bad new..evacuated growing area :(

[WhiteRabbit]

well shelves with lighting and a humidifier may be all that you need - maybe not even the humidifier - if you can keep media from being too dry, the plants might be fine.

[Call_Me_Bob]

can you tell me more about that option please? i dont know anything about it. it gets pretty dry in the house during winter. and it can get moldy in summer

thanks you cb977!!!

[Izzie]

Ever vigilant, Susanne!

[Izzie]

Originally Posted by help

can you tell me more about that option please? i dont know anything about it. it gets pretty dry in the house during winter. and it can get moldy in summer

thanks you cb977!!!

A lot of growers have found that if you keep the roots happy, a lot orchids (including the ones you're concerned with growing) will be fine without high humidity. Just grouping the plants together and using humidity trays helps enough often times.

As for mold- increase air movement with a cheap clip-on fan from Walmart that you can clip to the table or shelf. And use Physan or brown Listerine if you have a flare up. (you just soak or dunk with either solution)

[WhiteRabbit]

Originally Posted by Izzie

A lot of growers have found that if you keep the roots happy, almost all orchids (including the ones you're concerned with growing) will be fine without high humidity.

As for mold- increase air movement with a cheap clip-on fan from Walmart that you can clip to the table or shelf. And use Physan or brown Listerine if you have a flare up. (you just soak or dunk with either solution)

Yes, I have found most of my orchids do ok with low humidity here in the summer as long as the media is not too dry for them.

[cb977]

Originally Posted by help

thanks you cb977!!!

You're welcome

and please call me Sue...all my friends do

[marydaniellesantos]

Lol. Well there you have it! Like they said, they should do fine. My phals are very happy, just lots of air movement and a good amount of moisture for the roots.

Izzie. Listerine works too? I've never heard of that! It's a very interesting and good thing to know! Thanks for sharing that!

[cb977]

Listerine

[Cym Ladye]

Originally Posted by Cym Ladye

Help,

Although you are in Zone 6a, I am not immediately familiar with the zone highs, lows and humidities.

CL

Help,

If I had taken the time to research zone 6a, I would have understood your problem! For some reason I thought you were in California. Outside is obviously not an option except for the summer months for some genera.... maybe. Good Luck in whatever you come up with.

[nutgirl]

Re: size of greenhouses

I started with a 6 wide x 8 long x 7 high.

I now have a 8 wide x 16 long x 9 high.

It is much easier to control the conditions in the larger one....and you can create mini climates because there is more space to work with.
Granted my conditions are probably not anything like yours (summer hot/dry). I use misters, fans, shade cloth and a swamp cooler to keep the temps under control.

I'm not able to heat in the winter so mine come indoors. A combination of southfacing window, wire racks, supplimental lighting and a humidifier keeps everyone happy until spring.

The size of the gh should be determined by your budget and space available. I've seen several postings on OB say to get the biggest one you can and I agree.

If you can get a gh cheap enough to experiment with, go for it. But you may find that a larger one is better down the road.

Maureen