HUMIDITY : How do you raise the levels???
 

As a windowsill grower, I use a Cool-Mist ultrasonic Humidifier. I'm finding it just ain't doin' the job .....and is only able to bring the Humidity level up to 50% (55% on a good day). I have alot of mounted orchids in the windowsill which require HIGH humidity.

I'm at a loss as to what to do other than Mist and Spray the orchids all day long, other than enclosing the entire windowsill in plastic !

Any ideas .....?

humidity trays full of pebbles or hydrotron ...or a humidifyer

Re: HUMIDITY ......
 

I have a Cool-Mist Humdifier sitting on the windowsill on HIGH 24/7, but the Humidity level is still only going up to 55% max.

Your best option may actually be to enclose your plants in some way, such as in a terrarium, with the humidifier only moisturizing that smaller space. Or you could just try growing the plants for a while with your current set-up and see how they do. A lot of orchids that prefer high humidity will do okay with moderate levels as long as you water them appropriately. Plus if your climate is at all like mine, % RH is going to start rising soon anyway once you don't have to run the heat indoors so much. What kind of orchids are you talking about?

--Nat

I have a 8x10 room with two cool mist humidifyers....

55% sounds like it should actually be good enough for most chids...

I don't have a humidifier, but instead I use a water tray I made. Its basically a plastic plant dish with 4 smaller terracotta (porous) plant dish turned upside down. I was hoping that the dish would absorb the water and since its half submerged it would release humidity better than just standing water or gravel. However, thats just my thinking, not sure if it actually works better or not.
I also put 12 double shot glasses filled with water on my radiator so as it gets warmer it should help with the humidity as well. (I put a small h202 in the water every once in a while to help with the oxygen levels and prevent yuckies from growing)

One thing I was curious about. Since orchids like air movement, I have a air circulator fan in my room blowing along the ceiling to get a small breeze going through my room. Would that displace the humidity zone that my water tray makes around the orchid?
I don't have a hygrometer yet though so I cant really test the humidity...

P.S. The room is rather small, space is rather scarce in NYC area haha. So this might work for me, not sure how big of a space you are working with.

Oh another thought, are hot water humidifiers better than cool water? Correct me if I'm wrong. I know cool water uses ultrasonic methods to separate the water into mist, but its not steam. Its just fine particles of water flying in the air. It has to dry/evaporate mid flight in order to raise the humidity. So i'm sure at a certain point of humidity it would be difficult for it to do so.

As for the steam humidifiers, it doesn't have to go through a phase change as it is steam, not fine misted water particles. So wouldn't it be much more effective in raising the humidity of the room?

Anyone have first hand knowledge of this?

Use a warm mist humidifer
 

Yes, the ultrasonic humifiers do not atomize water at a high rate, they are ok for terrariums but nothing much larger.

Since you live in New Jersey I assume that your need for humidity is mostly in the winter when you also are using heating. I recommend a warm mist humdifier, they can put a lot more moisture in the air than the ultrasonic units. I use this:
Zojirushi EE-LAC50HA 3-liter Warm Mist Humidifier | Overstock.com

I use a warm-mist humidifier for a collection of about 150 orchids, all growing on two shelves under T5 lights. Humidity in the grow room averages 50-55%, and the plants have all been growing and blooming just fine for me, including some cloud forest types. The ones that really do need a bit more humidity get positioned right in front of the humidifier so they actually get the steam directly on their leaves and roots.

Wow. Ok. Well I read that Cool-Mist Humidifiers were recommended for Orchids, not Warm-Mist.

I'll see what I can find in terms of Warm-mist humidifiers. The one you use is not available for Sale.

Thank you for your assistance.

I use this one: Amazon.com: Honeywell HCM650 4-Gallon QuietCare Cool Moisture Humidifier: Kitchen & Dining

Works great, no issues after nearly two years of continuous use, as long as you keep the heating element free of mineral scale. The mineral pads (sold separately) help with that somewhat, but once a month I get in there with a dull butter knife and scrape off the buildup.