Warm growing orchids - how hot is too hot?

[guccisimo85]

I grow pretty much all warm-growing species. Some or higher and lower light, but I am pretty careful not to grow anything that is intermediate/cool.

I have upgraded my lights and in the afternoon I am topping out at 95F. I do maintain humidity between 70-80%. I also cool the room down to 65F for 8-10 hours every night. I also keep the air constantly circulating with two strong fans. I have checked the leaves and they are only warm, not hot.

I know I am pushing the limits on temperature, but if I run the A/C during the day I see a massive drop in humidity. Down to around 50-60% until the humidifiers catch-up and then the A/C usually kicks in again .. and the cycle keeps repeating.

Given my humidity, night time drop, and air movement, do you think I should be ok? Or am I better to sacrifice humidity for temperature?

I have a window seal for my A/C on the way; hoping that might help keep a bit more of the humidity inside, as right now I am opening the window partially when I put the A/C in order to vent it.

Any thoughts/suggestions are much appreciated

[Ray]

While I cannot give any absolutes, I think it pays to think in terms of total energy input - if the thermal energy is high, the light energy should be reduced.

I have grown Asian cymbidium species that endured snow and full winter sun in Pennsylvania and over 100°F with deep shade in the summer.

[Keysguy]

gucci- temp is directly related to ability to keep pace with humidity. I grow outside Key West. (I'm in New Hampshire now for the summer) According to my phone, it's been in the low 90's there with humidity also in the high 80's so "feels like" temp is close to 110.
Know what? They LOVE IT!
BUT.......if you don't have the humidity with the high temps, they'll suffer. As Ray said, if you can't get the humidity up, cut the lights back. And give them plenty of good velocity air flow!

And you can also typically be very generous with the water. Warm-hot growing plants typically have a "wet" summer.

[guccisimo85]

Thanks for the info, much appreciated! Glad to hear you have a lot of success in the hot and steamy weather!

I have no problem keeping the humidity around 75-80% as long as I don’t open a window. The minute the i open the window it all goes out the ... window

I check them several times a day, so I will keep my eye closely on the watering too.

Originally Posted by Keysguy

gucci- temp is directly related to ability to keep pace with humidity. I grow outside Key West. (I'm in New Hampshire now for the summer) According to my phone, it's been in the low 90's there with humidity also in the high 80's so "feels like" temp is close to 110.
Know what? They LOVE IT!
BUT.......if you don't have the humidity with the high temps, they'll suffer. As Ray said, if you can't get the humidity up, cut the lights back. And give them plenty of good velocity air flow!

And you can also typically be very generous with the water. Warm-hot growing plants typically have a "wet" summer.

[estación seca]

95 F / 35.5C is not hot for warm to hot growing orchids, if other conditions are correct. It depends on on the plant. Many, not all, warm to hot growing orchids get significant cooldowns at night. This makes a huge difference in daytime temperature tolerance.

[guccisimo85]

Ok, that is good to know! I keep humidity and air movement as high as possible. I also drop the temps down a lot at night. It’s on its way down to 65F at the moment

Originally Posted by estación seca

95 F / 35.5C is not hot for warm to hot growing orchids, if other conditions are correct. It depends on on the plant. Many, not all, warm to hot growing orchids get significant cooldowns at night. This makes a huge difference in daytime temperature tolerance.