Phal bellina temperatures: don't wanna boil it!

[Lil Duck]

Originally Posted by MateoinLosAngeles

That's not necessarily true for the Phal bellina. In Borneo the lowest average night temperature is 74ºF. The average annual temperature accounting for day and night is a consistent 82ºF.

Just remember that LA is not Borneo and that orchids are resilient and don't need the exact temperatures they evolved with, I don't think that keeping everything at the perfect temperature is worth the hassle and money.

[MateoinLosAngeles]

Originally Posted by Lil Duck

Just remember that LA is not Borneo

Right, I am aware of my geographic location. However, replicating what orchids get in their natural habitats is a growing style and it's one that works for me and I'm not planning on changing it until it stops working. Regardless, my original question is that I personally don't want the orchid to go into the 60s. Whether you, or another grower, thinks that the orchid going in the 60s is fine, then that's appreciated but that's not what I asked. I actually asked about max temps.

Regarding the hassle and money, I rent and my landlord pays for electricity

---------- Post added at 09:12 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:02 AM ----------

Originally Posted by Dimples

Have you tried putting a clear plastic or glass container over the top of the plant to trap the heat around it?

I gave this a shot with a paint pail plastic liner that I had laying around. I opened a bigger hole at the top and small holes at the bottom.

At first I thought the top hole would be too big but the temperature on the sticky tape read 75ºF whereas the room temp was 68ºF. Might be promising!

[plantxart]

My Bellina grows cooler than those temperatures and it’s still pushing out a leaf and growing new roots.

[Dimples]

I wouldn’t have started with a hole that large in the top, since heat rises and the hole will let it out, but I’m glad you’re having success. A larger clear container will trap a larger volume of warm air, theoretically reducing temperature swings. I know it works like that with greenhouses but I’m not sure if the tiny scale you’re working with will result in any noticeable temperature difference as you increase the container size. The larger container would also help prevent the internal humidity from rising too high, but if you’re putting holes in them than that’s probably not an issue.

[MateoinLosAngeles]

Yeah, since these are inexpensive liners I decided to make a bigger hole to keep condensation at bay instead of opting for a smaller one and increase it from there, as to avoid a broiler situation to happen in my absence.

There are small holes punched around the base where cold air can escape. The idea is that as the hot air rises it also expands, the pale having a convex shape and the hole in the middle should let the hotter air accumulate gently as it slowly escapes. There's also the gas exchange happening between the "chamber" and its surroundings. As cooler outside air drops "into" the chamber through the top hole, it should create a nice micro current allowing the cold air to escape through the bottom holes. This should also help cool down the base which is in touch with the heat mat. So all in all, temperature and humidity across the pot might be evened out.

If the sticky tape is right, temperature at the top of the pot is about 10ºF higher than what it was when it was uncovered. So I think this might be actually doing something. For what it's worth, I "feel" a humid warmth if I stick my finger inside the "chamber" Lol