Re: Orchids

Dear Tim,
Which Chinese ground orchids do you have?
I too attended the orchid show and was reminded of how
few terrestrial medit-climate orchids are grown here
in California. I presume it must relate to CITES and
other conservation considerations, as there appear to
be a wealth of Mediterranean, Australian, Asian, South
African and orchids from other lands that one might
succeed in cultivating in medit climates, with and
without irrigation. I suppose too there are soil and
mycorrhizal considerations, but I know of no
terrestrials commonly available beyond Bletilla and
perhaps Pleione.
As for epiphytes, they're in a difficult category as
garden (vs. green- or lath-house) plants in a climate
with a six-month summer dry season. Here in fog-belt
San Francisco there are lots of epiphytic orchids one
can grow outdoors, but very few that might survive on
fog drip alone - though I'd love to hear of anyone
who's tried it. My own neglect of my epiphytic orchids
approaches such an experiment sometimes... ;-)
Here are genera I've grown in the past - Cymbidiums,
Dendrobiums (Aussie and high-altitude Asian &
Australasian), Masdevallias, Restrepias and other
Pleurothallids, Laelias, Epidendrums, Sophronitis,
Sarcochilus, Sedirea, Zygopetalum, Holcoglossum,
Paphiopedilum, Odontoglossum, Coelogyne, Sedirea,
Angraecum...but I still want to get my hands of Earina
autumnalis and Dendrobium cunninghamii from NZ.

Speaking of epiphytes, there are so native few
vascular epiphytes on the US West Coast (vs NZ or
Chile) but I hear there's a documentary about a
researcher who's done work in the canopy of redwood
forests and found massive Polypodium scouleri colonies
(one of the few common vascular epiphytes around here)
and other, previously unimagined, biota up there. 
Cheers,
Jason Dewees

--- Gayle & Tim Kalman <leahdragonfly@earthlink.net>
wrote:

> Dear All,
> 
>     This weekend I attended the San Francisco Orchid
> Society Pacific Orchid expo. I have always fancied
> orchids, but you know how it is, so many plants so
> little time. Of course I returned home with a car
> full of orchids. So my attention has been refocused
> on the orchids in my garden. 
>      I have several different Chinese ground orchid
> varieties in my garden. As well as a couple
> varieties of our native giant stream orchids. And I
> also grow Australian Dendrobiums in shaded areas (in
> pots). I was very surprised to learn of the great
> many other varieties of orchids that we can grow
> outdoors here in the San Francisco bay area.
>       Do any of you all also grow orchids in your
> Mediterranean gardens?
> 
>      Tim Kalman
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