Water in the crown of Phrags.

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PHRAG

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If I were to water once a day, and get water in the crown, how good are my chances of rotting my besseae to death? The watering system I bought is working, but a little too good. It gets water in the crown of the plants. It will water a small amount every afternoon around 3, and I have the fan on pretty high, so I have good air movement.

Is it better to not water for a week and have crispy roots, or water every day into the crown and rot them to death? :rollhappy:
 
The water comes on at 4 p.m. for just a few seconds, enough to keep the rootzone wet. The lights stay on until 7 p.m. and the fan until midnight. The nightime temp of the greenhouse has been hovering at 73 degrees F.

I guess I will just have to risk the chance of rot. I know for sure the roots would be crispy after a week of no water.
 
I think you will not have a problem if you water as you first planned. You still have 4 hours of light (heat) to dry off the plants.

I mist my besseae hybrid seedlings at about 4 each afternoon. Temperatures are at about 75F and the humidity is about 65%. The heat from the lights dry off the plants well before lights out. I've not had any cases of rot to date.

Good air circulation all night will continue to dry any leftover water.

What is your humidity staying at?
 
Well, I can't set the water to come on in the morning. There is a long explanation why, I just don't feel like writing it all out. So 4 pm is the earliest it can come on.

I will set the fan to stay on 24 hours a day. I will see by 10 p.m. tonight if the plants have dried out I guess.

My night time humidity is set at 70%.

I am going to let it ride. If they die, I will have learned something I guess.
 
I never get water in the crown. I am super paranoid about it. I don't get water in the crown or on the leaves if I can help it.
 
PHRAG said:
I will see by 10 p.m. tonight if the plants have dried out I guess.

I wondered how long you would have to watch. If they are dry, then we'll all feel much better.

You're in a much dryer climate than I, but I am generally also, just as paranoid and don't get water in the crowns, and if I do, I blot it out carefully with the corner of a paper towel (very absorbant VIVA towels of course!)

I recently had two growths on a plant that (for me) has been prone to rot, come down with basal rot, overnight, a week after I had watered. WTF? I removed both growths and so far so good, but I really only have one more. Sucks. Doesn't help that it seems to spread like wildfire.

Finger's crossed!!
 
We always water our plants overhead unless the conditions are very damp, dark, and wet. But these conditions don't really happen indoors under lights.
Always want the crowns and leaves free of water by the time the night temperature drops. I've always grown this way.

Are you referring only to besseae about not wetting the leaves or all your orchids? I'm very curious, maybe I'm way behind the times.

Here is a picture I shot a few minutes ago. Now remember I still have 2.5 hours of warm light left in the day. and several more hours before the temperature drops below 70F.
wetseedling.jpg
 
Heather said:
I never water after 4 at this time of year - only two more hours of sunlight.

Gas heat get's turned on tomorrow. Thank goodness.

Normally we don't water after 4 either and if we were using sunlight we definitely would not. But our plants are 8 inches under the warm lights so it is basically like 4 pm.

When you water during the day do you keep the foliage completely dry?
Do you ever wash the leaves?
 
I water at the kitchen sink. And I grow in S/H too, so this is what I do. I fill the pot up to the point where water comes up to the bottom set of leaves, and overflows the top of the pot a little. That's how I water everything I own. Paphs, Phrags, Phals, and vandaceous plants like my Neofinetia. I don't get water on the leaves or in the crown at all, on anything I grow except one or two of my tiny japanese species. I sometimes take a damp paper towel and wipe down the leaves if the plants look dusty.

I had a major rot problem on a Neofinetia once. Lost a couple of leaves in the crown and never got water in there again.

I think as long as there is air movement and light and warmth, there are no problems. That's what everyone says anyway. I just prefer not to let my orchids "shower". They get baths.
 
I typically water the whole plant, leaves and all if I'm watering in the morning. Some plants I do not get the plant wet though, because from past experience they have rotted even after all the precautions. Namely my praestans, nearly lost the thing and it is one of my most treasured ones. It will never again have water on it's leaves or crown.

Jon
________
Extreme vaporizers
 
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Not criticizing anyones growing methods but...

I doubt watering the plants overhead during the warmth of day is the cause of rot. Most likely the water is a catalyst for something out of order in the growing environment, which might be corrected. I'm curious if the losses from getting the whole plant wet is something most people experience.

Without considering rain, in the habitat of South American tropical plants the forest and foliage is often completely dry during the day. During the night it is the complete opposite, the foliage is completely soaked by condensation.
Orchids in the Amazon region are watered every night. At higher elevations this is also true, but often the plants are wet day and night.

Is there an explanation why watering the plants overhead under home conditions will induce rot?
 

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