Saturday Morning With Jack Tame

I’m quite happy to touch on this little trouble inside the house: what is a good spot to grow certain plants?  Julie and I have been struggling to get a few Orchids growing inside. One of them is Phalaenopsis —the Moth Orchid— and another one is Oncidium, especially the “Kandy Dancer” I fell in love with when working in Sri Lanka. Both are a real pain to get going: tried a north-facing window, an eastern aspect, west, and nothing worked to get these plants growing, let alone flowering!!   The Irony is that our daughter just chucked them in a south facing bay windowsill and simply couldn’t stop them flowering!  They get a few seconds of morning sun, are covered in steam (it’s a kitchen bay window), and often get warm ovens heating the site.   Guess what! We tried it too: south bay window in kitchen, etc, etc. Fertilised them with Orchid Food, spoke to them, read stories at night, etc, ect... NOTHING!   Yes, we read the books and reduced the moisture regime, got solid fertiliser, liquid