# The struggle of growing in the Home



## Alan Bowen (Feb 8, 2021)

Well I am a home grower hobbyist. I'm sure my struggles are know in part by anyone trying to grow orchids in their home. My first problem is that I can not get my HUMIDITY up. It stays at about 43%.
Even with a console humidifier in the living room, where all the orchids are, I just can't increase the Humidity because the space is just to large. So, I would like to check with other home growers to
see how they handle Humidity for the orchids in their home. Thanks.


----------



## littlefrog (Feb 8, 2021)

Get more plants? Lots more plants. Plants are the most effective humidifiers there are. Failing that, keep your plants in groups rather than scattered around the room, that increases local humidity.

43% isn't _that_ low. Most orchids are pretty tough. I wouldn't try to grow most pleurothallids, but slippers and phals should do pretty well in that environment. Will be higher in the summer.


----------



## NYEric (Feb 8, 2021)

Check out my 'Miscellaneous Stuff' thread. You can get the humidity up but if it gets to wet you have to worry about flooding your downstairs neighbor's house, ruining the floors, mold, disease transmission, etc... Put the plants in groups in 27 G/ Sterilite containors, pots on top of egg crate or Leca. Then you can keep some water in the bottom. Good luck.


----------



## Djthomp28 (Feb 15, 2021)

43% in the winter is not that low. I would echo what Rob said about grouping plants. If you are growing on a rack, you enclose the rack with plastic similarly to these patio greenhouses. Then place a humidifier inside.

I grow in a room that I can close to better control the humidity. Prior to that I grew by my windows in my living area and did fine.


----------



## richgarrison (Feb 15, 2021)

I bring my sick or struggling plants from the greenhouse into my breakfast nook to nurse back to health (in isolation)... they typically grow as well or better than the plants in the greenhouse, without any extra treatment for humidity. Hot air heat, with the supply directly under the window sill and table where i put them.. never bothered to check the humidity since they all grow well... I think it's generally easier to grow the vast majority of slippers in the house than in the greenhouse... and am always jealous of the window sill growers with 20 or so plants... ;-) 

(but not so jealous as to stop buying plants )


----------



## Sherry H (Feb 15, 2021)

I think these plants are easy and probably like my other orchids survive well w benign neglect. Too much attention not good!
Reg water/fertilizer/light.

I had a phap die and when I got to addressing it sending up 4 new growths!


----------



## Sherry H (Feb 15, 2021)

Fourth hidden under others


----------

