Showering With Orchids and Other Tips
 

That's right, you read that correctly, I sometimes shower with some of my orchids and I don't care who knows it! :shock:
No it's not a lifestyle choice, I find it's sometimes the easiest way to water several plants at once when I'm pressed for time. Besides, my orchids seem down with it.
However, I've not had to go to this extreme since I got onto a pretty regular watering schedule.
Please take a moment to post your favorite time saving tip for me and my fellow newcomers to the wonderful world of orchids.

Thanks and have great day.

"Judge not lest ye be judged."
Someone in the Bible

I presume you have cold showers? Lol.

Hehe! Cool! Do you use any orchidnutrition? ;)

oooooooo kinky!

When I read the title of this thread - I thought of the Seinfeld episode where Kramer made salad in his shower after installing a garbage disposal there ... :rofl:

Hey, why not .. showering with your orchids is the 'green' thing to do :mrgreen:

I've never showered with them personally, but I suppose some of those old, dry pseudobulbs would be great for scrubbing all that gunk from in between your toes.

Kim

well i dun shower WITH my orchids, but thats how i normally fertilize and water them en masse. i sit in in the tub, turn on the shower head and then 'let there be rain', haha!!! it works quite well for me, but i just gotta be careful i dun make a monsoon for the poor little guys, hah

what kinds of orchids do you have?

I own a couple NOID Dendrobiums, Epi. schomburgkii, Den. nobile, a NOID Phal., Onc. 'Sweet Sugar', one mystery orchid, a jewel orchid, one Cattaleya NOID, two Onc. popcorn 'Pink Mist', and... oh wait, that's it.
The other 15 or so orchids in my possession belong to my brother in law. I rescued them from our mother in law and my sister in law while he's working out of state.
These include Onc. ampliatum (x2), sphacelatum, Big Mac 'Sargosa' x leuchochium 'Short Spike' and three NOIDs; two Vanda NOIDS; one Max. tenufolia (I think); 3 Den. pierardii (a dying mama and her two babies); Catasetinae ?; Brassavola cuculatta; Den. NOID; and I think that's it.
Wow :shock: that's the first time I've ever seen them listed like that. Hard to believe I owned two orchids 10 months ago!
I never did believe in collecting anything in moderation.

Wow, that's a lot of orchids! :) I'm impressed with the listing of all the names. I guess i, too, will learn all that over time. i just know mine by their types, i.e., phal, catt, dend and spaths. Obviously, I have a LONG way to go!

Hi all .. we did some major hijacking to this thread with all the Phal equestris 'Riverbend' X 'Zuma Beach' talk so I moved all the posts to it's own thread -
http://www.orchidboard.com/community...uma-beach.html
:D
Now .. back to showering with orchids ;)

TxOrchidgirl - just keep reading posts on OB and asking questions .. also check out the search option as there are many threads in the archives which are easy to access ..
With all the info here, before you know it, you'll be answering people's questions ;)
We all started out knowing nothing about orchids .. but eventually with time and knowledge, you'll be amazed at how much you will learn ;)

Wow..I was thinking of moving my orchids into the bathroom every time I showered, but not into the shower itself!

Would the daily short humidity burst be worth the trouble of moving them since i do not have humidity trays yet?

Dorothy,

I can't imagine I"ll ever be the one answering questions, but I'm here to learn!! Thanks for your warm welcome and words of encouragement.

If you have any windows in your bathroom its a great room to keep orchids in and they liven up the space.
As for humidity trays, just get some pee gravel and a few cheap casserole pans from the local discount store and you're in business.
TX,
I didn't know squat about orchids a year ago and now I give daily classes on basic orchid care at the garden center where I work.

Too cool, I typically water my orchids in the shower too for a good soaking once a week. But I don't shower with them...I don't think they'd like my shampoo. :blushing:

It's so easy tho cuz then I can get their fertilizer mix prepared and some other stuff done while they soak in the shower. Kinda wish I had a bigger shower, then I could get more orchids in there... :evil:

Haha. Showering with your orchids...I thought I was the only one who did that! :rofl: I used to work at the University collections greenhouses (UCONN) where we'd mist our orchids twice a day in the summer and it got me thinking about how my poor little home orchid didn't get to enjoy that too.

So..I started bringing it in to the shower with me so that it would get some mist, moisture, and increased humidity. Haha. I thought I was the only one out there who did this! :blushing: You should have seen the look on my boyfriend's face when he caught me with the orchid hanging in the shower once. Priceless! You know you're a plant lover when you'd do anything to keep them happy. :biggrin:

Gosh, I never thought of that!
I guess I won't be alone later on when I shower ;)

I just wish my bathroom was big enough to keep all my orchids in. It would be a lot easier to keep the humidity up. My orchid room is hard to keep humid now that the AC is running (even with the vent closed).

