How do you water your indoor orchids?

[turock]

I'm glad I found this thread, because I was about to ask the same question!

Currently, I reuse plastic yogurt containers and some plastic paint mixing pots, one for each orchid. I soak them in these containers as often as they dry out. I also have some massive vandas that each get their own 3 gal bucket to soak in daily. Many of my plants won't fit neatly in a container, so I take them to a sink. I find that I can water in "waves"; phals one day, oncidiums the next, etc.

As my collection has been growing at a frightening rate, I've been dying to find a better way to water. Today it took me 3 hours to fertilize all my plants. Katrina, your set up seems to be what I've been dreaming about building. Unfortunately, the images you posted aren't showing up anymore. Can you please repost those so I can ooo and aaah over them, too?

[BillieG]

I have around 30 orchids and I carry them to the sink in pairs. Some are in S/H and others are in orchid bark. The ones in bark I water to overflowing and the ones in S/H I hold my thumb over the holes and fill to the top then let go and let it drain. I use acid water from my filtration system with a little fertilizer in it in a 2 gallon sprayer. I used to lose orchids here and there until I started using the acid water a few months ago. Since then I've had 12 orchids spike and bloom. Some are spent, some are still blooming and a couple are spiking now. Best thing I've ever done is change to acidic water.
Now if I could just either think of a faster way to water or stop buying orchids...........

[katrina]

Not sure why you aren't seeing them..odd. No worries...I'll pull my pics and post in the morn.

[fishmom]

I have a rolling cart with a wood top, that looks like this:
Mali Natural Top Kitchen Cart Wood/Coffee - Winsome : Target

I have a plastic dish washing basin, a 1-gal pouring container, and a smaller watering can on top. I push the cart into one of my three growing areas and water over the basin, catching the water there. My watering can has a fine spout, so I can direct the flow of water to be sure that all roots get their fair share. The pouring container is where I mix my fert solution, or just use water; it is sized to pour easity into the watering can. As the water starts to fill the basin, I carry it out to use on plants in the garden, but I don't allow any reuse of water for the orchids.

The drawer holds wire ties, bamboo skewers name tags, razor blades, etc. Squirt bottles for misting hang from the towel rack,along with a rag. I can keep alcohol and various other goodies in the cupboard.

It works really well and saves me a lot of steps. The only plants that have to be carried to the sink are the few that I have in S/H; I use tap water to flush them and tip as much water out as I can, then fill the reservoir with my fert solution.

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[katrina]

The pics are still on photobucket so I'm not sure why the forum has removed them. ???

Upclose of the trays and how they are set up...plastic drop ceiling louvers inside the trays to keep the pots from sitting in any left-over water. These are the new boot trays we made a couple of years ago...the acrylic trays I had prior didn't hold up well.





Watering day - showing the old acrylic trays (and the old ugly vinyl flooring and ugly cabinet we used to have -ugh) but the process is the same w/the new trays. And the space is much prettier w/my new flooring.




The mount station area has the drain basins made of pvc pipe and plastic sheeting w/drain plugs and the water runs into the same buckets and I just dump them when they are full. Same w/the hoses that drain from the trays...just dump when they get too full.



The mount drain basins can be torn down and stored between uses. The legs come off for easy storage. If you're like me and you drop mounts when you're watering...you also might find that you need to replace the plastic. I got about 2yrs out of it before I had to buy new and rebuild the structures.

Boot trays came from Gardener Supply and the drains are the kind you use on outside faucets...hubby used the drill press to make the hole and then installed the plugs. The hoses attach easily and I cut them to fit the different shelf heights.

Side note - for the set up to fit on those wire shelves, I did have to remove some of the cross wires so the plugs could fit down onto the shelf correctly. I didn't want the plugs hanging out to the side...I wanted them tucked up under the shelf. It required some muscle to get those cut but good wire cutters made quick work of it.

This is the new space w/new flooring and cabinet and the much neater space. I got rid of all the clutter. View when you enter. The space is only a mess when I'm watering. The set up had to look good and be neat and clean since this is the first thing anyone sees when they come into my house.

[paris75008]

i've turned a small room into a dry growing area and its bathroom into a wet one. the dry growing area is for potted plants which sit on wire shelving w/ banks of grow lights above; to water, i take the pots to the bathroom next door (which is the wet growing area) and water away in the sink. the wet growing area's where i hold the cattleyas unpotted. i placed expandable doggie/baby gate horizontally on the bath tub, then placed the unpotted catts on the wire screen and under grow lamps. i use the handheld shower to water these babies daily, and the water's captured and held in the tub for humidity. intentionally, the drain's not quite stopped so that the daily watering (leisurely, low pressure) fills 1/2 of the tub and drains completely in 4 hours.

pretty crazy, huh? however, it works.

---------- Post added at 04:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:17 PM ----------

katrina: that's a pretty impressive set-up and has given me something to aspire to. thanks!

[turock]

Wow, what wonderful ideas you all have. Now I want to go out and spend money! Gee, thanks

[MateoinLosAngeles]

Originally Posted by katrina

I do most of my watering in place. I have trays that drain into buckets and I dump the buckets. And for the mount stations, my husband built me "catch basins" that drain into buckets also. Makes my indoor watering go sooooooooo much faster than when I had to carry everything to the sink/shower all the time.

I still carry the plants to the sink/shower...especially the larger ones...about every 4-6 weeks (on a rotational basis) in order to clean the leaves off. Plus, clearing the trays gives me a chance to clean out the trays themselves...they can get a bit messy after awhile.

Some pics...
Tray w/drain


underside of the tray w/drain - I screw a hose into that and it drains down into buckets that I then empty. I can water and fert ...all in place. Just have to watch the buckets to make sure I don't overflow. The trays don't completely drain but the plastic eggcrate in the bottom keep the pots from sitting directly in water AND the little bit of water in the bottom does help w/humidity a little bit. Not much...but a little.




mount stations - ignore any mess you might see This pic is from before our renos last Summer. I've since redone the flooring and we moved all the orchid supplies to a storage room upstairs so the space now looks much neater and nicer.
Regardless...these are the mount watering contraptions.



And, when I'm done watering, everything disconnects or breaks down and gets stored in the storage room w/the other supplies. Those mount stations are pvc and the legs come off for easy storage. Best of all...my "big" watering each week went from 8+ hours to about 2.5hrs-3...which includes set up and tear down of the watering devices/hose/buckets and any wipe up/clean up that needs to be done.

Any way we can get those pictures again?

[WaterWitchin]

Not unless the original poster wants to put them up again with unbroken links. OP was last online here in 2020...

[tmoney]

Originally Posted by Subrosa

I could go into the minutia of how I water each of my plants during their indoor time, but it's probably nothing new. The important thing is that I mop up afterwards!

you must have watched our watering video!! hahahah, yes, this is the most valuable piece of indoor plant care advice. happy wife, happy life....

---------- Post added at 11:08 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:06 AM ----------

Originally Posted by WaterWitchin

Not unless the original poster wants to put them up again with unbroken links. OP was last online here in 2020...

dang, hornswaggled again! i also really need to pay more attention to the dates....