Misting - Orchid Board

Ravi · #1 11-28-2018, 07:41 AM

What would be the ideal frequency of misting under the following environmental day temperatures ( in Celsius):
Jan-Feb 22-23 degrees
Mar-April 25-37
May- June 37-40-42
Jul-Oct 22-<30
Nov- Dec 22-24.
June to Sept humidity about 85% which falls in the rest of the year and relatively dry.
Seasons : terminology different
March- June 1st week: summer
June-Oct : monsoon or rainy
Nov-Feb end winter
Feb end to March autumn
Day length shortest Oct-Jan
Longest rest of the year.
Plants need humidification through a humidifier except during Jul - Oct because of high atmospheric humidity.
Hence the chances of crown rot are minimal( except in high humidity months) unless some one is very careless
Shifts of sunlight:
In the months Oct -Jan : East to slightly South ward
Rest of the year more East to north east

Ray · #2 11-28-2018, 10:49 AM

If you mean misting the plants, my recommendation is "never".

If your aim is to raise humidity by misting water into the air, my answer is "as often as is necessary to keep the relative humidity above 50-60%".

WeirdGuySeattle · #3 11-28-2018, 02:58 PM

Ray - why never?
It seems like aerial roots are engineered for misting.
epiphytes also seem like foliar feeders as much as root feeders.

I might agree, you should probably not set up a misting schedule for the sake of misting plants, but watering via mist is kinda useful (at least to me) on mounted plants especially.

On potted plants, I don't like misting unless the media surface has gone dry but there is plenty of water deeper in the pot (like on a moist growing plant like a Masdevallia).

Ray · #4 11-28-2018, 06:24 PM

Misting the roots frequently to feed and water is fine. I was referring to the often-misunderstood and incorrect concept of misting leaves for raising the humidity.