please help!!! how do i keep my orchids warm on the windowsill

[Ross]

You can also use a heat mat meant for germinating seeds. Be careful with heating the plant containers - mold will develop in the planting mix almost overnight. Unless the air next to the window gets below 40 degrees, I wouldn't add any heat. Just about any commonly available orchids (say Phalenopsis, Slipper Orchids, etc.) will regularly take temps down into the 50s at night. Mine take high 50s at night every night during winter and no ill-effect. In fact many orchids require this chill to bloom properly in the spring. As has been pointed out here, get a few books from the library and read, read, read. I wouldn't have recommended jumping into growing till you have down the basics. My grandson is your age and has a good grounding by now and still hasn't purchased his first orchid. Of course he comes over to our house and works with me on mine

[kiki-do]

I have mine near a window all winter long. Don't let the plant touch the glass. Don't allow any drafts, keep the window shut and locked and check for drafts (a killer of plants). Orchids thrive on a temperature drop to promote new growth, so don't worry. Well, the ones that you have do. Phals do not want too much light. If the sun is pouring in and your leaves are directly in the sun...not good. If the leaves feel warm, move them inward away from direct light. Oncidiums seem to like the light more. Temps for me inside can drop to 57 degrees in winter (I live in Maine). Drafts are the enemy, though. Watch out for them. Keep a fan going in the area for air flow. Shouldn't be directly on them, though.
Orchids are pretty resillient, so don't worry so much. If you look in my gallery, you will see my sunroom plus other windows with phals and other type orchids and you will see drifts of snow on the other side. So don't panic, they will make it!

[Wrebbitrocks]

yeah,
i dont have all that equipment. i guess i need to go shopping for a thermometer and humidifier. i've actually not been growing the two orchids i DO have (a white NOID dendrobium phal. and an oncidium sharry baby var. aureum 'ok' [mislabeled above sorry my mistake]) on the window sill. they've been growing on my computer desk. they just sit there with no source of humidity. after burning others to death im scared of killing these poor little survivors. the room is very bright and i have 3 windows. one faces west one south and one east so the room is always flooded with light. the leaves aren't dark green so they might be getting the light needed. maybe i should try the west window. the other two have no sills. the south plants were on a shelf i extended on the south window sort of like a makeshift sill but i've since removed it. the den looks like its thriveng. its grown many new roots and put out 2 new growths one last year one this year. they're not as tall as the ones that came when i bought it. does anyone know why? anyways my onc. is barely hanging on. its badly shriveled on the pseudobulbs and theres some shriveling on the leaves. it put out a few roots but they soon stopped growing and some have rotted and only like 4 are left bout an inch long. the new growth grew a couple inches then stopped. i want to go to an orchid club meeting and leave it with an expert to see if they can save it for me and give it back when its better. im going to take pics soon so you can all see my story.