John M
Orchid Addict
Thanks again everyone!
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Here's an idea for those who have hot summers.
In the hot summer months, give Disas constant, strong air movement and set up a flood tray on a timer. Rather than standing the pots in a puddle of water (which would heat up), you could burry a small tank underground (to keep the water much cooler) and then have a sump pump fill the trays which then drain back to the sump - 3 or 4 times a day. Something as simple as a 35 gallon Rubbermaid pail, burried so that the top of the pail is level, or lower than the ground. That would work wonders at keeping the roots happy. It's the roots that want to be cool, not the foliage. It's also a good way to conserve precious rainwater when it's not in plentiful supply. In nature, the foliage and flowers typically withstand high heat. However, the roots are always cool and wet. The high air movement would also cool the foliage by evaporation and carry away any excessiveheat build up created by the strong sunlight. The automatic watering 3 or 4 times a day from the underground tank would ensure that the roots are cooled and wet at all times and therefore, easily able to meet the needs of the foliage, which of course, would be losing water at a high rate because of the strong air movement and heat.
Maybe place the pots right in front of the evap cooler wall?Stone said:
I have a couple tripetaloides and aurata. I haven't bloomed them yet, however.jaljala said:
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Here's an idea for those who have hot summers.
In the hot summer months, give Disas constant, strong air movement and set up a flood tray on a timer. Rather than standing the pots in a puddle of water (which would heat up), you could burry a small tank underground (to keep the water much cooler) and then have a sump pump fill the trays which then drain back to the sump - 3 or 4 times a day. Something as simple as a 35 gallon Rubbermaid pail, burried so that the top of the pail is level, or lower than the ground. That would work wonders at keeping the roots happy. It's the roots that want to be cool, not the foliage. It's also a good way to conserve precious rainwater when it's not in plentiful supply. In nature, the foliage and flowers typically withstand high heat. However, the roots are always cool and wet. The high air movement would also cool the foliage by evaporation and carry away any excessiveheat build up created by the strong sunlight. The automatic watering 3 or 4 times a day from the underground tank would ensure that the roots are cooled and wet at all times and therefore, easily able to meet the needs of the foliage, which of course, would be losing water at a high rate because of the strong air movement and heat.
