Old rads=Dry Apartment- is this okay?

[Jewels$Bling]

I have a few different orchids and am worried about the low humidity in our place and what that will do to them...

Any advice?

I am trying something new for my dendrobiums as they are all putting out keikis (they were a rescue mission ) and have planted them in glass bowls with river rock on the bottom and Schultz's Orchid Mix ( a blend of western fir bark, charcoal, and " a natural mineral that has been kiln-fired to create a permanent ceramic material containing thousands of porous spaces that hold water and oxygen for improved moisture and nutrient rentention."

I don't want to overwater them but I also don't want them to suffer from the lack of humidity so by placing the rocks at bottom and having some water at the bottom I am hoping to be able to water less and not cause root rot but also allow some humidity for the plants...

Anyone ever try something like this or also have a humidity problem???

[Connie Star]

Welcome to OB.
My house is quite dry in the winter and I have tried a couple of different things. I use ultrasonic and cool mist humidifiers near the plants- helps my nose and sinuses as well as the plants- I also keep the plants close together and use stones in trays with some water.
I have a little set-up in a bathroom that has two sinks. I fill one of the sinks with warm water and it raises the humidity pretty effectively in the small space. There is an east facing window and I also have a plant stand with lights for the lower shelf. This is new for the winter so we'll see how it goes.

[beanluc]

I'll address the "root rot" matter first. It's a subject with a lot of mis-conceptions around it. You might find this post helpful:
Air Management - Orchid Board
In short, at the roots, it's not the water, it's the air.

About humidity: There are a LOT of ways that people mitigate low humidity.

One of the easiest and most common ideas is to use humidity trays
ELABORATE but illustrative trays post - Orchid Board
and they are recommended by every book I've ever seen on the subject of growing orchids in the home. The link shows trays with just water, but the normal recommendation is to include gravel or pebbles in the tray, as the rocks' wet surfaces increase evaporation. Here's a less elaborate example:
Miltassia "Royal Robe" Jerry's Pick - Orchid Board Galleries
The tray shown is probably too small to actually be effective for the size of the orchid which is on it, but I think you'll get the idea.

However there's some doubt whether humidity trays are very effective: see
http://www.orchidboard.com/community...ended-not.html

Electric humidifiers are another option.
site;orchidboard.com humidifier - Google Search

Many people use enclosures like aquariums, glass cabinets, or even just grow-racks with plastic sheets behind/around them.
site;orchidboard.com orchidarium - Google Search

Another commonly-recommended and commonly-practiced idea is to simply crowd many large plants around the orchids. Growing plants create their own humid zone by transpiring water vapor.

Several times a year, I see someone posting on orchidboard that they put orchids in the bathroom while they shower or even leave them in there all day. We all know bathrooms are humid a lot of the time.

Finally: in a similar vein to the bathroom idea, I wrote this post, a little bit tongue-in-cheek, but a very effective trick nevertheless, using hot water:
http://www.orchidboard.com/community...tml#post267238

Now that I'm done spelling out ideas for increasing humidity, my last recommendation is that a cheap humidity meter will go a long way toward helping you measure whether your mitigation efforts are making any difference, and also learn what your plants can actually make-do with. I have this one:
Thermometer and Hygrometer Gauge - Plant It Earth
With this tool, I can say that I've discovered that certain places in my home are naturally more and less humid than others. With luck, someone might discover better spots for the orchids. Of course, we're trying to optimize for light, temperature and humidity all at the same time, but gathering information is never bad and could hopefully even pay off a lot. That's why I also have a cheap light meter reading out in footcandles too - this one:
Light Meter - Lee Valley Tools

[BobInBonita]

Excellent links Beanluc - Thanks from many.

The other side of the coin - when I lived in Minnesota, the winter indoor humidity was nearly desert dry. We had a whole house humidifier, but it only brought it into the 25-35%RH range (any higher and we risked condensation on the windows when it was 20-30 below). I borrowed a Fluke temperature/humidity meter from work. I was not able to measure any meaningful difference in humidity above pans of water. Air flow just dissipated it into the dry air around.

I only grew phals (in bark) then, but had good luck without worrying too much about what I couldn't easily control. I watered MUCH more frequently - nearly daily - and occasionally misted the leaves. Using a more retentive mix probably would have let me decrease the frequency.

Good luck with your orchids. They're too much like kids sometimes - we worry about everything that can happen and most of them turn out fine no matter what we do.

[Jewels$Bling]

I live in Saskatchewan where it is bone dry all year round but especially in the winter. Add the old style rads and we humans need an humidifier, let alone the plants. They were in the bathroom but there is no vent there so there at least the humidity was very high but the downside was the light isn't that great. I have been running the shower (plugging it so I can also enjoy a tub and not waste water) and opening the door to let the steam move around the house and this helps as well.

I have set the ones I was worried about up in sort of a humidity tray/ aquarium idea. They are in big open glass vases so I can watch their roots easily but lined the bottom with large and small rocks and then have the orchids planted in a good medium above that. So far they seemed to be doing well out of the bathroom and in this set up- plus it looks beautiful.

The orchids I was less worried about I have set up the same way but in clay pots instead of the clear glass. All seem to be enjoying being out in more light and planted this way.