Customer Profiles Small Systems
Customer Reactions "tropic & "exotic"

back

Fam. SABOR - Breitenfurt near Vienna
20. Mai 2003

the tropic is utilized for those of our orchids which need a warm and humid environment and are kept therefore in a wardian case. Assembly and startup was totally easy and everything worked perfect from the start.
Up to now some of our plants had to be dunked every day - with the fogging provided by the "tropic" this has been reduced to once a week which also makes any backup care for vacations a lot easier !

Orchid Care in Glass Case

Dear Mr. Dolejsi !

The fogging system "Tropic" is now in operation in my orchidarium for about 3 months (size of orchidarium 120 x 60 x 100 cm). Due to the simple assembly it was possible to get the system operational within minutes after delivery.

As I can set the fogging times very precisely (0,5 - 30 seconds) with 3 minutes rest interval I have found very fast the needed setting to achieve the humidity which I want to maintain in my orchidarium (appx. 80-90% RH).

I keep mainly mounted orchids from warmer regions which have a high demand on air humidity, within a short time root growth (which is synonym with plant growth and health) has increased enormously !

The cumbersome dunking of plant, which I had to perform so far on a daily basis is a thing of the past - I can reduce it to 1 or 2 times a week - according to plants and season. This makes for a rather comfortable backup-procedure for vacation times.

The system is so far operating to my full satisfaction,
in addition to the fogging nozzles I have mounted two medium PC-fans running 24 hrs which distribute the fog in the orchidarium. The fans are mounted at the side panels where they receive not the full humidity.

Elisabeth Kerschbaum, 1160 Vienna

Familie Münnich - Meran, Obermais, South Tyrol

In a loggia ( 1 x 2 x 3 m) where tropical orchids are being kept the problem of consistent care crops up every now and then, when we are away from home or on vacation.

Tropical orchids need above all sufficient humidity to remain healthy ( > 60 % rH).

This can be provided by simple careful daily watering and/or spraying. This, however cannot be expected from friends who are willing to step in when we are on vacation.

With the help of a  "tropic" which feeds 4 fogging nozzles K-100 the maintenance of the desired humidity is no more a problem and vacation stepin can be reduced to control visits once or twice a week.

Remarks on the successful culture of Dendrobium cuthbertsonii

All orchids are jewels of nature - Dendrobium cuthbertsonii is the diamond among them !
Here I want to present some experiences I collected over the years ...

A much more substantial discussion of the culture-parameters can be reviewed (in German) on  www.orchideenforum.de/

Which Relative Humidity do they need ?
during the day at least 60%, during the night some 85% - 90%.

Temperatures
D. cuthbertsonii are to be kept cold to cold-temperate, as they come from the mountain areas of Papua New Guinea at 2500m - 3000m elevation. There are rainfalls the whole year over and fog is blowing through the mountain ranges. Temperatures range from 8°C to 28°C which might pose a problem during summertime. Higher temperatures are tolerated for a short while - drying out never ! Ideal temperatures would be 20°C during the day and 13°C during the night.

How often should they be watered !
September to February a daily dunking is enough.
Beginning with March an automatic misting/fogging system is needed to thoroughly wet the plants twice a day. On particularly warm days (July - August) additional dunking is necessary.

Clean and soft water (rainwater or reverse osmosis water with 50 µS) is a must for successful culture of this species. Every second week some feeding with 100 µS should take place - and every time care with salt accumulation.
Without checking the salt content of the water a successful culture is impossible !!!

The picture at the right shows a gallery of  D. cuthbertsonii which are fogged regularly by means of a  "tropic" - they are always the champions at the regular meetings of the Carinthian Group of the Austrian Orchid Society.

Photos copyright © Ernst Ritzer
Ernst Ritzer / Carinthia - Austria

Individual Spraying with a "tropic"

Mr. Müller of St. Wolfgang has modified his "tropic" a little bit to care individually for his orchids ...

As he reports, his plants are well and agree fully with this new method.

We wish further success !
August 2004

Customer Profiles Small Systems
Customer Reactions "tropic & "exotic"

back