Providing heat to a window seat

[Nancy]

I have thirteen phalaenopsis of various sizes sitting on a window seat. The days are getting colder. There is a heating vent behind the seat that heats plants on a stand to a balmy 70 degrees. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on how I can raise thphalaenopsis are to about 75 degrees. It's about 65 degrees now. I have four phals in spike (Yeah!) and don't wnat to blast the buds either. I know I'm full of questions and I thank you all for the tie and patience you've given me. I quess with growing orchids there's always something!

[tom499]

i would also be interested in this.

I was thinking about a mini heater, one you just plug in and it fans warm air, but with my parents being 'green' and all, if there was a less wasteful way I'd be all ears

[slippery_biscuit]

I'm thinking that if your phals were on the window seat when the bloom process started you might want to consider doing nothing. In other words, if the plants liked the conditions well enough to start blooming there is a very good chance the bloom process will continue with the environment unchanged. Phals seem (to me) to be more sensitive to bud blast than many other orchids.

Lets see what other advice comes along....

[Sharyn]

Nancy: Why to you want to raise the heat to 75 degrees? Your Maryland temperatures are close to my Midwest temperatures and my phals do just fine during the winter. I keep my house cool in the winter due to heating costs - never much more than 70F. Personally, I would melt if my house was much warmer. If you keep your phals a bit cooler, be sure that you have good air circulation (fan), a humidifier will help the plants and raise the air temperature, and be careful not to overwater. Also, keep them away from drafts on the windowseat.

Perhaps others will disagree with me, but MY comfort comes first. My orchids have adjusted.

[chrono]

I leave my phals at around 70 degrees and they seem to like it, flowering twice for me. I guess it adapted?

[Nancy]

Iguess if I could just raise it a little I'd feel better. I always thought that phals grew on the warm side, with 80 degrees during the day and 65 at night. I was wondering if heating coils for starting seeds might work. From what I've read, what matters most is the temperature of the roots, not the leaves. Has anyone had any experience trying this?

[tom499]

mine are growing in about 59 at night with maybe 65 during the day =/

I've started getting white fur appearing, and so bought a fan. But using the fan lowers the temp more, so could be close to 55 when its running.

Would a small humidifier do, or just a plain heater?

[Sharyn]

Tom: Be careful of using small heaters. Years ago, my son used a small ceramic heater in his room which he once left unattended and it burned through the carpet. Fortunately, he found the problem before it burned the house down. Small heaters can easily overheat and cause a fire hazard, not to mention the operating costs.

Humidifiers help us and our plants but you need to do some research on what type will work best for you. If you're planning on a mister type for your room, you must be careful that it won't create that "white dust." It's a mess and not good for your computer and/or electronics. This link will give you a few facts about humidifiers.

Home Humidifier - Warm and Cool Mist

[tom499]

Thankyou for the link, I will spend some time looking at all the options available.

I think burning down the house would be a minor thing compared to touching the thermostat

[tom499]

This is an example of the kind of thing I have in mind.

Buy 2KW Upright Fan Heater. at Argos.co.uk - Your Online Shop for .

I would only run it when I'm nearby, and wouldn't go out leaving it unattended. I'm a novice with such things, does anyone know how strong the output would be? I just want to raise the temps by 5 degrees during the day, running it for an hour most while I'm around.

Would it affect humidity? I think it would as its going to be dry warm air, which wouldn't be good, but if it meant more evaporation for the humidity trays..

hmmmmmmm

[janet_a]

mine are on a window seat; all i do in winter is stuff some old scarves in between the racks and the bottoms of the windows in an attempt to insulate them a little. otherwise, they're on their own. (sogo benz is just beginning a spike.)

[nenella]

I grow all my orchids the house and the heating is always set at 18°C/64°F...(in winter- nov/feb'ish..) they take ages to flower & keep in flower for even longer... I've just looked at an atlas & I'm in the same latitude of people in Wyoming/Montana...
After reading this I'm thinking of increasing the temperature to my central heating !

[WIB]

Tom: What sort of white fur? From the humidifier? From fungus? Mealybugs? Just curious. -- Bill

[kmarch]

Nancy, what directin does your window seat face? It is possible that the temp in the window is slightly higher than the rest of the room depending on what direction the window faces. If that is the case (and according to several posts here - even if it is not) you're probably ok to leave it as is and not make any modifications.

[pikevi]

I think for phals. 75F day time temp. may be good. Or it seems like it to me.

I have Honeywell 1500W oscillating heater and a Super fine mist humidifier in each area that has Phals. The heater is on a timer and at night it shuts down. Humidifier works 24/7.

Nancy: I think even if you reach 70F you MAY need a humidifier but if it is 75F you MUST have a humidifier.

If your Phals. are close to the heating vent you may have to use a deflector to avoid the heated air to directly blow on to the orchids.

Good luck.

[tom499]

Its some kind of fungi. It comes off easy enough, but it looks unsightly. It mostly grows on the surface of my plants potted in soil like media, but i also get a white like covering on bark. This can be bad when it gets on the roots.

I usually just let it dry out, I've cut down on watering anyway with the chilly weather.

I've been looking around for some kind of spray for it, but I cant find anything that sounds like it'll do the job, and be safe to use on orchids indoors with pets around.

i think i may just have to bite the bullet and import some physan 20.

[Nancy]

My window seats, unfortunately, face due North. I have supplemental lighting set up, which is probably the reason the phals spiked. I run a cool air humidifier 24/7. I also have a fan running as well about eight feet back from the plants. This, I think, has created a light buoyant atmosphere.