I have continued to pour over.....
.....Ray's advice and comments on his site, FirstRays.com, and keep coming back to one particular page. The one about bottom heating. From what I've read and seen from his testimonial, providing that extra bit of heat directly to the root system provides an optimal environment for roots growth and production. And since it is the middle of winter, mild though as it is, its not exactly warm and balmy here either.
I've decided to try out Ray's advice on this for multiple reasons. I broke the golden rule about the repotting stage of an orchid which has significantly set back a large part of my collection. The temperatures are alright but not optimal for root growth on these stressed orchids. I have repotted many of them multiple times in the last couple months which only makes it harder for the orchid to get used to its new environment.
I also can't afford to get a heating mat for all of the collection. It wouldn't be safe either with all those plugs and the drain on my electricity. Instead, I've opted to buy just one and put my more valued, setback, plants on it:
- Honey
- Baby Blue
- Godiva
- Nameless
This should be some interesting development. I can watch and measure the progress of the Klimt Collection, which does not have the heat mat, and check it against my Book Collection, half of which do. Let's see if they develop those roots any faster. I'll be continuing to flush with my r/o water and root stimulant for the next couple of weeks before reintroducing fertilizer. Though with Ember and Ganache, my newest and blooming additions, I do add a very dilute amount of feed to the root stimulant and water to help with the blooming.