Humidity HELP! - Orchid Board

Tsuchibuta · #1 12-03-2007, 12:17 PM

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. If you keep your eyes out you can find one at walmart or target for under 25 bucks, and it'll look better than a shower curtain or paper towels shoved around them. Just place the humidifier near your plants and you'll be fine.

IdahoOrchid · #2 12-27-2007, 08:39 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 · #3 12-29-2007, 08:07 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