Orchids drying out too fast?

[31drew31]

OrchidJoe, I may have missed this, how are you watering these plants? Are you watering them like a normal houseplant, or are you soaking the entire pot for 10-15 minutes? I prefer the latter, as pouring water through a bark mix doesn't allow the bark to soak up the water which would cause the media to be dry again within 24 hours (especially with clay).

[RosieC]

Good point. I would soak in this case.

[OrchidJoe]

Thanks for all the tips, I'll try soaking them all this weekend when I water them. Hopefully that will work better.

[spetrizio]

soaking is must in your case.
I also use clay pots with quite big side holes.
in GH with 80% RH pots with bigger bark are dry in 3-4 days.

you can prolong drying period if you put clay pots with holes in decorative pots without holes (or plastic pots without holes).
you can fine tune drying period by using bigger or smaller decorative pot. smaller air space between clay pot with holes and outer decorative pot will result with longer drying period, and vice versa.

[31drew31]

Originally Posted by OrchidJoe

Thanks for all the tips, I'll try soaking them all this weekend when I water them. Hopefully that will work better.

Let us know how this works for you, but I suspect you'll be much happier with this method.