Good results watering with hot water.

[Cym Ladye]

Good Grief, Charlie Brown! Most of us do everything we can to duplicate the conditions in which each genus we grow lives in nature with only the addition of a compatible fertilizer. I do not recall rain coming in "burning my hand" temps! I think some common sense is called for here.

[bil]

Originally Posted by Cym Ladye

Good Grief, Charlie Brown! Most of us do everything we can to duplicate the conditions in which each genus we grow lives in nature with only the addition of a compatible fertilizer. I do not recall rain coming in "burning my hand" temps! I think some common sense is called for here.

Oh yes.

[Ray]

Wait! WAIT! I can see it now: the newest market rage, "Just add steam..."

[kcbugs]

Originally Posted by Ray

Wait! WAIT! I can see it now: the newest market rage, "Just add steam..."

LOL!!

Sent from my KFTHWI using Tapatalk

[bil]

I still can't get over the idea of watering plants with hot water to kill bugs. If it is hot enough to kill bugs, it will cook the roots, and if not, it's pointless.

[Joseia]

I've done some traveling in tropical regions (Hawaii, Malaysia, Thailand and the Phillippines) and have been caught in rain showers. The rain is nice and cool, sometimes it feels very cool. In hot climates, I would think the orchids are accustomed to nice, cool refreshing rains so I don't see how they would prefer very warm water. But if it seems to work for you, then that is what matters I guess.

[AnonYMouse]

• Your skin's threshold for heat is a lot lower than when tissue damage occurs.
• There probably is a temperature for optimum benefits. Might even be a plant root cell function involved but I doubt it is high enough to be painful to human skin.
• Are you all taking about the Mpemba effect? I vaguely remember an experiment in Physics 101 (ancient history), hot water did ice faster (words can be tricky in law and science so I'll keep it vague).

[orchidsarefun]

many of you seem to want to make the point that, in your opinion, watering with "hot" water isn't common sense, isn't what happens in nature........and so on. You miss the point that in the actual experience of the OP, it has worked for a few months on all plants except maybe one.
I have come across this my way or the highway type of thinking on quite a few subjects and thus always like to learn firsthand ( if its worthwhile in my own situation, for example potting phals up to a certain size in tightly packed sphagnum moss. It works, despite many, many ridiculing opinions to the contrary ) before passing any judgement call.
OP ( ashleyma ), I am curious why you tried this method - had you been told something ? was it just an experiment ? If it works for you, then carry on. I am interested in what happens longer term so would appreciate an update in the future. Who knows, you may just be onto something.

[AnonYMouse]

Right now, we have an anecdote.

What we would like are specifics. To convince the skeptics, we will need scientific data.

And your sphag analogy, I have always accepted. It works for you and high volume commercial growers. It does not work for me. Just saying.

[bil]

Originally Posted by AnonYMouse

Right now, we have an anecdote.

What we would like are specifics. To convince the skeptics, we will need scientific data.

And your sphag analogy, I have always accepted. It works for you and high volume commercial growers. It does not work for me. Just saying.

^^^ A scientist speaks.^^

Experimentation is great. The problem here is that there are so many variables. You'd need to disconnect all the other things that this grower does.

As for spaghnum, I make no secret of the fact that I don't like it. ALL of the orchids I have bought which were packed in Sphag had dead or dying roots. ALL the ones in bark were good.

You can make anything work if you put enough effort into it. When I kept koi there were always arguments over filtration. I used to say that it was perfectly possible to make a functioning filter from dog turds, if you used your brains.

Rotting and suffocating roots are a big killer. Overwatering in winter, the same. Why choose a medium that is hard to steer thru winter when coarse bark makes it impossible to overwater?