Dave Sheehy ) wrote:
: J Fortuna ) wrote:
: : My local plant nursery has some really attractive intergeneric hybrids for
: : sale, including Bllra Marfitch 'Howard's Dream' and Colm Wildcat, and I am
: : quite tempted to buy one of them, however I would not want to buy them if my
: : conditions are such that they couldn't possibly do well.

: : I grow on the windowsills or rather on shelves next to north-facing windows.
: : I supplement this with growlamps so that I can achieve medium light right
: : under a lamp, but I am not sure whether I could have medium light at leaf
: : level for a Bllra since they are rather tall plants. So the light is low to
: : medium, but mostly low.

: : The temps in our apartment are usually around 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit.
: : Sometimes in the summer the air-conditioning doesn't work though and then it
: : can be in the upper 80s or in the low 90s for a short period of time. In the
: : winters, especially at night the temp might be in the 60s.

: : Humidity-wise we try to keep it above 50% at all times -- easy in the
: : summer, harder but doable in the winter.

: Like you I have been branching out and experimenting with other orchids I
: might possibly be able to grow there as well. Last spring I bought a Burr(?
: I think that's right) 'Stephan Isler' and put it in that north window with
: the phals. It's too soon to report any success other than it is growing well.
: The new growth has done well and the pb is starting to flesh out nicely so
: I'm pretty encouraged. I won't know if it'll bloom until next spring/summer.

I have an update on my Burr. Stefan Isler that I keep in my north window along
with the Phals. I examined it the other day and found a new flower spike
growing. So, there's at least one intergeneric that can be successfully kept
along with Phals.

For those that are interested here are some details. I have a light meter and
if I hold it so as to maximize the reading I get a value of 1000 (I believe
the units are foot candles but I don't remember for sure off the top of my
head). Phals require a light intensity range between 500-1000 according some
sources and the grower that I bought the Burr Stefan Isler from told me it
requires a light intensity between 1000-1200 (so it comes in at the high end
of the phal light requirement). Humidity in my house ranges from 40-60%
year round as far as I've been able to measure. I don't go to any special
efforts to control humidity. There are 4 aquariums in the house which
contribute between 1.5-2 gallons of evaporated water per day to the
surrounding air so they are probably helping to raise humidity to some degree.

So the upshot is I think it is very possible for you to keep appropriately
selected intergenerics in your conditions.

Dave