Draculas need a lot of humidity and prefer lower temperatures, that created a problem, as the other orchids in the greenhouse did not warrant the same conditions.

She came up with an idea to build a special climate-controlled enclosure for them, which would have adequate accessibility, light and air movement, with a constant source of humidity.

Got hold of a large bird cage, with removable bottom tray read: easy cleaning; then got hold of transparent acrylic sheets and cut them to size attaching them to the bird cage including the top.

Added two ‘muffin fans on the top for air circulation, and a side fan on one side and mounted it low to push in air, and another muffin fan high on the opposite side to ‘pull’ out the fresh air, this created a well-ventilated area throughout the enclosure.

Next step was to add humidity, which was accomplished by using a refillable water container with a 10 head nebulizer and adding a fan on the top and a hose to carry out the vapor through a 1.5” flex hose into the enclosure from the top. This setup is controlled by a humidistat and can be adjusted to maintain humidity levels.

At a later stage, a dedicated timer controlled drip irrigation system was also added to the setup.

The system works surprisingly well, I’m sure the Draculas must be very thankful!

That’s all from the Sidekick!

NK