AaronM

This thread may have gotten a little sidetracked by the showering comments. What about time saving tips? Anyone want to add some of those?

AaronM

I have been having great success using the shower to water my vandas this winter. Sometimes it allows me to give them a thorough soaking while not wasting water. Plus my big guy is too dang big to soak in a five gallon bucket. The shower also leaves the humidity in the bathroom near 100% and with the vent closed it stays up most of the day.

Aaron "The Orchid Shower Sharer" M

I have done it too lol. I put all my plants in the shower turn on the rain shower head and scrub-a-dub. when I'm done I move them out of the tub and wash the bathroom. It was a weekly ritual for me and the plantie poos. Bonding experience i guess. I assumed they were all girls

Another chapter in this sordid tale has begun.
I had to move my Vandas inside this winter to protect them from the low nighttime temps. At first I had them hanging in front of the windows in two separate room and I would bring them into the shower with me every couple of days. It was good to have an excuse to shower a little more often and my wife has finally gotten a little more enthusiastic about the whole orchid thing (she says the house smells much better, but hat's weird because none of those Vandas are flowering). Anyway, it's two months later and the four plants now live in my shower full time. Fortunately, that bathroom has a four by five window in it and seems to be a perfect place for growing orchids. It may be partly due to the seventies tile that looks like freshly produced fertilizer. I sure hope my wife doesn't mind if I move the washer and dryer out to the garage so I can remodel and expand my new showerarium.

Aaron "Orchids Made Me Smell Better" M

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

This is hands down one of the best threads I've seen so far. I only wish I had a real contribution to make! Unfortunately I have this nasty little voice that usually manages to stop me from doing crazy things like showering with my orchids, and buying more orchids while on a college budget living in a tiny dorm room. I HATE that voice!

Hello All!

I just wanted to say that I shower with my four vandas and a mounted D. aggregatum all the time...and if I forget to take them out, they often get shower number two with my husband, who usually yells "what are these plants doing my shower?"

Keep in mind that we have possibly the smallest bathroom/shower that's ever been built, being that we live in NYC...! 4 hanging baskets leave little room for anyone else in there!

:rofl::rofl::rofl:
This has to be one of the best threads I've read in a while!
Sadly I think walking back and forth to the shower in my dorm carrying a couple orchids would inspire quite a few odd looks and whispers from the people on my floor:shock: . . . . .But i bet my Encyclia would love the extra humidity :lol:. . .

:rofl: Ditto, Dabblin!

well, what orchids can thrive in the bathroom? if i plan to put them on a shelf? away from the shower of course and quite shady. can i put paph or phals?

Has anyone ever looked at this from an orchid's perspective?
It can't be a pretty sight if you happen to be an orchid sitting down there..........
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Yeah .. Like this

:shock: :faint: :tombstone: :cloud9:

:rofl:

i seen quite a lot of westerners put houseplants in their bath in magazines, why can't orchids? but i think mine is much more suitable for low light types and they may get at least 4 burst of humidity everyday. any ideas? odour eliminator also welcomed

I have laughed until I hurt at this thread... :rofl:

Back to the time saving tips... When I am watering all my 'chids at once, I put them all into the kitchen sinks in layers... I stack pots on top of pots when I fill the bottom of the sink and water away! It allows me to shorten the time needed for water AND use less water. As the water runs out of the top orchid pots, it runs down into the others.

However, I would only suggest this if you have all healthy orchids, because it could spread disease if it's present.

That had me laughing so hard I knocked over my drink .... Good job! :bowing:biggrin::bowing

- KRiM'

Showering with your orchids sounds so dirty... :rofl: I still crack up thinking about it... Pretty ingenious idea though ;)

It must be interesting when the time comes to fertilize.

:shock: :yikes: :whew :blushing:

:evil: :muahaha:

:rofl:

What the crap does that mean?:evil:

Kim

:coverlaugh:

:rofl:

I have about half of my collection on a 4x4 flood and drain table. The good thing about this system is that the humidity is always higher then normal(kind of like the humidity trays), the bad things about this system, one plant has a problem, they all have a problem...bugs, virus etc. This week, it's spider mites, with a few scale thrown in for fun:((...luckily no viruses, knock on wood. I might try a drip system next time, I've not decided yet, but will update you when I do.

Regards,
Melanie

forgot to mention, waters twice a day(floods) for 5 minutes.

i put my seedlings on unused cat litter trays. specifically it consists of three parts, the bottom tray, a netted tray and the cover. i find it quite useful since i can't use it anymore as my cats always knocked it down as they are big kitties now.