Greenhouse: Orchid tree, 1 by DaleTheGardener

DaleTheGardener wrote:
I am a former resident of the Bay Area and tried many orchids. Try Epi's.

I had a place up in Lake County and we had manzanita trees. Very hard wood and that would stand up to the greenhouse type conditions you have in mind.

The easiest orchids to grow are epidendrum ibaguense (radicans) and their hybrids. When I went to the orchid shows I would see them mounted on cork by some growers. They flower all year long, make lots of 'pups', grow fast and would do well in your area. I used them as a hedge plant on my roof top garden in SF.

I would tie them in place with some kind of soft natural tie, something that would decompose over time, but, not too quickly. Twine would be good. You could wrap them several times around the roots and it would also blend in, add some insulation for the roots and hold moisture.

Epi need to be fed very lightly in the conditions you are thinking about. A water soluble fertilizer, low nitrogen at 10% strength every other day would help get them started. After they sent out more roots to anchor themselves you might want to cut back on the fertilizer, you don't want them to grow too fast. Local growers would give you a better idea of how to feed them.

I don't have many photos of the Bay Area, but, here is a place I worked on in Napa....