should I be spraying My Orchids with water? - Page 2 - Orchid Board

Plodde · #11 02-11-2015, 01:19 AM

i spray all my orchids; buds, flowers, spikes and all and have never had any problems. unless the culture says specifically not to wet the leafs and buds, i do. i also soak all of my mounted orchid so the leaves are sitting in water for 10 minutes at a time

NYCorchidman · #12 02-11-2015, 05:51 PM

Your orchid is mounted, so misting is a must unless you grow it in a climate controlled case or greenhouse with regular misting system running.
Or as someone mentioned above, soaking is much much better. Misting barely wet the roots. In the long run, your plant will suffer unless you can sit next to your mounted orchids and mist every half an hour.

Orchids get drenched with water every day in the wild. Early morning dew, and once again in the midday down pour (depending on the season and region of course)

In regular home growing environment, unless you live in super humid and hot tropical with doors and windows open, misting doesn't hurt the plants at all.
I'm not sure if misting helps a lot other than cleaning off some dirt and stuff, but definitely not going to hurt.
Be gentle on the flowers and bud so as not to damage them as they are much more tender than leaves. or just mist the leaves and roots only if possible.

I like misting. just makes me feel great.

I have never had any problems with it.
When I used to grow oncidiums many of which easily get "dirty" spotty leaves, I did not mist them, but they still got nasty leaves. so there's the point.

bethmarie · #13 02-11-2015, 09:32 PM

When I watered or soaked only the root zone, I had trouble with spider mites moving in on my plants. On the advice of another grower, I started drenching the whole plant off and on. I do have to be diligent about making sure crowns and leaves dry quickly, and I'll help that along with a paper towel sometimes. Can be tedious, but beats having mites, and I haven't seen one of those for a few months now.

RosieC · #14 02-12-2015, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sepow

Thank you for your replies. They are potted orchids as opposseded to mounted. I am so glad to get the info on not misting flowers,buds, and keeping crowns dry.Thanks again for the valuble information !!!

sepow.......will be back soon with a few more question

Welcome to Orchid Board

If these are potted Phals I don't mist at all. When I water I let the aerial roots get wet too, but if water get's on the leaves I try and dry it out of the crook of the leaves where it collects. I also water in the morning so they have time to dry by night.

For mounted orchids, the phals tend to sit at more of an angle rather than straight up, as such water doesn't collect in the same way and I just drench the whole thing. This morning for example I stuck all my mounts in the bath and turned the shower head on them (luke warm not cold) spraying them all down till they were drenched. I don't do that regularly, usually just pour rain water over the whole plant, but they had all got a bit dry recently, hence the shower this morning.

---------- Post added at 02:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:24 PM ----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by bethmarie

When I watered or soaked only the root zone, I had trouble with spider mites moving in on my plants. On the advice of another grower, I started drenching the whole plant off and on. I do have to be diligent about making sure crowns and leaves dry quickly, and I'll help that along with a paper towel sometimes. Can be tedious, but beats having mites, and I haven't seen one of those for a few months now.

I have had that with Dendrobiums, not Phals in my case. I also drenched the whole plant occasionally to try and keep them back. Dens seem to not have the problem of water collecting causing rot as Phals though (at least mine haven't).

charitysmama · #15 02-28-2015, 05:40 PM

I came home and found one of my phals that had 3 leaves that were turning brown. I had it in a garden window in the bathroom where my orchids love to be. I took it out of the pot and removed all the bark, cut off a lot of dead roots. Since it now has no leaves, will it survive and grown more? Right now I am misting the roots. Is it a lost cause?

Plodde · #16 02-28-2015, 05:55 PM

For me it's never a lost cause until every root, leaf and stem has gone to mush! If u love your phal, stick with it until the bitter end.

charitysmama · #17 02-28-2015, 06:03 PM

Should I keep it out of potting mix and keep misting the roots or try to pot it and in what?