How do you water your indoor orchids?

[emg53]

When I first started growing orchids I took them to the sink and soaked them in a pot for 10 minutes. I like to immerse them in water to see if they have any unwanted critters. I set a timer and did house work while I switched them out. However like many of you my 5 orchids quickly turned to 10 then 20.

I am fortunate that my orchids only have to be indoors for a few months. I have about 30 orchids now and it takes me quite a bit of time to water them all when they are inside. I take all of them outside to water them which is a lot of trips outside then back in. Fortunately my husband helps so it's not too bad. We just put up a 4 tier shelf at the sliding glass door so at least most of them are closer to outside now. The orchids that are in bloom are in the living room and kitchen. I am so glad that the weather will be warn enough in a couple of weeks to put them outside.

So those of you who have orchids inside how do you water them. I know many of you have them inside most of the year or all year. Do you have any tips on how to do it easier?

[campchi]

Most of my orhids are growing in those plastic pots that I recycle from my boba drinks. They are like 4-6 inches cups. And I have tons of them, so when I water, I just put em in the one with no holes and soak em all together for 5-10 minutes.

[dangerouseddy]

I have a little 1 ltr plastic jug that I fill with tepid water and a bit of fertilizer if needed.

I leave the pot in it for about 10-30 mins to soak before letting it drain.

I use new water for each orchid, usually have a few each day to water atm, apart from the seedlings that need a bit of a spray everday.

[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!

[dangerouseddy]

as to making it easier to water your plants you could soak a few in the sink or whatever at the same time but you risk increasing the spread of disease if your plants have any.

if you have low humidity you could buy a humidifier, your plants should dry out slower if the humidity is increased.

[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.

[No-Pro-mwa]

Oh, nice kitty is helping, NOT!

That's quiet a system. I think I would be to lazy to break them down. I take them all to the sink and it takes me a loooooong time. I have to quit buying new orchids. And yes mine are in the house year round. I haven't tried any outside even in the summer. Not sure how that would work with my wind.

[emg53]

Wow Katina, that is some setup. It really gives me some great ideas. I have to agree with No-Pro-mwa I'm not sure I would dismantle it all the time. Every time I want to buy a new orchid I think of how much time it takes me to water them so I would really like to shorten the time. I know I will be buying more.

[Leafmite]

I just water my potted ones with a watering can (or whatever container is handy) and soak the mounts in a bucket together. I have the basket pots all sitting in clear plastic containers that catch the water and use clear plastic tablecloth to protect my lights (with cardboard on top). I spend about twenty minutes a week total watering my seventy orchids and the rest of the plants.
Disclaimer: I understand that sharing water is not the best option but as I either buy distilled water, collect rain water or melt snow to water my plants, I don't have unlimited water. (We have a water softener). I buy from vendors with a good reputation and keep any suspicious orchids isolated.
I have the policy that growing orchids is just a hobby, meant to be fun.

[hbozeman]

I have all my potted ones sitting on humidity trays/egg crate with hydroton/gravel underneath that to help with humidity. My mounted 'chids are over a catch tray (actually a plastic liner for a planter). I use a 1-gallon sprayer and water in-place. Just a squirt or two and on to the next.