Going out of town and watering
 

I'm going to be out of town for a couple of weeks. My Phals have been able to tough out such absences in the past, but I have 4 Paphs and 1 Bratonia/Miltassia type now that I'm not sure can weather it. Would I be safe putting them in a saucer with ~1cm of water?

All but one of the Paphs are in bark, one Paph is in moss. I plan to give everyone a good soak before I leave. Three of the Paphs are in bloom and it'd be nice if they can keep their flowers. The Bratonia/Miltassia just started pushing its first new vegetative growth.

Before you go, water them heavily, let them drain and wait 30 minutes, then water them heavily again. That will saturate the potting medium. Then go away and don't worry.

After you have followed Ray's advise:

• Place them in lower light to minimize drying.
• Turn down thermostat to around 55F.
• If you have a bathroom with northern exposure, place them there and leave the sink full of water to maintain good humidity,

For some orchids that need to stay constantly wet (and if you have fast evaporation), you actually might consider one of those indoor watering pumps with timers. The water is pulled from a bucket or jug so it can be RO water, Rain Water, etc. They have a few on Amazon and other places. Other orchids can stay dry for 2 weeks after a good long soak with no problem.

Hello Kim, do I need to close the bathroom door or leave the bathroom fan on for some air circulation? My bathroom doesn't have any window. I have been growing my orchids under lights so I can just move the shelves and lights in too. Should I fill up the bath tub with hot water or cool water?

Thanks all! These are my office plants, I don't have room for them at home and I really can't do anything for them but water. So, I'll give them a couple of good soaks and cross my fingers.

If these are office plants, isn't there a nice co-worker that could water for you? I have a dozen orchids at work and have always managing to find someone willing to water while I was on vacation. I give simple instructions (water twice a week by pouring a bit of water in the saucers) that they can manage easily.

I honestly think that they'll be better off if no one touches them. In terms of office plants (in everyone's offices), we're pretty much down to only those that can survive when I'm on vacation.

I guess the difference is that I work in plant science, and most of my colleagues are plant freaks, including one other orchid lover whose desk can't even be seen due to the number of orchids sitting on it.

I work as a wildlife biologist in an office of the same, but everyone else is pretty much content leaving nature out in the field ;-)