Has anyone ever grown orchids in a dorm room, and how did you do it?
Thanks
Thanks
Dorm room set up?
- Thread starter Theodoreorchidking
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No! Turtles yes, orchids no.
Was it hard with space with the turtles?
I had a few in my dorm room. I packed them in my luggage and took them home for winter break. There was a utility closet with a sink just across the hall where they got watered.
Would any college staff have a problem with them or do they just not care? Because I'm planning on having a table under my bed to put the orchids on. Thanks
They didn’t seem to care (or know)—there wasn’t a policy about it in place. This was 35 years ago. If in doubt you could inquire. Most dorms have pet restrictions of some kind but I have not heard of plant restrictions. I wouldn’t imagine it being a problem having just a few unless you are planning an extensive set up with grow lights.
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Mine were in a 30 gallon fish tank. It was half filled with water. I had a filter and kept them clean.
Snuck them in and out while flying home on visits. They flew inside my checked bag. It was a 45 minute flight from Syracuse to LaGuardia in NYC.
Staff never said anything. The turtles never transmitted an odor so no one really knew.
Snuck them in and out while flying home on visits. They flew inside my checked bag. It was a 45 minute flight from Syracuse to LaGuardia in NYC.
Staff never said anything. The turtles never transmitted an odor so no one really knew.
Out of curiosity how many are you planning to grow in your dorm, @Theodoreorchidking?
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I had another thought though. My dorm rooms in college, 3 inside of four years at Syracuse University had a common problem. Northern climate, cold winter weather, heat rising in a room, I am on the 13th floor, and my room ran very WARM at times with extremely LOW humidity!!
You may need to factor that in.
Lots of students had a table in front of a window with house plants. My sophomore and junior years were in a “corner suite”. I had a small side window next to my bed and my desk/dresser featured a corner window about 4’ high and 10’ wide facing SW. Lots of good light. But a radiator was within the back of the dresser part. Kept my clothes nice and toasty but the top of the dresser was metal and warm to the touch. I wonder if that would have effected my plants?
And really, how could we possibly know what your future college dorm staff is going to say about you having orchids? In my case, they never came in my room. They cleaned the common areas, kitchenette, phone booth etc.
You may need to factor that in.
Lots of students had a table in front of a window with house plants. My sophomore and junior years were in a “corner suite”. I had a small side window next to my bed and my desk/dresser featured a corner window about 4’ high and 10’ wide facing SW. Lots of good light. But a radiator was within the back of the dresser part. Kept my clothes nice and toasty but the top of the dresser was metal and warm to the touch. I wonder if that would have effected my plants?
And really, how could we possibly know what your future college dorm staff is going to say about you having orchids? In my case, they never came in my room. They cleaned the common areas, kitchenette, phone booth etc.
I was lucky enough to live at home with a decent undergrad university 15 minutes from me, but I was still in Upstate NY with winter humidity of 20-30%. I ended up stocking up on distilled water every week or so at Walmart for a humidifier I bought from Sam's Club. Between keeping everything in a shallow tote with lifted grates to keep my collection above the water and the humidifier, I was able to manage 50-60% humidity under my grow lights. That being said, light will be a problem. Roommates probably won't be very forgiving if you use grow lights.
littlefrog
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I grew roses in my dorm room before I grew orchids. Orchids much easier. But that was a very very long time ago.
kc6847
Well-Known Member
I did actually. Here's an image of my setup back in 2020 before rona hit. I just used the clip on grow lights from amazon. Granted, you may not be able to grow higher light orchids but I've had D. lindenii (lower left corner) under these and they did good! Though at the time I wanted to use more regular houseplants since I wanted to fill out the space more.
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Honestly, might be more trouble than it’s worth. You should really plan to focus on the school experience, getting on a schedule and the chaotic dorm life. The freedom of time you have in school opens the door to many opportunities, don’t limit yourself to be tied down in the dorm in any way.. be able to take those longer weekend road trips with new friends. You get one shot at this freshman experience.
