Shade shelters are an important structure where rain forest plants are gathered together. They mimic the shade cast by the foliage of the tall trees, and the humidity that builds up because the moisture cannot escape easily through the forest canopy, or in this case through the fabric used nowadays for the roof. In the olden days it was made from wooden slats. The shade shelter can grow many of our native rain forest exotics, such as bromeliads, monsteras, alocasias, ferns, spathiphyllums, and plants like the leafy begonias, African violets, gloxinias and many orchids.
The shade shelter needs to have about something of the order of 60-70% light excluded by using netting, or wooden slats. The atmosphere must be kept humid by means of mist sprayers, and by continually damping down the floors and staging to keep the atmosphere buoyant. The whole idea is to re-create the rain forest. Shade shelters do present certain inevitable problems. Inevitable because of the atmosphere we try to create. Pathways, and particularly concrete ones become very slippery and dangerous, and have to be scrubbed or pressure sprayed to keep them free of algae. They are, however, worth all the trouble for the plants you can grow surpass in quality the same species and varieties grown outside the shade shelter.
Plants grown in shade shelters require just as much care and attention as do others. They need to be fed, and care has to be taken to make sure they do not harbour pests and diseases. In that regard they need to have infected leaves removed and burnt, as well as pests removed, squashed and/or burned. Because shade shelters tend to be wetter than say the patio, the nutrients may leach out of the compost more quickly, and will need to be replaced. Most people use Miracle Gro, but a few have discovered the virtues of Osmacoat. However, whatever you choose to use, I suggest that you use it in moderation. A very little applied weekly or fortnightly is far, far better than a lot put on occasionally.
Gardeners all over the world where plants are cultivated are cursed with pests such as red spider mite, the common scale and the mealy bug. We all know that they will make their reappearance one day (as they have for millions of years) and they will almost predictably infest one or two plants rather than the lot. Seems that they’re basically bullies and just pick on the weakest. It makes it easy for the gardener however, for all we have to do is dig them up and burn them, or at least cut off the infected parts and burn them. Fire is the greatest cure you’ll have in your arsenal and in a climate like Guyana’s the life cycle or all of them doesn’t take long to complete.
Old-time gardeners found that keeping the atmosphere of the plant house moist and syringing with tepid water worked a treat in deterring the red spider mite. Many modern gardeners adopt this as well. In a climate such as Guyana’s, which can be exceedingly dry, it is worth doing, and even if it doesn’t do all that much for the red spider mite control programme, plants from the rain forest and ferns and orchids adore it, and will grow marvellously altogether in such a damp moist micro-climate. Until next week may your God go with you wherever you may be.
