Ewan, Based on your location and growing areas, I think that the easy orchids for you will be very different from the ones that I find easy. With ~20,000 orchid species and several hundred thousand hybrids, there are easy orchids for every climate but no orchids that are easy in every climate. Hybrid Phalaenopsis and lowland Dendrobiums are often recommended for beginners, but you may have difficulty giving them sufficient warmth.
Terrarium: Orchids can be tricky in terraria. If you have lots of air movement (and preferably can introduce some fresh air), you should be able to grow small pleurothallids, Bulbophyllums, etc. Your specific choices will depend on the temperature that you maintain in the terrarium. Cold house: If your cold house is kept frost-free, you could probably grow some of the Himalayan orchids such as Pleione, many of the large standard Cymbidium hybrids, and the Australian Dendrobium kingianum. If you keep the minimum temperature at 10-12 C, then you can add many of the cooler growing Oncidium relatives (e.g. Miltoniopsis, Odontoglossum, etc). Sunny windowsills or under fluorescent lights: Assuming that you keep your central heating set at around 18-20 C, try miniature Cattleyas that have a lot of Sophronitis in the breeding. Probably avoid lowland tropicals like Vandas, Antelope Dendrobiums, etc, until you have a handle on basic culture and can customize a growing area. I think the best thing for you to do would be to track down some local growers or see what local nurseries sell. They'll also be able to help with potting mixes tailored to your area (availability of mix components varies widely, and different mixes are suited to different watering regimens). Some New Zealand orchid societies can be found here: http://www.orchidsonline.com.au/NZOrchidSocieties.html and here: http://www.orchidmall.com/society.htm#au I apologize if this seems vague, but your question is actually rather difficult to answer in detail from halfway across the world. Nick -- Nicholas Plummer Chapel Hill, NC, USA ____________________________________________________________________________________ Expecting? Get great news right away with email Auto-Check. Try the Yahoo! Mail Beta. http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/mailbeta/newmail_tools.html _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
