New Restrepia Antennifera

[surtees]

here you can see the orchid under half a bottle I cut up for the job. I will remove the top for ventilation when I see some condensation or signs of high humidity. As you can see I am growing all these plants in my room on my desk, so finding a humidity level that will make my plants happy without causing damage to furniture is tricky but I'm aiming for 70% as that is also comfortable for me. (I'm asthmatic and dry air is very uncomfortable). any thoughts?

[surtees]

sorry for not posting the picture. here it is.

[stumac]

Originally Posted by surtees

Hi guys, I just bought my first orchid. A little restrepia antennifera and it is in a small plastic pot which you can see from the picture and I was wondering what medium to repot it in. At the moment I have standard potting mix, sphagnum peat moss and perlite. Can I use any of these to repot it or will I need to buy a new potting mix from my local garden store? It will be repotted into a small glazed ceramic pot (I think its 10cm diameter). All help would be appreciated as this is my first orchid, I usually grow tropical indoor plants

Why repot if you have just purchased it it should be ok for at least a year maybe two

[Discus]

Originally Posted by surtees

any thoughts?

Cool mist humidifier with a humidistat it is then

[surtees]

well I repotted it because it was packaged in a closed plastic container and when I opened it the soil was soggy and that cant be good. so I repotted it and now the soil is moist to the touch which hould be good. I have been looking at humidifiers online (a room one so all my plants can benefit from it) and I ran across a few foggers for water features and I think they might be pretty cool. and at $5 might be worth trying to see if they are any good.
I like experimenting with plants, but only when at the worst case scenario nothing happens or changes

[Discus]

If you try one of those water feature misters, you'll need quite a big one to achieve anything significant; I suggest you make a "float" for it so that it will sit at the best height for optimal fog production in a bucket or tray of water (preferably fairly pure, RO or rain water etc).

[surtees]

I would use rain water as I have a rain water tank and use it for all my plants. I was planning on using the fogger in a bird bath water feature or something similar.

[surtees]

after putting the bottle over my orchid, the humidity around the other plants has increased and my hygrometer has gone from 40% humidity to about 65%. there is some condensation inside the bottle but I think it might be escaping to raise the humidity that much. here is a picture. as you can see by the picture the fogginess is locallised around the side that the sun hits. should I take the lid off or is this good?

[RosieC]

Orchids generally need some good air movement. So personally I would take the lid off to allow some fresh air in as well. Damp air sinks not rises, so the top can be open while the sides hold in the humidity.

[surtees]

ok thank you for the advice.