Away for 2 weeks--keeping the 'chids alive

[irrka]

Hi, i am finally going on vacation and going to be away for 2 weeks.

I've 8 'chids and a few regular house plants. Most chids are in S/H, one is in moss and in bud, and one's in bark. Because it's so dry i've been having to add water pretty frequently to the S/H pots so i know i won't be able to leave those for 2 weeks straight with nothing coming.

I was thinking of putting all the pots into plastic bag(s) a-la sphag-n-bag and out of the sun for two weeks.

Can i do the same with my catt in bark and my budding phal in moss?? i bought a misting machine online but it's not here yet and i'm starting to doubt it'll get here on time.

	Mistking Looking for a misting system? Look no further. Automated misting systems from MistKing are used by multitude of plant enthusiasts and are perfect for Orchids. Systems feature run dry pumps, ZipDrip valve, adjustable black nozzles, per second control! Automatically mist one growing shelf or a greenhouse full of Orchids. See MistKing testimonials

[Ray]

Move them to a shadier location, water them very thoroughly just before you leave, and stop worrying. Orchids are extremely hardy, and two weeks is a "walk in the park".

[irrka]

Thanks!!

[Gwenchanter]

LOL yeah I went away for three months over the summer and just hid my phals in the bushes. I wouldn't reccomend it because some kind of bug ate a bunch of holes in the leaves but they are still alive and re-blooming as we speak. I think people don't realize that orchids are not as delicate as they seem.

[cb977]

If there's one thing I've learned about orchids, it's that they are not the fragile sissy plants I once thought them to be!

I know of folks who've ignored theirs for some time and came back to find all kinds of interesting stuff growing!

Enjoy your trip...give us a status report when you get back

[irrka]

I'm going to Thailand, do you think i could smuggle some plants in? yeah right, considering i get drug searched every time i go anywhere.... it's me and the 80-year-old-grannies with purple hair--we're very suspicious looking.

[*Trouble*]

Hi irrka,

I'm just back from Thailand, where I bought orchid seedlings in glass bottles. They're even available to buy in the airports.

If you go to a good orchid farm out there they will send full grown orchids to you at home.

[irrka]

oooh it's a good thing i didn't have the link for this while i was travelling. i thought we weren't allowed to bring plants in?
Anyway, came home and found most of them ok, the only one that looked a bit sad was the one in bud--except for two buds all of them fell off (got too dry i guess), but i'm hoping for the tip to make some more. No flowers yet, keeping my fingers crossed. And my other (big) phal made a spike!! woo hoo!!
P.S. can't believe these things grow almost like weeds in thailand!!!! (and thank god no one offered to ship them home to me from the orchid farm--i wouldn't have had money left for diving probably!)

[irrka]

e