Increase Humidity for Orchids

[hank3443]

Hello everyone, I would like to hear from other orchid growers on how they increase the
humidity around there plants. I have been using humidity trays for years but about (3)
years ago I started using a humidifier. It has made the biggest improvement to the health
and vitality to my plants other then putting them outside during the summer. I have not had any problems with fungus although I do treat them monthly. I run it everyday and try to keep it at around 50 to 60%. Look forward to hearing from you. Hank.....

[Orchidmorris]

I grow my orchids in a room with a window to the east. It's in house so I can't increase the humidity too much. So what I do is to water the plants daily when te RV is not that high (under the 60%) and when it's above 70%. I use a fine spray hose with a 3 liter bottle. I look at the plants if they are dry. This combined with a strong ventilator that moves the air four times a day for 2 hours gives me great rooting and many green growing tips (ofcourse also RO water and fresh potting medium).
In house growing of Bulbophyllum eg is not possible because the RV in general is too low. So I choose my species but most will do fine with this regime, from Vandacious to Pleurothaloids. Good luck!
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[Brutal_Dreamer]

In my little orchidarium I put a tall glass container with a bubbler in it that makes the water roll and bubble. This seems to help keep the humidity up around my tiny orchids. In the greenhouse, I wet the gravel floor significantly every time I water and this seems to keep humidity up in there too.

cheers,
BD

[Janet]

Hello everyone, I would like to hear from other orchid growers on how they increase the
humidity around there plants. I have been using humidity trays for years but about (3)
years ago I started using a humidifier. It has made the biggest improvement to the health
and vitality to my plants other then putting them outside during the summer. I have not had any problems with fungus although I do treat them monthly. I run it everyday and try to keep it at around 50 to 60%. Look forward to hearing from you. Hank.....

I use semi-hydroponic pots and media, with all sitting in trays. When I water I water enough so that there's standing water covering the tray bottoms. I have a ceiling fan that runs 24/7 and I water 2-3 times a week when the plants are inside. Humidity isn't what it would be in a greenhouse, but being able to have that standing water around with a fan that evaporates it helps some.

[cumulo]

I, too, gave up on the ineffective trays approach (good for catching flushing water, however), and had used at various time ultrasonic and mechanical spray humidifiers with success. I no longer use those only because they all failed, none lasting even two years. This includes three ultrasonic, three mechanical atomizers, and four small portable tank swamp cooler type units! A large swamp cooler designed for outside mounting on a house, for whole house cooling never failed. Remember to replace the media regularly! Now is use an electronic timer to solenoids that turn on 50 PSIG (low pressure) mist nozzles for a short period, and am updating some of them to run from a humidistat. I can mess with it for changes in weather to maintain 55%-65%, or even 95%, if I want to. With a humidistat, I'm limited to a useful range of between 35% - 80 % because most (not all) of them are not accurate outside of that range.
I do alternate pump spraying of Serenade or Actinovate directly onto the leaves to cut down spotting. I don't do that near the pet bird! I wear a mask and a bunny suit or a jump suit that goes right into the wash when I wash down the plants with either of these "safe" bacterial suspensions, for I know that it is easy to develop topical sensitivity to these naturally occurring bacteria clones used in these sprays. Also, my wife is so allergic to the dust of the Actinovate that I must open the package outside. The industry suggests that if you are spraying in a greenhouse with Serenade that you not re-enter the sprayed area for four hours. I'd suggest the same for the use of Actinovate; their dispersion and actions are similar. Both help cut down spotting on the Stanhopeas, Cattleyas, and other plants easily infected by spotting fungi. Neither is useful, I think, against bacterial rot. The active ingredients are selected bacteria that consume fungi, and so the bacteria must be replenished periodically, and also must be active. If the environment were too dry, I don't think that they'd be serving you, but then, it's likely that you'd not have the fungal spotting either, right?
Paul

[cumulo]

In our screenroom and in our greenhouse there are fans running 24/7; in the screenroom there are both a ceiling fan and a filtered air floor fan box, whereas in the greenhouse there are three recirculating fans, plus a thermostatically controlled swamp cooler fan. One of the greenhouse fans is thermostatically controlled to switch to very low wattage electrical heat (about 600 W) below 55 degrees F, and the other two merely run 24/7 to mix top-bottom air and to blow air over the phrag's.

[Chris1140]

I use a cool mist room humidifier with a mineral cartridge dropped in the tank to eliminate 'white dust' deposits. I try to keep relative humidity at 60. Also I keep a small oscillating fan running all day in the orchid room. The orchids seem to appreciate it.

[cucubirds]

I purposely let the floor wet after heavy watering since most of my orchids are grown along corridor & this seems to work well for me.