Gah! - Orchid Board

Pilot · #1 12-15-2013, 11:36 AM

Came home from a week away in a warmer place only to find out my misting system malfunctioned and my plants extremely dry and another shelf had no lights but plenty of misting which is not a good thing for orchids to be cold and wet in the dark. I hate my plant life right now.

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Leafmite · #2 12-15-2013, 01:46 PM

I am sorry to hear of your misfortune.

Red Orchid · #3 12-15-2013, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pilot

Came home from a week away in a warmer place only to find out my misting system malfunctioned and my plants extremely dry and another shelf had no lights but plenty of misting which is not a good thing for orchids to be cold and wet in the dark. I hate my plant life right now.

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Really frustrating but shouldn't be too bad since you were only gone a week.

bellini girl · #4 12-15-2013, 03:29 PM

Sorry to hear of your misfortune. Hope plants perk up soon. Difficult when you have to be away, what's a body to do eh?

Pilot · #5 12-15-2013, 04:06 PM

The damage is worse than your think. Wet and cool and dark are really bad for an orchid. I lost a sedirea from what I believe is cold and water rot. It just came undone. I have only one more minmaru and I swear I will write these plants off if this last one dies! My neos have water damage too. So frustrating. I moved my plants in to this new grow space months ago and have hated it. Not sure what I'll do with the set up now.

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Red Orchid · #6 12-15-2013, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pilot

The damage is worse than your think. Wet and cool and dark are really bad for an orchid. I lost a sedirea from what I believe is cold and water rot. It just came undone. I have only one more minmaru and I swear I will write these plants off if this last one dies! My neos have water damage too. So frustrating. I moved my plants in to this new grow space months ago and have hated it. Not sure what I'll do with the set up now.

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Oh my I didn't mean to sound like I was minimizing the damage. I am mainly hoping that the plants will make it. I know what you have been going through with the Minmaru I have had the same problem.

When I went to visit my daughter this summer I took two Neos with me because they were in spike. She kept one & it is growing well for her.

I so hope you plants do well that is an awful shock. I think Tracy had a equipment malfunction with Neos freezing & many of them bloomed over the top in the summer.

Leafmite · #7 12-15-2013, 04:36 PM

Sorry to hear of the loss of plantlife.

Pilot · #8 12-15-2013, 05:00 PM

Ginger I didn't take it any bad way only clarifying. I would have preferred a failed misting system and good lights instead! But no, it chose the worst case scenario. I have torn down the shelf my neos enjoyed until now and made a cart instead. One that can be easily pulled in and out of the grow space so thy can keep enjoying high humidity and good light but I can move it out of the way so I can get in to deal with the rest of the plant shelves. I swear it is a constant improvement project.

I will lose several neos with this set back but I'm solid in my resolve. At least I didn't lose prized Phals as a result. Maybe I should stick to a species I know how to grow well!

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AnonYMouse · #9 12-15-2013, 05:24 PM

Sorry to hear of your troubles.

Jayfar · #10 12-15-2013, 05:26 PM

Sorry to hear all this. Best thing now might be to hit everything with a thorough spraying of fungicide and cross your fingers.

What kind of timer(s) were you using, if that was the culprit?

I have a Mist King system in my terrarium, which comes with a nice multiple events digital seconds timer (and also programable by day of week). Marty, the proprietor of Jungle Hobbies/MistKing, is also the owner of Orchid Board, as you probably know.

Digital Seconds Timer

Quote:

This MistKing timer does it ALL
8 programmable events
Ability to precisely set ON times on per second basis. (of course, per minute, hr, etc is also possible)
This timer has a rechargeable Ni-MH battery, which greatly reduces the problem of the hardware store digital lamp timers
15A, 1700W, 115V-60Hz
UL approved in US and Canada

If you're misting an animal enclosure, you now have the freedom and total control. Mist for a few seconds in the morning to rehydrate the environment. Mist for a few minutes in the afternoon to mimic natural weather patterns. If you're currently using a 'hardware store' digital timer with a 1 min minimum cycle time, then consider upgrading.

What you should know when buying a digital timer

Hardware store digital timers rely on watch style battery. When that battery is drained, there isn't enough current to trip the relay - your misting system can stay on 'forever' until you manually turn it off. Also, the programmed ON times are set on per minute basis. (smallest ON interval is 1 minute)

They also sell a top of the line environmental controller:

EZ-400 Vivarium Controller Bundle w/ 2 Temp Probes included