Growing phals in lower humidity

[Irisha99]

Hi, guys. So I have a few simple old phals at home. The ones in the bathroom where humidity is higher are doing ok however in the rooms where humidity is 30-40% over the winter season (I live in NYC) are drying their roots. I water them once a week but it seems inadequate. They are potted in medium size bark. I have moderate intensity light in that room. Can you guys suggest what to do in order to improve their growing conditions and their overall health? Thanks!

[Dollythehun]

Medium bark + lower humidity = more watering. You can try repotting them in a smaller bark, or moss mix or water more often (sorry, obvious, I know).

[rbarata]

If you mean aerial roots are drying, perfectly normal.

[Paul]

The advice given above is sound. They are tougher than you think. Mine deal with 10-13%RH all winter long.

[jkofferdahl]

I'd suggest that rather than increasing the watering you increase the humidity. For $20 you can buy a small, cool air humidifier that will do wonders for them.

[SundayGardener]

For a humidifier, I got one that has a filter and is what I consider the"old fashioned" kind of humidifier. Later I read that often when trying to boost humidity for plants, ultrasonic humidifiers are preferred because they have more of a fogging effect? I now deployed a smaller ultrasonic, and have a bigger one ready for the orchids after I'm done using it for my own sinus-infected self. Also the old fashioned humidifier has a fan which I have found can have a noticeable drying effect on the plants closest to it. Took me a while to figure that out!

My experience is that you can't make a significant change in humidity with a single humidifier in a room unless the room is tiny or you enclose your plant area to create a smaller space (hence my use of plastic).

You might also want to take into account the temperatures in your living space? The phals and oncidiums that I have in a cooler location with lower humidity actually require much less water than the ones that I have under plastic with a humidifier and slightly higher temps (I would say the maximum temp difference is 5 degrees F but I'm not tracking it).

[Mountaineer370]

My wintertime humidity is in the 20s, maybe the 30s. While I can appreciate the advice to add a small portable humidifier, some of us have absolutely no space -- and I really do mean no space -- for one.

My Phals are in medium Orchiata. It is a fast-draining potting medium, and I find that I am watering every three to four days, so say roughly twice a week. The ones that have aerial roots also get a misting with each watering. I fertilize approximately weekly/weakly, but I don't keep track, and it could go to every other week.

I have only three Phals, but all of them seem happy, and two of them are in bloom. I grow on a table next to a south-facing window, with no supplemental lighting.

Good luck. I know each of us has our own preferences, which I respect, and no two homes are the same as far as growing conditions, so sometimes it takes a while to figure out what works best.

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[Irisha99]

I have a regular humidifier but the room is spacious so most likely one won’t be enough. And I do hate it when I have all that water on the floor when all that moisture settles down. I have orchiata small size mix at home and I think I would be ok watering it twice a week. I love watering my orchids, however, some of them don’t like all my attention lol😂 killed a few orchids by giving too much love. I see some people are successful using the hydroponic system. Anybody had any success with that? Thank you guys so much!

[Inksomnia]

I have also really dry winter time. I water my phals twice a week. My vanda and one phal that are growing in "vase culture" I water daily. So my solution is water more often. I also have lots of other plants, that I mist daily. But I love watering my orchids, so it is not big deal.

I tried not to water vanda daily by soaking it over night, but it is so thirsty, that it still needs more water on next day... It grows on southfacing window, but I live in northern Finland so there is not much sun...