Grower Of The Month – May 2012

Name? 

Nicholas Plummer

How long have you been growing orchids? 

19 years

Approximately how many orchids do you grow, currently?

 250

 Tell us about the genera you grow the most? (select all that apply)

List any other genera not included above that you think it’s worth mentioning

My favorite genera are Encyclia and Habenaria, particularly the H. rhodocheila group. I also like orchids from arid environments, which ties in nicely with my interest in succulent plants.

Where do you grow most of your orchids?

     Indoors all year round, windowsill

      Indoors all year round, artificial lights

     Outdoors during warmer season, indoors during the cool season

      Greenhouse rented space

x    Own greenhouse

Tell us more details about the orchid growing space

I grow my orchids in a 16′ x 20′ greenhouse that I designed myself. The greenhouse has an asymmetrical roof with a long south facing slope and short north facing slope. The idea is to maximize light and minimize heat loss during the winter. The north wall is insulated, while the roof, sides, and south wall are glazed with twin-wall polycarbonate. The benches are made from concrete blocks and wire closet shelving. The greenhouse is heated with an Empire heater that burns propane and cooled/humidified with a swamp cooler. It is shaded by a large hickory tree in summer, so it is brightest in spring and autumn.

The space seems to work best for Cattleya alliance species that grow in Winter/Spring. Due to the shade tree, summer growers don’t get as much light as they might like, and the greenhouse is too warm and dry in winter for cool growers.

Tell us more details about your favorite growing media / pots / baskets / mounts

 For most of my Cattleya alliance plants, I use terracotta pots with an inorganic mix of red lava rock and varying amounts of aliflor. For terrestrials, I generally use plastic pots with either peat/perlite/sand or pure sphagnum moss. Epiphytic species that like more moisture get sphagnum moss in either terracotta or plastic pots.

I also use sphagnum moss for freshly deflasked seedlings.

I have some plants mounted on cork, but actually fewer than when I grew under lights. I find potted plants easier to display when in bloom, and with the inorganic mix in a terracotta pot, I no longer worry about rotting the roots of plants that want to dry out rapidly.

Tell us about your main interests in the hobby

What got you started in the hobby? 

In my first semester of graduate school, I went to a florist to buy a houseplant for my apartment. I came home with a white hybrid Phalaenopsis. Then I bought an orchid book to find out why it was dying. The orchid book listed the addresses of some mail-order nurseries who were happy to send me catalogs. I bought some more plants and joined the local society in Ann Arbor. Home-made light stands and, eventually, a greenhouse followed in the usual process.

What has been your most successful plant(s) growing or blooming so far? How did you accomplish it?

 I’m quite pleased to have bloomed Eulophia petersii, a desert plant from Africa which produces an 8 foot inflorescence. After ten years of careful growing, I was excited to finally bloom Dendrophylax fawcettii, a close relative of the Florida ghost orchid. Sadly, I lost the Dendrophylax a year later when it reacted badly to a new brand of fertilizer.

I’m always pleased to bloom plants that I have grown from flask.

What has been your least successful plant(s) growing so far? What were the challenges and why?

 I have given up on cool growers (Masdevallia, etc), even though there are many cloud forest species that I really admire. My greenhouse is just too hot and dry for them.

When I lived in Michigan, I grew several Cypripedium species in pots on my windowsill. They spent winters in the refrigerator and bloomed reliably. But North Carolina summers were just too long and hot, and the Cyps slowly died off. Maybe someday I’ll try again with seedlings from southern stock.

Do you take your orchids to the AOS judging? Any awards so far?

 Nope.

Any experience with Orchid Hybridizing at this point?

 Nope. I grow 90-95% species.

Although I don’t hybridize my plants, I do like to self-pollinate or sib-cross various species. I then give the seed to a friend who is good at flasking or send it to Troy Meyers at the Meyers Conservatory (http://www.troymeyers.com). The Conservatory flasks species seed, returns one free flask of seedlings, and sells the rest. It’s a great way to inexpensively propagate your plants.

Photos of Nick’s Greenhouse