Umm. I think I made a decent Orchid habitat..... But

[BEELZEBOB]

I really have no idea what im doing.

Is a lil repti foggger watering the plants or just adding humidity?

Could you guys tell me if this set up i have is going to work?

Luckly i live close to an Orchid farm, so stuff is accessable.


SO. I seem to have some water hungy Orchids. I have 3 MTSSA intergenitic hybrids, a Paph, and Yamamota Dendrobium.

I have set them up in a plastic planter. Its 8" tall. I have layed 3 peices of broken tile @ the bottom, all set at a slight angle. this is to set the plants on a level surface, and to provide drainage from excess moinsture.

I have maybe 2 handfuls of spounge rock and charcole spread across the tiles between the plants to help maintain humidity, but not trap too much moisture.

So all my plants sit in this lil setup, and the top edge of the planter is approz 2-3" higher than the top of the lil pots.


I have been spraying the exposed (like shooting off into nowhere) roots and the pots once every 3-5 days, but honestly, i think they may want a lil more?


But my real question is about Humidity and this REPTI-FOGGER i got.

I live @ 6200 feet in dry Colorado. Humidity is like <30% most of the time.

So i got this repti fogger, and a lil fan to keep the humidity up inside the 8" tall space in the planter.

HOWEVER, now I am all freaked out about the mist/fog and the insuing condinsation "Overwatering" the plants.

I mean if i keep it on low it keeps humidity between 60%-80%, but water condensates on the tiles, outsides of the planters etc, but not on the leaves.

If its off, humidity falls to 30%

should i riun the fogger on and off? all morning? at all?

[Junebug]

Are you growing indoors? If so, you might need supplemental lighting. There are a lot of experts on OB that could help you with this. Unfortunately I'm not one of them.

Good air circulation is really important so remember to not crowd your plants. Fans are beneficial in greenhouses and in indoor enviroments.

[BEELZEBOB]

Cool. I got me some lil fans workin overtime.

Do you guys think 96 watt a 50/50 Compact Phlorescent light would work?

I have one left over from a reef tank!

[orkie]

I can't tell, but are these plants near a window?

The Den. needs a lot of sun to flower well next year. I would put it outside if possible (all my nobile type Yamamoto Dens live on my fire escape in the summer in very strong sunlight). It will also need about 6 weeks of cold nights, so again, outside from about May until Thanksgiving (or until nights are in the 40s) is very good for it.

[Mike Davis]

Compact flourescents work well for growing orchids. I had a few 96'ers on my old set up and they worked great. Are you using the white/blue bulb? Actinic i think its called? Those are more for salt stuff, but shouldn't harm your chids. The humidifier will not provide enough moisture to rely on that being the watering source for your plants. Just my

[BEELZEBOB]

Well. I figured it out. (i think)

I got the set up moved to a table right next to a S.W. facing window, and under a ceiling fan.

Now the fan provides excellent air flow.

I can crank the Fogger and the condensation is minimal, while humidity remains around 60%

I water the Paphiopedilium once every other or every 3 days (its been raining lateley so in 3 days its just getting dry)

And i water the others 2-3 times a week depending on relative weather conditions as well.

I dont think that i will nedd the CPF with the display being next to a window now, but it is an option, and available for future projects. and yes it does have the 50/50 10K and actinic bulbs.

I took some more pics last night, and a quick video.

Please tell me what im doing wrong!! LOL

YouTube - Bob's Orchids