Will oil paint fumes kill my orchids?
 

Hi,
I am new to this board and to orchids. I went into an orchid fugue several months ago and when I woke up I found myself surrounded by 6 orchid plants. Now I am a little obsessed.

I had been doing some oil painting but have put my art on hold because I understand orchids can be a little sensitive to chemicals. Does anyone know if I can paint in the same room as my orchids if I leave the windows open and run a fan?

Thanks so much!

I know aerosol sprays are bad, but I don't know about fumes. Hopefully someone chimes in, good luck!
I know if it were me, I'd protect them, or isolate them away from the fumes just to be safe.

Welcome to the board by the way! An orchid fugue is a great way to put it- my collection grew in a very similar way a couple years ago. :)

Hello and welcome to the OB :waving

Well I use all types of paint, but I have not painted with oils in the same room with my Orchids yet.

I would guess with enough ventilation you should be all right, none of my other plants have suffered because any panting and such that I have done in the past. But then when using high "fume producing" products I always make sure I have good ventilation.

I'd also presume it would depend on:
What types of Orchids you have?
How big your painting is?
How much paint and turps you are using?
How big is the room you are painting in?
How often or for how long will you be working on the piece?
and
How much ventilation is available?

Put it this way, if the fumes are affecting you then they are more than likely affecting the plants in some way. But that is an assumption and without experimenting I can not say for certain (I may experiment with this sometime in the future).

Be careful though that the ventilation does not cause any "detrimental" cold drafts! Depending, of course, on the care the particular Orchids need.

Anyone else know for certain? :) (Izzie's suggestion of protecting your precious plants is always good though ;) )

The only thing I've ever heard about fumes affecting an orchid is the buds. They kill buds quickly. I've never heard that it bothers the plant itself.

Thanks again for your replies. I'll wait until the orchids aren't in bloom and maybe move them out of the room while I paint. Currently I have a Brassia, an Odontoglossum and two Phals in bloom and an Oncidium and Catteleya not currently in bloom or spike. Ten weeks and counting and I haven't killed anyone yet (the orchids, that is!).
Best,
Dawn

I'm a painter by profession, residential and commercial not art type painting.

If you were repainting all of the trim in the room with oil paint, the off-gassing for the first 24 hours certainly wouldn't do them any favors. If that were the case tho, you'd have already removed them for multiple other reasons.

If you're just working on a picture at an easel and they have air movement I wouldn't worry about it. You'd need to have a lot more paint exposed to air than you're using for it to become a problem.

The door being opened several times a day would be enough ventilation if you can't open a window as long as there's air movement (which there should always be for any plants).

It's just my opinion knowing something about paints and off-gassing, from doing a lot of green and leeds work.

If you have $10,000 specimen plants or you're still worried about it, paint in another room. You never know, the worrying might be worse for them than fumes. :P

Hi there and welcome to the OB! I went into an orchid fugue several years ago and still haven't woken up! :biggrin: Just keep hittin' that snooze button!

I have heard certain gases can age the flowers and cause them to drop early so I wouldn't paint around them then. But if they aren't in flower and the fumes aren't too strong for you, there shouldn't be any problems.