Humidity HELP! - Page 2 - Orchid Board

Ross · #11 12-18-2007, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markr

I used to find that hand misting indoor (windowsill) plants several times a day will improve the health of exposed roots but doesn't otherwise increase humidity around the plant much for longer than a minute or so.

Unless you are willing/able to increase the humidity of the room the orchids are in (works in a greenhouse, not so healthy in a living room), the only reliable way for indoor growers to increase humidity significantly above ambient levels is to grow in an enclosed space, such as a terrarium.

This brings up another point that is often discussed here, but oft overlooked - Pick the plants you are most suited to grow. Rather than trying to modify the humidity of your house, why not select plants not so fussy about humidity? If you have a terrarium tank, by all means stuff it with high humidity plants - they'll do well, and with lights you can even do this in the basement. If on a windowsill, pick those not so fussy about high humidity and that do well with the exposure you can provide. Just my

IdahoOrchid · #12 12-27-2007, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tsuchibuta

I say go with room humidifier and go with an ultrasonic type, the ones with filters that work off evaporation don't work worth a darn.

I think that is backwards. Ultrasonics are short lived and expensive or impossible to repair when the parts wear out in a relatively short time. Everyone I know of that has tried them has regretted it.

I have an evaporative humidifier I bought at Lowe's that keeps a 9 x 10 bedroom at up to 80% humidity. It cycles off enough that I believe it would work on a room twice its size. I would suggest NOT getting one of the wick ones though. The one we had did not work very well.

Pals · #13 12-29-2007, 09:07 AM

Hello Elliott,
Here's another view to make your choice even more confusing.
Do you really want to be misting your plants constantly all day and worrying if you're not at home to do it?
Do you want to have to hang shower curtains and wet flannels around the bedroom to keep the moisture up and the room dry?
Do you want to buy misters to squirt jets of vapour around your bedroom? (do you sleep in this room????)
At a guess I would say you are quite new to growing phals because you sound just like me when I first started (and probably every other new orchid grower), you want to do your best by your phals, of course you do, but I can't help thinking you are worrying too much.
I have about 50 phals, I was also running around like a demented madman trying to keep the humidity up, with trays, with misters, but over time it became too much and I stopped. My humidity in summer is not much more than 40%, there's not a gravel tray in sight and the leaves of my phals are like plastic (hard & rigid). I also grow in a bedroom, it's winter now so the windows are always firmly shut and the humidity shoots up to 60% sometimes and there is always dripping condensation around the window frames (and this is WITHOUT any misting or gravel trays), the plants may love it but it can't be doing the room any good.
Do you have just the one hygrometer, could it be giving you a faulty reading and how would you know?. A minimum of two would be better, place them together in the same location and they should give the same reading, if not, somethings wrong !!!
All I do is keep my phals well watered which seems to be enough to keep them healthy and practically non-stop spiking, (all except possibly 4 are either in spike or flower right now), it may be worth trying this first before splashing out (financially and literally) on misting systems otherwise that lovely green carpet in your bedroom will actually be a carpet of moss !!!!!

And Elliott.......stop worrying and relaaaaaaxxxxxx !

Good Luck !

Pals

IdahoOrchid · #14 12-29-2007, 10:45 AM

Do not directly mist your plants with a hand sprayer. I tried that earlier this summer and even though I did it early in the day I still got a couple of cases of crown rot.

Quote:

place them together in the same location and they should give the same reading, if not, somethings wrong !!!

That is not always true. I used to work at a facility that used these and they were calibrated by a mil spec qualified company. There was ALWAYS some variation across the range. Consumer grade hygros will be even worse, especially if they come from different places or use different technology.

Use your hygro to test the DIFFERENCE in humidity. Measure it, make a change and then see if the hygro tells you it was effective or not.

Phals will adapt to the lower humidity, as described, but they and YOU will appreciate a bit higher humidity if you can provide it safely and effectively.

As a side note, I don't think that condensation on a window is an indication that humidity is adequate. The science of that just says that yes, there is SOME humidity in the area of the window.

quiltergal · #15 12-29-2007, 12:43 PM

Elliott, don't worry so much. Phals are very forgiving plants. Mine are in my bedroom too, and in the summer (our driest, hottest season) the RH rarely tops 40%. Right now I'm seeing highs occasionaly in the 80% range but usually 60-70%. They are gouped together on humidity trays. I have 31 plants on the same shelving unit in a south facing window, and I really do think they create a micro-climate together. I never hand mist. I have one phal blooming, another sending up a new spike, and the rest are growing like crazy. I think they are far more appreciative of regular feeding and good light. Just my

.

Pals · #16 12-29-2007, 01:00 PM

Hello Steven,

In spite of appearances, I THINK we kind of agree !

Quote:

Originally Posted by IdahoOrchid

That is not always true. I used to work at a facility that used these and they were calibrated by a mil spec qualified company. There was ALWAYS some variation across the range. Consumer grade hygros will be even worse, especially if they come from different places or use different technology.

I would have hoped that a hygro, calibrated by a professional mil spec qualified company, situated in a professional working environment (not one of your cheap Home Depot knock-off's) would be so accurate that the variations would be down to its extreme sensitivity and accuracy otherwise it begs the question: "What's the point of it?"
Unfortunately, Consumer Grade hygros are the only ones that are most freely available and affordable to some particularly if you are buying more than one, and a measure of 50% humidity should be 50% regardless of where the hygrometer came from or what technology was used, so if you are buying consumer grade and there are six on offer at your local store showing 30, 70 & 80% but 3 showing (around) 55% then choose one of the hygros which show the most consistant measure even though this is no guarantee of its accuracy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by IdahoOrchid

As a side note, I don't think that condensation on a window is an indication that humidity is adequate. The science of that just says that yes, there is SOME humidity in the area of the window.

Sorry Steven, on this one I do have to disagree !
I dry the condensation from the windows (something I NEVER have to do in summer), my (non-Consumer Grade) Hygro is placed on the far opposite side of the window wall and has jumped 20 degrees to 60%, not that I need to look at it because I can FEEL the difference, so unless there is a dry vacuum between these two points (unlikely) then I think it's a pretty sure bet that the humidity in the room has somewhat increased.
BUT...... the point of the wet windows comment was not so much about the increased humidity but the practicalities of having this amount of moisture in an internal room for long periods, a greenhouse?, yes, great, bring it on, but a bedroom?

Regards,

Pals

(ps. Are we still friends ???)