Mounted Orchids - Vacation Care

[Clawhammer]

Hello, I travel for work often and have avoided mounting orchids as I perceived they would be a problem when I travel due to the increased watering frequency. However, I just orders these fragrant species and they are already mounted, so I am wondering if there are any tips for vacation care? Will I need to automate a sprayer or can I just put them in a bag (like sphag in a bag style) when i am gone. A work trip is typically 4-5 days, but also curious for longer vacations (up to two weeks).

Holcoglossum subulifolium
Encyclia tampensis
Dendrobium unicum
Sedirea japonica
Lycaste aromatica (basket)

Thanks!

[mofms1]

I don't have any real advice for you. I just put some up on a mount as well and I have wodererd about that myself, but I don't travel as much. Would it be possible to look into renting some greenhouse space? There is an orchid store here that does that.

[DirtyCoconuts]

do you have any friends who are responsible and trustworthy? even better if they are orchid folk....

I am blessed to have an orchid head and mentor of mine three houses away and she and i will take care of each other's plants in a pinch.

that said....most orchids that are established can likely go 4-5 days on a mount without water. provided it is not too hot....can you bring them indoors while you travel to make the environment more stable?

[Clawhammer]

Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts

do you have any friends who are responsible and trustworthy? even better if they are orchid folk....

I am blessed to have an orchid head and mentor of mine three houses away and she and i will take care of each other's plants in a pinch.

that said....most orchids that are established can likely go 4-5 days on a mount without water. provided it is not too hot....can you bring them indoors while you travel to make the environment more stable?

Thanks for the responses. Sorry, yes, these plants will be inside year round under my grow lights. I could probably automate sprayers, I have already automated the watering of my 100 plants in semi hydro.

Has anyone tried putting them in a bag with a wet paper towel or maybe wrapping the roots in saran wrap?

I love the natural look of mounted orchids but I suspect I will just end up putting them all into semi hydro.

[mofms1]

I have read that while most orchid roots do need some version of moistness, they also need a lot of airflow. So I would think the saran wrap might be a bad idea.

I had also read that tree fern slabs wick water, but I'm not sure how true that is. Theoretically, you could put one part of the tree fern in water and it would keep the roots damp. But as I said, I'm not sure how true the wicking part is.

[Ray]

Automated misting is the way to go.

	Mistking Looking for a misting system? Look no further. Automated misting systems from MistKing are used by multitude of plant enthusiasts and are perfect for Orchids. Systems feature run dry pumps, ZipDrip valve, adjustable black nozzles, per second control! Automatically mist one growing shelf or a greenhouse full of Orchids. See MistKing testimonials

[Roberta]

I have automated all of my watering (both outside and in the greenhouse). No stress for vacations long or short... definitely automated misting/watering is the way to go. You can create a semi-enclosed area (3 sides) with plastic so that the sprayers don't make a mess of everything. Sort of like a shower. (or even set this up in the shower)

	Mistking Looking for a misting system? Look no further. Automated misting systems from MistKing are used by multitude of plant enthusiasts and are perfect for Orchids. Systems feature run dry pumps, ZipDrip valve, adjustable black nozzles, per second control! Automatically mist one growing shelf or a greenhouse full of Orchids. See MistKing testimonials

[Spiffy]

Originally Posted by Clawhammer

Thanks for the responses. Sorry, yes, these plants will be inside year round under my grow lights. I could probably automate sprayers, I have already automated the watering of my 100 plants in semi hydro.

Has anyone tried putting them in a bag with a wet paper towel or maybe wrapping the roots in saran wrap?

I love the natural look of mounted orchids but I suspect I will just end up putting them all into semi hydro.

I'm not an expert on orchids by any means, but this video came up in my youtube today and thought it very relevant (particularly re: saran wrap):
THE FUNNY WAYS I GROW ORCHIDS: THE MOUNTS, THE POTS AND BAGS 1080p - YouTube
Interesting he's 'halfbagged' a mount and used sphagnum to wick water up. The other one being a vanda with the roots wrapped up in a clear bag. Not aesthetically pleasing, but could work if you're just using while on vacation.

[Roberta]

Here's what I did to water Vandas and other things that I brought inside for the winter when I lived in a condo and had no room for a greenhouse... I used a big metal halide light, and had a submersible pump in a 5-gallon bucket, with a timer to run a set of low-flow sprinklers. (I did have the luxury of a second bathroom so I didn't' have to tie up the "principal" shower for the duration) http://orchidcentral.org/GrowingAreas/Vandacity.jpg . The bucket held enough water for 2-3 rounds of watering so with every-2-days watering it would suffice for nearly a week.

[BarleyTwist]

Originally Posted by Roberta

I have automated all of my watering (both outside and in the greenhouse). No stress for vacations long or short... definitely automated misting/watering is the way to go. You can create a semi-enclosed area (3 sides) with plastic so that the sprayers don't make a mess of everything. Sort of like a shower. (or even set this up in the shower)

Roberta (or others) — I’m setting up a DIY drip system to mist and/or water my mounted orchids while I’m on vacation. Do you recommend that I use misters, sprayers, both, or something else? I’ll be watering my orchids hanging from poles (photo below).

Should I water daily (early June, still prolly grey overcast at least half day) or some other schedule? How long to water each time?

Thank you!

Judy
(West Los Angeles)