should I be spraying My Orchids with water?

[sepow]

Hello, first time user from Boston.My question is...should I spray just the roots and not the buds And flowers?The six plants that I have are in a south kitchen bay window,looking out at 3 ft. of snow!
two Have reflowerd,and all are very heathy.

Thank you in advance for any advice

[WhiteRabbit]

Are you talking about aerial roots? Or mounted plants?

I usually only spray aerial roots during regular waterings.

Do not spray buds or blooms. I also don't recommend misting leaves in most cases, tho others do so.

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[wintergirl]

Welcome to Orchid Board. It depends on the type of orchid you have, I only water the roots/media and wipe the leaves occasionally with a damp cloth. You don't want to get water down inside the crown of the plant and you don't water the flowers or buds.

[sepow]

Thank you for your replies. They are potted orchids as opposseded to mounted. I am so glad to get the info on not misting flowers,buds, and keeping crowns dry.Thanks again for the valuble information !!!

sepow.......will be back soon with a few more question

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[katrina]

As long as the foliage doesn't sit w/water in the crowns of phals and/or in "pockets" on other orchids for extended periods of time, getting water on the whole thing wont hurt any of them one bit. You just want to make sure they dry off before too much time has passed.

In nature, they don't have little umbrellas when it rains.

[sepow]

that ,makes perfect sense, and they do dry out within a half hour.
thank you for your advice......

[tarev]

When it is cooler weather and my orchids are indoors, in bloom or not, I only water the root zone. Then I make sure to run the ceiling fan briefly; There is more interval too in watering. It will also depend what media you are using. If you are using sphag moss, it really takes a great long time to dry out, so check carefully if media is still wet.

But during the warmer season and they are outdoors, I freely water the whole plant, but if it is in bloom I do not spray the blooms. Just the leaves and roots. It is different outdoors, there is more air circulation around, and heat helps dry the wet areas of the plant fast enough. My area is dismally dry during warmer season, our humidity is so low, so oftentimes I have to be more frequent in watering them.

It will be good to have an indoor/outdoor sensor so you have a fair idea just how hi or low humidity is in your area, and prevailing temps too.

[Brooke]

When I water my mounts, bud, blooms and leaves all get water on them.

I've lost one Phal to crown rot that was mounted but it was probably from the dark ugly g/h with no sun for days.

Brooke

[Leafmite]

It really depends on your conditions. If everything dries quickly due to good air circulation or warmer temperatures and you water in the mornings, often you will be fine if water gets on the leaves, especially on sunny days when the sun is warming the plants. Cooler temps and dull, cloudy days as well as watering later in the day puts the orchids more at risk for rot.

[sepow]

Most of the orchids are Phals with a bark type potting mix. I have been spaying about twice a week ,but avoiding the flowers and buds .the temp in the house is appx. 70f. I think the humity is fairly low. I keep the temps up do to my Mom who is bed ridden and suffers from alziemers.I have been her primary care giver for three years. So, I have lots of time to tend to my plants.
All that said, I thank you all so much for your input!
Now heres a question ,I have 5 mini phals,would they benefit from a terr., I make frequent stops to the salavation army in search of large glass vesssels. You would be amazed at what you can find.
Thanks to everyone who posted......sepow...(Steve)