Winter blues (coping with cold & dry conditions)

[SundayGardener]

My orchids have the winter blues

We're slowly recovering from a recent discovery of mealy bugs (hopefully stopped by bayer-3 and repotting). But I'm also remembering, as I do every year after getting carried away by summer, that I really don't know how to care for indoor plants during Wisconsin winters.

I have a humidifer by my shelving but humidity can swing from 30% to 60%. I have water trays, but they don't seem to make much of a difference. Most problems that I've had with root rot seem to happen in the winter, because everything always seems dry. I've got everything pretty much in straight bark right now, because mealy bug repotting aside, moss always seems to get too clammy in the winter. I have some neos in baskets in the neck of vases filled with water (no roots touch water). My catts look especially miserable and I really don't know what to do for them! The oncidiums are hanging in there but not looking overjoyed.

Anyone with more experience in colder climates have advice?

[charlesf6]

There ain't no cure for the wintertime blues!


No seriously, someone will be here to help you ..

The only thing I learned about root rot this year was
to water early mornings and make sure that they dry out.

[Leafmite]

I grow quite a few tropical plants here in Ohio. The problem with cooler temperatures is that the growing medium doesn't dry out very fast and wet conditions that are devoid of oxygen will encourage the roots to rot. With the non-orchids, I add extra perlite and sand to all my mixes to help keep the roots of my plants healthy.

I have had to make adjustments with the orchids, too.
Bark stayed wet forever and my Cattleya roots would rot so I switched to red lava rock and basket pots. Now there is plenty of air to the roots and I do not need to worry about the roots rotting. You could also try using styrofoam in the middle and bottom of your pots and poking holes in the pots to allow more air to get to the roots.

[greenpassion]

Something I do to help get air to the roots is I make my own little net pots and put them in the bottom of pots( if they are larger, )inverted so there's an upside down cup full of either slots or holes and that allows more air to the roots. Doing that in addition to adding additional holes in the sides of the pot itself is very helpful. I grow in bark and in winter the bark staying damp could be a concern, which is why I do this with the net pots. I think mounting them is the best way and the most natural, but I just don't have the room to do it that way.

[jkofferdahl]

Originally Posted by SundayGardener

My orchids have the winter blues

We're slowly recovering from a recent discovery of mealy bugs (hopefully stopped by bayer-3 and repotting). But I'm also remembering, as I do every year after getting carried away by summer, that I really don't know how to care for indoor plants during Wisconsin winters.

I have a humidifer by my shelving but humidity can swing from 30% to 60%. I have water trays, but they don't seem to make much of a difference. Most problems that I've had with root rot seem to happen in the winter, because everything always seems dry. I've got everything pretty much in straight bark right now, because mealy bug repotting aside, moss always seems to get too clammy in the winter. I have some neos in baskets in the neck of vases filled with water (no roots touch water). My catts look especially miserable and I really don't know what to do for them! The oncidiums are hanging in there but not looking overjoyed.

Anyone with more experience in colder climates have advice?

You might want to consider a second humidifier, and putting up some sort of divider to separate the orchid area from the rest of the room. I hang sheets in doorways to retain the room's humidity. 30% is getting low, but 60% is excellent.

So-called humidity trays are, in fact, a gimick created by plastics manufacturers to get your money. They're useless. The amount of evaporation from them is negligible.

[greenpassion]

Sheets in doorways is a good idea!

[jkofferdahl]

Originally Posted by greenpassion

Sheets in doorways is a good idea!

That's why I do it.

[katrina]

You don't mention light level or temps in your growing space and one (or both) of those might be your problem. Root rot isn't typically a result of too dry but rather too wet. I discovered early on that my biggest battle during an Ohio winter was the long dark days...especially for catts.

So, how much light are your high light orchids getting? And what are the average temps in your grow space...night and day?

[SundayGardener]

Thanks for all the ideas!

They are in a room with a high ceiling, which makes trapping humidity difficult. I do have a plastic shower curtain on standby to deploy. We have a steam heat system, so there are also bowls of water on the radiator.

For light, they are all facing a southern window, but the days get short here. I have an 8-bulb T5HO fixture over the top shelf, where the neos, catts, and misc live. Next level down is phals, a few paphs and a few oncidiums. The lights go on first thing in the morning, then when the sun comes up we turn it off, and turn it back on at night. So the lights are on maybe 6 or 7 hours a day? Nothing is turning dark green, in fact the catts are really light and yellowing.

I love the lava rock suggestion for the catts. On a happy note, one of them does seem to have new root growth (with the existing roots not looking so good).

I do use styrofoam and inverted net pots for anything that needs fast drainage and anything that has long roots and is in a pot to accomodate them, but might need extra internal air. Most everything is in a plastic net pot. I have a holcoglossum which was a high risk purchase for me, that wasn't doing too well, but it seems to be loving being propped over a vase of water and being misted daily. It's a needle mix which I'm also looking to use for the neos, which really confuse me. I initially planned to put them in a long fiber hollow moss ball, then didn't because I can't handle moss in the winter. So they're in net with little to no media and I mist them daily. Most of their initial splendid air roots have died. I might be able to rig some plastic to give them more humidity. I do have a small fan that runs when the lights are on, to help control heat and for air flow.

One thing I like about the humidity trays is that I can water in place and the water drains out, without anyone sitting in water.

This winter is just going to be a challenge. If I can figure it out and keep notes, I'll be better prepared for the future. It's a bit of a reality check, because everything was going pretty well and now I have to change gears. But I do see green root tips.

Lava rock does not have a drying effect on roots, like dry leica or clay can, does it it? I do have a good supply of lava rock. Larger chunk perlite is a challenge, it's not really available in Wisconsin and then shipping costs come into play. I have abandoned seramis because it's too tricky for me to monitor its moisture level and whether it is putting moisture out or sucking it in away from roots.

[Dollythehun]

Can you build a sort of greenhouse around them with shower curtains or plastic?