Better than Humidity Trays?

[missann]

I got this idea yesterday when I was picking up moss out of a terra cotta saucer. You probably all know this already, but I thought I would put it out there for someone else like me.

I have not tested this little idea of mine yet, but I thought that if you got a large terra cotta pot, got it wet, (let it drain of course) and then set your orchid (in it's pot) inside the pot, I think it would work better than a humidity tray.

Or you could just use a large terra cotta saucer and get it wet, and set your orchid on top of it.

Or you could do what I did, and put tape over the hole in the bottom of a terra cotta pot, fill it with wet sphagnum, and cover the top with the saucer so that little bugs can not get in. Then place your orchid on top of that. It makes a nice plant stand and increases humidity at the same time.

My logic on this is as follows:

The terra cotta surface is porous and thus increases the surface area that the water sits on, and thus would evaporate more water more quickly than having just a plain saucer of water.

Of course it would work to use a saucer of pearlite dirt etc, just as long as there is no threat of the orchid pot actually sitting in water.

[kid a]

Humidifiers work well also. I think it just kind of depends on your growing conditions. For some growers this theory would not be a great thing it may cause a lack of airflow to the roots if the plant and pot were inside another pot full of wet sphag. But I know many people do grow a potted plant inside another pot. I have three this way. It does not have spahg in it so I am not sure if that would increase humidity. I do know from my plants in my conditions it does help to retain moisture in the mix longer but I know it has not aided in the ambient humidity department. One member added a small fountain to here her indoor growing area and it helped to raise the ambient humidity a little bit. There are several different ways to raise humidity other than humidity trays. Many people take a bowl of rocks or even a candle votive holder of pebbles or s/h medium and place their plants on top of them. Moving your plants closer together can help a little too because of the moisture in the mixes. That's one of my favorite things about terra cotta is the porous aspect of the material. In Indiana it gets quite humid during the summer and I think this helps my plants "breath" a bit more and get more air to the roots. If you are having humidity issues or would just like to raise it a little try many different things to see what works best and keep an eye out for any signs of rot if you test the sphag n a pot with the potted plant in it idea. I'm not saying it's not a good idea because it very well could work wonderfully for you. Let us know how it works out if you decide to try it. I have not tried it before but like I said it very well could work for you depending on your conditions. Good Luck!

[butt0n]

It could work well, but if you live in a very hot area, its going to dry up pretty fast especially if you have fans going.

[kid a]

Usually when I let my chids drain I put them back in their saucers after most of it had drained. The rest drains out within half and hour the whole saucer is completely dried. I'm sorry I think I misunderstood the part with sphag in the pot. Button I love your new avatar!!!

[missann]

Yes, kid a, glad you read what I said again. I would never have wet sphag all around a pot. The wet sphag would be in it's own pot. OR just use a larger (about 2 inches on all sides) bigger pot to put the orchid in. Hmm..I have a humidifier, and it is on full blast, but the way it is set up with the fans, it doesn't get the humidity to all the shelves evenly. I have now put in an extra shelf so that I can put a wet towel on the bottom of the greenhouse to make a bit more humidity. I don't think the fountain thing would work for me. I saw a little one at a thrift store the other day, and it is waaaay too heavy.
Also-kid a-if I am thinking of what you are thinking about the pebble thing..that is just a humidity tray too, right? This is driving me crazy. The humidity here in my neck of the woods-er desert, is 20 something percent. It is also up to 95 degrees every day. I need to move.