Phal planted in s/h

[quiltergal]

Ray, in the summer the house temps run around 77-80 max and 65-69 min. Outside it's usually 100+ max and drops down to 50's at night. Humidity runs around 45% max and 25% min and there's not much I can do about that. It's even drier outside. Everything I own is on humidity trays, and I've been monitoring temps and humidity daily for about a month now. As I said the roots on the phal I transplanted were showing signs of root rot before I moved it. Just the tips. The rest of the root was fat and kind of white colored.

I do think it's out of the woods at this point. It hasn't gotten any worse in weeks, so I think it's going to be OK.

[dave b]

Originally Posted by gmdiaz

I am in a similar situation. . .

I had a phal in a terrarium, bad idea. So I took it out and cleaned up the roots that were in poor shape and transplated it carefully in the s/h.

I've got it in one of those pretty ceramic planters with the slits on the side for ventilation and feet on the base. It's sitting on top of my filing cabinet at work, in perfect light. The pot is sitting in a ceramic tray full of water. Because the planter has feet, the phal is just suspended above the water and so has a little extra humidity. It's also surrounded by other phals with the same setup.

So far, it's been about a week, I am seeing no leaf deterioration or wilting. I am using a diluted mixture of worm tea & I also mist the plants occassionally. I have no idea what the roots are doing and no, I am not going to peek. .like some people. lol

I'll post a picture. . .



The "sickie" is the one without a bloom, I clipped off the spike. . .it's on the far left, front row.

Nice arrangement.

As mentioned, the clay pellets appear too far above the water for any wicking action to occur. Phal roots like to be moist (with air movement). It seems that they will remain too dry unless water (copious amounts) is run down through the pots. This may have to be done more than once a week if the relative humidity is high. Clay pellets out of water dry very quickly. If the phal leaves begin to droop and wrinkle as time goes on, dehydration is occurring.

[caseydoll]

gmdiaz, I agree with dave that is a beautiful arrangement! But I could fit about 3 more orchids on that table... Lucky you!

Sarah

[Becca]

Keep in mind that gmdiaz orchids in the picture are at her work....while we would all love to have oodles of orchids at work, some of us don't have bosses that will allow as many as we would like to have or as many as we can fit I just had this very discussion today with my boss...lol. He said that I could have my orchids at the office, but he would like them to all be in nice presentable containers that all looked similar. I am thinking of getting a plant table for work....and I guess I will have to work on getting containers that look the same so they look "presentable." But I agree...I would put at last two more on the filing cabinet! I like the pots they use....I see how they make the appearance much more presentable!

[Dorothy]

Becca .. get catchalls to cover up the containers they are in ..just find pots that are a bit bigger than the pots they are in and slip them in .. this way you don't have to repot ..

[Ross]

Originally Posted by RPfeiffer

....while we would all love to have oodles of orchids at work, some of us don't have bosses that will allow as many as we would like to have or as many as we can fit

My work is at home (I am retired) so I can have as many orchids as I can possible squeeze into the limited space!

[Ray]

Originally Posted by RPfeiffer

I am sure that the humidity part is what is causing the problems with the roots rotting so fast in the s/h culture, I am correct?

It does explain the dry roots at the surface, and if there is sufficient evaporative cooling courtesy of the low humidity, you might be keeping the roots a lot cooler than you think, and THAT might explain the excessive rotting (as well as the poor timing on repotting we've already discussed).

Humidity trays don't do a damned thing to help - not enough surface area to force evaporation, and there's too much dispersion to the rest of the room, home, and universe. To borrow an analogy from TZ - if you open the lid on your toilet, does the bathroom get really humid?

If you want to be really successful with orchids, find an effective way to increase the humidity in the growing area. It will help a lot - s/h or otherwise.

[Becca]

Thanks Ray! I think I am finaly seeing the big picture...I can provide good growing conditions except for my humidity. I will see what I can come up with..hmmm...perhaps an orchidarium would be fun to try? I think even that is in way over my head right now. I just have my set up in the corner of my bedroom and that is what I have to work with for the time being until I move someday down the road to where I have a designated area for them, unless others have an idea that I am just not thinking of. Thanks a bunch!

[caseydoll]

Becca, I use a couple of small ultrasonic humidifiers for my orchids. They are only about $30 or so depending on the size. You can also get 1 or 2 gallon humidifiers for less than that, less than $20. I don't know how many rooms you have your orchids in but from your pics one of those small ones set up by your table would be perfect. For me they work really well. The cool mist work the best, with warm mist you can have problems with bacteria (or so I have heard). Just wanted to share!

Sarah

[gmdiaz]

Originally Posted by Ray

Humidity trays don't do a damned thing to help - not enough surface area to force evaporation, and there's too much dispersion to the rest of the room, home, and universe. To borrow an analogy from TZ - if you open the lid on your toilet, does the bathroom get really humid?

Note to self: Check the humidity level. . .first with lid closed and then with lid open.