We have found the best way is to just tie them on with an old stocking or as we use stretchy lycra cord. We do not place any spagnum moss around the roots, the reason for this is to encourage the roots to travel and grab hold of the tree or mount.
What other plants can be tied on as well as Orchids?	Other epiphytes that can be tied on as well as orchids are epiphyllums, bromeliads, ferns, astellias, vireya rhododendrons and many more, it is just a matter of experimenting.
How are they watered and how do they survive droughts?	They are watered usually by the rain, however watering systems can be employed to water them from a remote spot or a hose can be used. Many epiphytes go for a long time without rain and have developed systems to cope with this, i.e. pseudobulbs succulents leaves, water tanks, many epiphyles survive on just the dew in the morning for months at a time.
How are they fertilized?	They are fertilized naturally by dust pollen dropping and what usually comes down in the rain, every drop of rain has a speck of dust or pollen in it.  Also dissolved gases such as oxygen nitrogen and carbon dioxide. I know of people who have small collections who move them outside for the summer. When the pine trees across the road from our place flower everything gets a coating of pollen on it.  This gets caught up in the trees and the natural flora and forna break it down, then when it rains it washes down over the plants giving them a rich nutrient drink.
What bromeliads harbour mosquitos?	There has been a lot of research done on this subject, and it has been found that there are many biological controls in that some mosquito larva live off the other larva then there are water beatles, damsel flies,  protozoa and frogs etc. We have a lot of bromeliads here at Pottering About and we do have mosquitos but no more or less than other local properties. I read an articale some time ago where the aurthorities decided to get rid of the bromeliads from around Mexico City in the hope of getting rid of their mosquito problem however they only made things worse because the mosquitos used drains and containers where there are no natural preditors.
What is a good tree for them to grow on?	Rule of thumb-  any tree that does not loose its bark, has a fairly open canopy and already has lichens and ferns growing on that tree. Around our area I find casurina cunninghamiana an excellent tree however casurina torulosa is even better, some trees the orchids can be grown around the base or in forks at the trunk with its branches or even out on the tips of the branches.
How do Orchid seeds germinate?	Orchid seeds are unique in that they need to become infected with very specific varieties of mycorhiza funguses before they will germinate.  The fungus create a symbiotic relationship with the orchid seed that will last the life of the orchid plant. Before the advent of germinating orchid seeds in a laboratory, seed was scattered around the base of an orchid plant and occasionally a seed would germinate, sometimes the seed would wash down through the mix and germinate around the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot. I have seen cymbidium seedlings that germinated on a ponga that looked like a good head of hair.
How are Orchids pollinated in the wild?	In the wild orchids are usually pollinated by insects, some of our native orchids are pollinated by fungus gnat's. There is an orchid living in a swamp in Northland cryptostylis subulata that is pollinated by a wasp this is called psuedo copulation. In my orchidero I have observed honey bees trying to copulate with oncidium crispum without much sucess. Also,  bumble bees pollinating cymbidium and cattleya orchids.  Thay can be a bit of a curse in a cut flower greenhouse.
How are Orchids pollinated in captivity?	Orchids in captivity are pollinated for various reasons the most important would be the hand pollination of vanilla planifolia for vanilla flavouring, secondly would be the hand pollination of orchids by hybridists and for the line breeding of orchid species.
How many ways can plants be found growing	There are four different ways plants can be found growing: On trees these are called epiphytes On rocks these are called lithophytes On the ground these are called terrestrials Or underground these are called xenophytes.
Do we get frosts	Yes we do get frosts here at Pottering About every year. In the 10 years we have been here the worst frost was -70C and it killed a lot of plants including a Pururi Tree, the second worst frost was -40C but usually they are between 00C and 10C. We have a program at covering our plants with frost cloth in an endevour to keep them looking good. The orchids up the trees are fine.  According to Fowlie in his monograph 'The Brazilian Bifoliate Cattleyas and their colour varieties'.  A number of Cattleyas are found in areas where frosts occur every year.
What is meant by the terms Warm Intermedate and Cold Intermediate when we talk about the cultural requirements of plants and in particular Orchids.	The terms relate to the supposed minimum night time tempertures of the plants in question, warm minimum night temperture of 18oc intermediate minimum night temperture of 12oc and cool minimum night temperture of 9oc. I believe that there are another 2 classes cold and hot and into these classes I would put the following: Cold - some of the deciduous orchids Hot - some of the tropical low land terrestial orchids These tempertures are only a very rough guide as into the equation comes a natural genetic variety of the species involved. I also think that we tend to grow our orchids too warm as on many occasions I have tried to grow warm growing orchids high in my green house without success but have found that when they are bought down to a level near the ground they have thrived.