phal - central heating tolerance

[Carolla]

I don't know about adding bleach to the water - its so dry here that my gravel dries up in a few days, then I put more water in it. I just don't have a problem so much with algae on things.

[Catt Mandu]

Hi Svetlana

I your first post, the second picture, would it be possible to get another photo taken from a little further away, to show all of the window and the floor? If that the window with the baseboard heating vent?

As Carolla suggests, a deflector on the vent, or an oscillating fan, may keep it from getting too hot around plants at that window.

[chemist]

here are photos of the shelf in question under different angles.

[Carolla]

I was just told by an expert in another threat that Phals love heat, so, if you can keep the humidity up at all, it might work out really well. I didn't know that, always something to learn!

[chemist]

I was just told by an expert in another threat that Phals love heat, so, if you can keep the humidity up at all, it might work out really well. I didn't know that, always something to learn!

Carol, could you please share link to that threat with me? I might learn something new from it. Thank you!

Only time will show if that place is good for orchids. I hope it will otherwise I will have to go with growing under light somewhere else.



Question to all: at re-potting into medium size bark there is left, on my opinion, too much space between bark pieces, is it OK, or i have to pack bark better which is hard due to size of the bark (better grow brand)?

[Catt Mandu]

Svetlana:

I think the window you show should be fine. You might set the side rails for your shelves a little lower on the wall if you can (might give you a bit more room for plants).

You might want to see if you can deflect heat from the baseboard in some manner. I agree that Phals can tolerate heat, but dry heat may not be good.

Just thought of another option to deflect dry air & maybe add some humidity. Could you figure out a way to place a few leafy, moisture-loving plants below the bottom wire shelf? Maybe some other type of narrow wire shelf behind the end of the bed, below the window? Peace lilies (Spathiphyllum) can be grown in containers with no drainage (they are swamp plants; I have one that constantly grows in a container with standing water - it is very happy). They don't need much light. They are water hogs, which means they will take up a lot of water through the roots, but also expel a lot of water through the leaves. The leaves could deflect the worst of the hot air, if the peace lilies are kept really wet, they will increase air humidity for your orchids.

[Carolla]

I'm sorry, I meant "thread", not "threat"! I'll see if I can find it, one with recent posts about Phals.

Normally I just navigate by hitting the "new posts" button on the top of the page and looking for posts that interest me.

http://www.rv-orchidworks.com/orchid...ot-growth.html

[chemist]

Svetlana:

I think the window you show should be fine. You might set the side rails for your shelves a little lower on the wall if you can (might give you a bit more room for plants).

You might want to see if you can deflect heat from the baseboard in some manner. I agree that Phals can tolerate heat, but dry heat may not be good.

Just thought of another option to deflect dry air & maybe add some humidity. Could you figure out a way to place a few leafy, moisture-loving plants below the bottom wire shelf? Maybe some other type of narrow wire shelf behind the end of the bed, below the window? Peace lilies (Spathiphyllum) can be grown in containers with no drainage (they are swamp plants; I have one that constantly grows in a container with standing water - it is very happy). They don't need much light. They are water hogs, which means they will take up a lot of water through the roots, but also expel a lot of water through the leaves. The leaves could deflect the worst of the hot air, if the peace lilies are kept really wet, they will increase air humidity for your orchids.

the reason I put lower shelf higher its to put its as far from heat as possible, which is not concern in summer when heat is off.
I sure can try grow peace lilies, are you sure they can survive in pretty warm container with standing water with out rotting? I'll appreciate if you describe in what media you grow it because I'm confused with what you say and what Wikipedia says about it.

[chemist]

Here how shelf looks like with orchids...

I remember, Carol suggested not to move blooming plants in there but it was kind of emergency moving. It was very humid and hot for last few days here and I noticed some of plants started to show sign of root rot, so I have to take some actions.
I also blamed the pots, which have drainage holes on the bottom but not side ones and I noticed there was some condensation on inside walls so I repot them in ... yes, in pantyhose ... I thought it will give the roots more air. Can it be considered semi mounting method?!

[Carolla]

Now that's a very interesting idea. Let us know how it works out. That one is totally outside of my experience!