Hello 2018

First post for 2018.....what better start than the full bloom Paraphalaenopsis denevei. I did some selfings after taking this photo.

First bloom, clean lines

A first bloom for this seedling, clean white petals with yellow concentric markings.

Second blooming

Both the Paraphalaenopsis denevei and the Bulbophyllum agastor are reblooming into the year end...   quite a few of the others are blooming as well thanks to the cooler weather these couple of weeks.

We are online !

Finally got the system up and running after some modification..... Basic network up and running. divided into 4 watering zones. The orchid zones come on at 5.00am and 5.15 am respectively with each watering lasting 12 minutes. The plant zones come on at 5.30 am and 5.45am also for 12 minutes. The afternoon session comes on at 4.45pm and 5.00 pm for orchids and 5.15 pm, 5.30pm for plants each runs for 10 minutes.   The next step will be to check and fill in the blind spots.


The wires connect to the rain sensors which works perfrctly and cuts off watering whenever it rains.  I put in a vaccum breaker to prevent backflow, pressure reducer to bring the water pressure down to a constant 25psi so the drippers and misters don't get forces out of the tubings. You also see some adapters as the various parts come in 1/2" and 3/4" sizes.

I use 1/2" tubings for the main lines and 4mm tubings for the feeder lines.

Daddel's fat boy

More blooms for the fat boy... still looking a bit juvenile but nice nontheless.

Phalaenopsis violacea indigo

Reblooming again.... colour is looks a bit more intense.

Plastic strings for tying orchids

I ran out of plastic strings and had to restock.  I use these because they are elastic and easy to manage + they don't disintegrate when exposed to the elements. These two bundles will last for quite a while. I got them from Lee Bee Enterprise at Jurong West.