Sanitation at watering time
 

:whew An appropriate question, with the upper 90s heat we've been having lately!

I'm wondering how exactly people soak their orchids at soaking/watering time.


About once a week to ten days, everybody over here gets put into a bowl that suits the size of their pot, and is soaked for 20 min.

However- I do not have enough bowls for everyone, and have to reuse several of them. At the moment, I'm washing them with physan 20 in-between plants- which is very time consuming.

Is this necessary? Or can I just rinse out the bowls between plants, or clean with antibacterial soap or something? It would really make the process go faster.

D: you guys and your unsanitary watering- scandalous!

hehe
I gave up soaking mine that way. I do occasionally soak one or another, but in general most get "soaked" with the hose if they are outside, or under the faucet if they are inside. Since most are in chc now, I worry less about "soaking", since the chc is much more absorbent than bark, and does also have some wicking capability. But even the ones in bark, I "soak" with running water and seems ok. Just may need to be watered a bit more often.

Hmm...do you do the same when you fertilize?

I usually fertilize with a hand pressure spray bottle. Sometimes with the large watering can.

alirght...some things to think about.

Seems the plants have been ok with it :)
Hopefully some others will chime in to actually answer your question. I used to soak in plastic tubs, and didn't 'sanitize' in between. I didn't have any problems, but could be I was just lucky. I think the more plants you have the risk of cross-contamination increases, as well as it just became to big of a hassle for me to water all of them in that manner.

hey izzie,
I soak all of mine separately in plastic containers. I have left over yogurt, hummus, fruit and old tupperware plastic containers. Yes, I do reuse mine and share. I never share then directly in the water though. I do the same for fertilizing. That said, I keep all my chids indoors....So far so good. No problems here!

katie :)

I um don't soak. Mine are all in 100% hydroton...I just open the hose and soak everyone. They are all outside. My inside orchids take a bath in the sink. :)

I am a bad bad person. I not only soak mine together in a sink, I don't always change the water! So far, so good.