HUMIDITY. How important is it really . .?

[emydura]

A lot of folks move away from the hot windows and end up using artificial lighting to be able to reduce heat and seal up the area for better humidity control. Seems like I've seen several articles on different ways of setting up a good indoor environment in Orchids over the last couple of years, 2 of which are by Ernie and Wendy. They may be helpfull in sizing up equipment needs for the size of your space.

Here is an orchid setup in my house.

I had an unused 6 foot fish tank inside my house, so I decided to convert it into an orchid tank. I had a few Phalaenopsis growing in the glasshouse with my Paphs that were really struggling. So I thought I'd try something different and grow them under lights in the tank. The tank is mostly closed although a bit of air can get in. I sit the orchids above 6 or 7 inches of water which is heated by a fish tank heater. The result is high humidity (>70%) and warm temperatures (above 21oC). I have a small fan at one end. The Phals absolutely love it as you can see from the photos. After one week they were putting out big fleshy roots and quickly developed new leaves. If you look closely you can see a lot of the root growth as well as a few emerging spikes. A lot of the small plants I had quickly doubled in size.

So happy am I with this setup, that I'm trying to work out how I can do it at a larger scale in my glasshouse where electric fan heating is proving to be expensive as well as greatly reducing the humidity in winter.

David

 

[JeanLux]

Wow, all of those phals are looking Really healthy :drool: !!!! Jean

 

[paphioboy]

Looking really good, David.. Those are the healthiest phals I have ever seen in OZ....

 

[SlipperFan]

They do indeed look good -- healthy leaves, strong roots!

 

[Bolero]

50-60% is still a pretty good level of humidity. I have real humidity problems in winter as the heating dries out the air (30-40%). This really affects the mottled leaf species. The stress causes many of them to flower on immature growths.

David

What sort of heating do you use? I have an oil heater and the humidity stays at 80% or higher all winter. I am trying to work out how to get it down. Sometimes I open up the enclosed house so that the humidity drops a little.

 

[emydura]

What sort of heating do you use? I have an oil heater and the humidity stays at 80% or higher all winter. I am trying to work out how to get it down. Sometimes I open up the enclosed house so that the humidity drops a little.

Electric heating. I think I heat my glasshouse warmer than yours (min - 15-16oC) which would make a difference. I have used an oli heater but found the temperature fluctuated quite a bit as they are slow to respond.

David

 

[NeoNJ]

I want to refer to my original posting here ....

One orchid enthusiast recommended using the humidifier only at night .....

Overnite, I get humidity levels of 60-80%. Daytime levels are more difficult for me to maintain.

 

[SlipperFan]

I would not recommend using the humidifier only at night.

 

[Rick]

I would not recommend using the humidifier only at night.

Since you have a normal relative moisture rise at night anyway that doesn't make much sense to run at night and let your plants loose water during the day when they need it most.

Photosynthesis is taking light CO2 and water to make more plant, sugars, enzymes....

At night with no light plants respire and use oxygen to eat the food stuff they made during the day. They actually release back a bit of CO2 and water.

With relative % saturation less than 50% during light periods, forces the plant to pull more water up through the roots for loss to dry air + what ever water it needs for photosynthesis. The higher the humidity the less water lost to air and leaves can just go to town making plant stuff.

 

[NeoNJ]

Re: Humidity....How important is it really?

Since you have a normal relative moisture rise at night anyway that doesn't make much sense to run at night and let your plants loose water during the day when they need it most.

Photosynthesis is taking light CO2 and water to make more plant, sugars, enzymes....

At night with no light plants respire and use oxygen to eat the food stuff they made during the day. They actually release back a bit of CO2 and water.

With relative % saturation less than 50% during light periods, forces the plant to pull more water up through the roots for loss to dry air + what ever water it needs for photosynthesis. The higher the humidity the less water lost to air and leaves can just go to town making plant stuff.

I read this information about leaving a Humdifier on at night on ORCHID KARMA's website. I found it odd also that it appeared what she was saying was to only use a Humidifer at nite........

I do tend to keep the Humidifiers on all day .... now that I have the new Ultrasonic Humidifier (1st Safety 360) I get the humidity levels up to 80-99%
(*and I enclose the area by pulling the drapes (which get a little damp) but who cares).

 

[goldenrose]

do you care about the buildup of mold & mildew? BE CAREFUL, people can get very ill, it's one thing when you can see it, another thing when it gets into cracks & crevices of trimwork & then grows inside your walls. It's already been indicated that you can successfully grow at your current levels, IMO 80-99% is too high in the home. Why not raise it 10% & see what the difference might be for the plants.

 

[NeoNJ]

do you care about the buildup of mold & mildew? BE CAREFUL, people can get very ill, it's one thing when you can see it, another thing when it gets into cracks & crevices of trimwork & then grows inside your walls. It's already been indicated that you can successfully grow at your current levels, IMO 80-99% is too high in the home. Why not raise it 10% & see what the difference might be for the plants.

My point was that with this new ultrasonic Humidifer, I have the capability of getting the humidity level in this particular growing area up to 80-99%. Fortunately, this humidifier has a knob that controls the output of "mist" so you can turn it down low or up high.

 

[goldenrose]

OK ... so what are you aiming at?

 

[NeoNJ]

I am comfortable if the Humidity level is between 50-60% for the Paphs.........

 

[goldenrose]

that sounds good for people & plants both!

 

[Cach26]

I really don't think my comment will help much, as I live in a tropical country, grow outdoors and most of my plants are Phrags. But I want to help with the answer, even a little bit.

In my experience, the right humidity in the right plant, gives them confidence and comfort to grow. I compare it to someone who was born and raised in a country with a hot climate, and then moves to a place with cold temperatures, because they are not used to that climate, they get sick and uncomfortable, at least until they get used to it.

I observe this mostly in Phrags Micropetalum, and in the kovachii, since they are used to very high humidity, they begin to dehydrate very quickly, become thinner and lose leaves.

In these cases it takes months to adapt (at least in my conditions) but if I place the plant in a pot holder and keep it humid, the dehydration stops and the plant starts to react.

Phrags from the Phragmipedium section are excellent in my conditions, some people grow them in soil and in full sun. And they survive, with difficulty....

 

[Cach26]

I have observed this mostly in primary species or hybrids, usually commercial hybrids are more robust.

At least here a Paph Leanum grows in full sun and planted in soil. It also depends on the parents of course.