Bottom Heat + New Roots + Heat Mats Alternative.

[empiref]

Hello All,

I'm new to this forum. My name Is Johnny and I live in Lebanon.

I would like to ask for your opinion on the following matter.

Because of the early spring weather, my orchids have been placed outdoors daily, they receive direct sunlight from 9 am - 10 am, and they indirect strong light in the outdoor shade from 10 am - 3 pm, and afterwards they are brought indoors.

I read on this forum that bottom heat induces the production of new roots and helps the plant get established faster when an Orchid is placed in a new Medium, in my case S/H (hydroton). I repotted 3 Orchids today in Hydroton, one Oncidium and 2 Phals.

I have hot water heating system that runs in my apartment, the boiler is below the apartment, and the main hot water pipe runs under my bedroom floor, when the boiler is on (about 4 - 6 hours) each day, the floor where the hot water pipe runs under gets really warm.

Is it safe, to place the S/H orchid pots on the warm floor as a replacement for heat mats? or will this heat the water in the pots' reservoirs and cause damage to the plants?

Please help.

thanks.

[Pilot]

Interesting, and I can't really help you out except to ask how hot does the floor get? Heating mats up the ambient temp 10 to 20 degrees...so as the room warms and cools the mats keep it constant with the rise and fall of the temp of the room. I don't know if a plant needs a constant warming to see the results your desire but my first impression is that dramatic swings in temps wouldn't be beneficial to what you want to achieve.

If its your only option I say try it out, experiment.


Ryan

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[Discus]

You might just like to leave a similar pot (no plant!) with hydroton and the amount of water in you plan to use - leave a thermometer in it for a day, and keep an eye on the min and max temps.

[empiref]

Thank you Ryan.

---------- Post added at 09:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:42 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Discus

You might just like to leave a similar pot (no plant!) with hydroton and the amount of water in you plan to use - leave a thermometer in it for a day, and keep an eye on the min and max temps.

Discus, I will try it you method tmrw and get back to you with the results. I will get a pot, place some hydroton in it and replicate the amount of water in the "actual" pots' reservoirs, and I will measure it with a thermometer and will get back to you with the results.

Thank you.

[orchidsarefun]

the MIN and MAX temperatures your phals require. I only use a heating mat for seedlings and warm-loving species.
If you use a heating pad, 1) it may be too hot and 2) not give your phals a 10-15f difference in temp between night and day......

Orchidwiz has a free 30 day trial.....use this programme to figure out the cultivation requirements for your phal hybrids/species...

[camille1585]

Originally Posted by orchidsarefun

the MIN and MAX temperatures your phals require. I only use a heating mat for seedlings and warm-loving species.
If you use a heating pad, 1) it may be too hot and 2) not give your phals a 10-15f difference in temp between night and day......

Orchidwiz has a free 30 day trial.....use this programme to figure out the cultivation requirements for your phal hybrids/species...

The use of heat mats is recommended when establishing plants in S/H, as it stimulates faster root growth. It's also a good idea to use them with Phals in S/H in the winter because the evaporative cooling cools their roots a bit too much, they don't like that.

[bballr4567]

My heating mat is on a timer with the light. It raises the temps about 15 degrees in my apartment and the range is from 64 to 80 now. They seem to like it.

[Merlyn]

To our forum !!!

[Ray]

Originally Posted by orchidsarefun

the MIN and MAX temperatures your phals require. I only use a heating mat for seedlings and warm-loving species.
If you use a heating pad, 1) it may be too hot and 2) not give your phals a 10-15f difference in temp between night and day......

I think Camille already clarified the application of under-pot heating, but I want to nip a myth in the bud.

Phalaenopsis do not need a 10°-15°F day /night temperature variation to bloom.

Dr. Yin-Tung Wang, while at Texas A&M, determined that what they need (and this does not apply to all phals anyway) is 10 days to 2 weeks of an average temperature that is 10°-15°F lower than that at which they were growing in order to initiate spikes.

That means, of course, that had you been growing it at 75° 24/7, and you keep it at a constant 60° for that period, spike would set.

[Paul Mc]

Ray, thank you for that clarification! I always thought it was the differential, not the lower by itself!