going on vacation, any tips on watering for phalaenopsis?

[trdyl]

Originally Posted by annmac

Hi Ted
Bahrain is humid mornings & evenings but I find the indoor humidity only around 20%, presumably because of the A/C.
If I go for the aquarium set up and just give a thorough watering before I leave should I then keep the lid shut or leave it open a little to allow some airflow?
As I have 4 plants perhaps I should try a different method with each and see which fares the best!

I would leave it open a little not too much.

[Silla--glamour]

Hi Annmac, your suggestion for an aquarium is far too big, you can consider soaking the pot in translucent pail with water in it, throw some sphagnum moss in it to maintain moisture and humidity, that should let you pass 2 weeks without watering them. But be caution of mosquito breeding or any other insect that might breed in stagnant water for 2 weeks..

[annmac]

Hi all
Thanks for all the help and advice.
I returned from holiday to find 4 apparently content plants. All with new root growth and a new leaf nearly twice the size it had been when I left.
In the end I only had time to give them a good soak before I left and left watering instructions with a friend. Usually I pour water over the pots once a week, leaving them to stand in the water for 10 - 15 mins and once a week pour water over and allow it to drain away immediately. While away they had 2 x15 min soakings with no apparent problems.
Thanks again to all.
Ann

[stefpix]

did your friend do that actually? that watering schedule? or just a bit of water here and there? how many pots?
did you have any mounted? what is the indoor temp at yr place bahrein? and exterior?
stefano

[annmac]

The watering actually only involved putting the 4 pots in a plastic container, pouring the water on and letting them stand for 15mins before putting the 4 pots back on top of the humidity tray where they drained any excess water out. Not too difficult or time consuming and only needed to be done twice while I was away.
The temp in the room is about 74 - 76 F with humidity averaging about 25 - 30% although this goes up to about 50% for a while after watering.
When I returned I stuck my finger in each pot and they were dry on top but moist from about an inch down. A few silvery roots but most were green and plump, particularly one that had grown down and submerged it's tip in the water in the humidity tray!

[stefpix]

wonder if putting soaked towels in tray and clay pots on top would have been enough... maybe one inch of water too...
would it make the roots rot or just keep some moisture thru wicking?

[Windy]

I'm hoping this will "bump" this topic. Will some of these techniques also work for cats? They're my main concern since they tend to require water more often than my phals.

[stefpix]

I got a small humidifier - cool mist ultra sonic. about 1.5 l of water -
think a couple of those on a timer 2 hours a day gould give a nice mist / fog and lessen the need of watering.