Vacation care... water before dry?

[cbennett4041]

I have phals, paphs, cattleyas, dendrobiums, and a pyschopsis. I'm going on vacation soon and over the summer again, both times for more than a week. Should I water all of these plants before I leave whether they are dry or not? I would do this just to ensure they don't dry out too much while I'm gone.

Almost all the phals are flowering now, and I expect many more to be flowering this summer.

Your experience/advice?

[WhiteRabbit]

Paphs definitely water - and I don't expect it would harm the others to be watered even if they aren't dry -
You could also only lightly water them leading up to your departure, so that they would be more likely to be dry, or nearly, so right before you leave.

You might also see if a friend or neighbor would be willing to look after your plants while you are away - might only need to be watered once while you are away.

[tucker85]

I water all my plants thourghly before I go on vacation. I've been gone as long as 10 days with no ill affects to mature plants. But seedlings or very small plants cannot go that long. I had some small phals that took six months to recover. If you're leaving for more than a week and you have small plants, you need to arrange for someone to come in and water them. I hope you enjoy your vacation.

[Bud]

Orchids are tenacious. I went on tour for 2 weeks and arrived to find my plants still intact but dehydrated. And I promised them that I will never do that again...the Masdies and my mounted miniatures survived well ...maybe because I had the old style coiled water heater on my building to give it humidity

[cbennett4041]

Sounds great. I figured watering them before they were completely dry--especially during the summer--wouldn't hurt if it was only once or twice a year.

Excellent idea to lightly water leading up to the trip, too. Thanks for the hints folks!

[Abu Basma]

Well, a very important question should be asked before I can give any advice is: what is the size of your pots and what medium do you use?

Also, I don't think watering the orchids while they are still wet is a good advice, I am affraid that you come back from vacation to find out that you orchids are suffering dehydration from lack of watering and lack of living roots which is going to make their recovery even harder.

If I was in your situation, I would do the following:
1. Insure that all orchids are in quit large pots that would stay moist for more than 5 days.
2. Insure that all putting mediums observe water for also quit a long time, examples are sphagnum moss, peat moss. But not any kind of bark especially the corse grade ones.
3. Put all orchids away from high levels of light because photosynthesy will force the plant to consumpt water.
4. Reduce air flow, so don't leave the window opened or the fan turned on.

It also depend on the kind of orchid, for example Catts will stand thirst more than Paphs.

Hope you come back to find all your loving orchids happy and waiting for you. All the good for you in your vacation, and don't forget to buy orchids from there.

[beaniebeagle]

been on vacations for over 2 weeks without any ill effects

the majority of mine are in expanded clay pellets and dry out fairly quickly

ones that are in active growth, I watered every day for the few days prior to leaving so that the pellets are adequately hydrated.

reducing the amount of light etc does help

[Thomas orchid lover]

I'm leaving for three weeks this summer

I live in Belgium which Has a relativly cool climate(similar to Canada)

Could I leave Phaphs, Brassias, Oncidiums, And a paphilopedilum outside or should I leave them inside?

ps: They are all in bark

[Orchid126]

I wouldn't water if the plants were wet. I would water if the plants were damp, or almost dry. Watering at this time once or twice won't hurt the plant. It's when it's done consistantly that the plants suffer.

[camille1585]

Originally Posted by Thomas orchid lover

I'm leaving for three weeks this summer

I live in Belgium which Has a relativly cool climate(similar to Canada)

Could I leave Phaphs, Brassias, Oncidiums, And a paphilopedilum outside or should I leave them inside?

ps: They are all in bark

3 weeks in the summer is too much. It's managable in the winter, but I still get back to some pretty dehydrated plants. I'm in the Netherlands, so same climate as you, and in the summer I really need someone to come at least once a week to water. I do take the mounted orchids and small ones with me on vacation (when I stay in Europe).