The RAs will go over all the rules during orientation. Lights from LEDs could possibly be a point of tension with your random new roommate. Not sure if your school is close to home. I wouldn’t show up with them on the first day, especially not anything special. I would ease into it, go a few weeks without any plant responsibilities and just enjoy the dorm college experience. Then when you get settled and decide you have the time and some good conditions, also when your roommate is cool with it..start small with one from each genus, sentinels… a few you don’t mind loosing.
Freshman year is challenging to keep a hobby like this going with the level of detail you put into it now. November break comes quick and then the winter holidays.. will you be staying on campus for the breaks? You might have to haul everything home that you have in your dorm.
Sophomore year, you will have a better hand selected roommate if you are still in the dorms, but also you might find off campus housing more suitable to the growing.
I think it might be wiser to lean on trusted family, friends or orchid society members to house / care for the majority of your collection while you work on your degree, at least for the first year until you get your bearings.
Not trying to discourage your goals. Just wanted to add another perspective to chew on.
The RAs will go over all the rules during orientation. Lights from LEDs could possibly be a point of tension with your random new roommate. Not sure if your school is close to home. I wouldn’t show up with them on the first day, especially not anything special. I would ease into it, go a few weeks without any plant responsibilities and just enjoy the dorm college experience. Then when you get settled and decide you have the time and some good conditions, also when your roommate is cool with it..start small with one from each genus, sentinels… a few you don’t mind loosing.
Freshman year is challenging to keep a hobby like this going with the level of detail you put into it now. November break comes quick and then the winter holidays.. will you be staying on campus for the breaks? You might have to haul everything home that you have in your dorm.
Sophomore year, you will have a better hand selected roommate if you are still in the dorms, but also you might find off campus housing more suitable to the growing.
I think it might be wiser to lean on trusted family, friends or orchid society members to house / care for the majority of your collection while you work on your degree, at least for the first year until you get your bearings.
Not trying to discourage your goals. Just wanted to add another perspective to chew on.
orchidmouse
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Lucky to have a tiny room to myself. Kept mice
You
You had mice!!! Or kept it niceLucky to have a tiny room to myself. Kept mice
orchidmouse
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Kept it nice with nice mice from bio lab
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I had a small setup underneath the desk where you normally put your feet when sitting. It worked fine but another thing you might look to do is to connect to the horticulture department and see if you can "rent" a small space in the greenhouse. I left various orchids in Colorado State University and UH Manoa over the years.
Though like it was said earlier it's difficult keeping expensive, picky orchids happy while in school.
Though like it was said earlier it's difficult keeping expensive, picky orchids happy while in school.
tnyr5
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The ideal setup would be something you can pick up & carry with minimal effort when you have to go home for break. A 10-20 gallon aquarium with a glass lid will allow you to control humidity, you could go cheaper & use a storage tote but then you'd have to pull your plants out to look at them.
A small waterproof computer fan can provide circulation. Drill a side for a small bulkhead and you can water/feed right in the tank and run it all into a waste bucket. Pick small orchids that like warm summers, since you probably won't be allowed to have air conditioning. Limit yourself to only what will fit in the tank, no expanding. If you can stick to plants that are happy with just slow-release fertilizer, you might even be able to automate the whole thing. It's all about ingenuity and self-control. (Translation: put down that sanderianum.)
A small waterproof computer fan can provide circulation. Drill a side for a small bulkhead and you can water/feed right in the tank and run it all into a waste bucket. Pick small orchids that like warm summers, since you probably won't be allowed to have air conditioning. Limit yourself to only what will fit in the tank, no expanding. If you can stick to plants that are happy with just slow-release fertilizer, you might even be able to automate the whole thing. It's all about ingenuity and self-control. (Translation: put down that sanderianum.)
The two small sanderianum I have do well in my low humidity, it's been 4 months and they are growing
