Leaving Orchids For 2 Weeks, Watering? Help!

[Rivka]

so looks like i just lost my 'chidsitter and im about to go on a two week vacation. not sure how to set up my s/h orchids to stay watered (let along the 2 that are not yet in s/h)

i have not been doing s/h for long enough to have tested how long i can go between watering, but i have seen some hungry ones dry up after about 5 days i think.
thankfully i am in the NW (usa) so it not really that hot, but it is unpredictable. humidity has been usually about 40-65% depending on the part of the day. and it can get hot upstairs with the house closed up, so i have to think about either leaving the AC on low (but that would decrease humidity more) or i can also move my orchid downstairs to a "daylight basement" room that has good windows, and gives bright indirect west sun and stay way way cooler than upstairs.

most of the collection (about 35 plants) are in deli containers and have their holes about 1.5 inches up. i use hydroton.

i have been thinking about maybe placing each pot in a larger container that can hold more water and fill it so that i actually get about 3 inches in each pot, since my plants have been moved recently, i don't think there are many roots at all down in the bottom 3 inches yet.

the other idea i had was to also put it in a larger container but burn a hole in the bottom of the chid pots so that they can fill from the bottom from this larger water reservoir


what do you folks think?
do i move them downstairs or leave them where they are used to but that might stay hotter?

do i make it so that hte water is 3"up or stay 1.5 but from a much larger (wider) reservoir so that hopefully it will drop slower (but mean i will have to repot to get back into pots without a bottom hole later, or keep watering that way)

any other tips?
and boy what about my ones not in S/H?! both of them have not been repotted because they are in or about to be in full bloom!


oh im stressed

[orchidlover55]

I have thought about looking for a regular house keeper and asking them would they be interested in watering the plants instead of cleaning.. It would only take one time to ask them to come over and water the plants . Of course you could pay them two times once to come over and you show them how and the other time is when your on vacation. Do you have a friend or relative to unlock the door for them to go in? If you get someone referred by a friend then you could feel better about them coming in. Or you could ask one of the students in high school someone dependable or course and see if you could give them a little extra money to water your plants. I usually pay my neighbor's child that is in High School, to help me if I need someone. I usually pay him around 20.00 for him to come over and feed my fish and check on all my plants. But as far as making sure they have enough water to last two weeks I would be concerned also. I don't think it would hurt them even if they dried out for a couple of days. I am going for two weeks also to the Florida Keys real soon and my husband will have a hard time convincing me to leave my orchids I really want to take them LOL But I have 118 I don't think he is going to let me LOL. But if you don't find anyone to water them water them real good the day before you leave and if you could leave the air conditioner on low I would do that because I think the air conditioner would not dry them out before the heat would. I will keep thinking what to do and I will reply again if I can think of something. Maybe someone else that has done this before can reply with a good idea. Good Luck

[kmarch]

The ideal situation is if you have a friend in your local orchid society who you can ask to come to check in in on your plants. They'll know better what to look out for and will be better able to adjust watering according to conditions like you do.

Another option is to enlist the help of a friend, have them come over a couple times, maybe have them come water once while youre still at home so you can make sure they're doing it right, and leave good, clear instructions for them just like you might for a pet or child.

Finally, apply the KISS method. Keep It Simple S!@#$% Don't bother having them fertilize or anything like that.

I've left my orchids for 2 weeks on a few occasions and once even 3 weeks with minimal impact.

[Rivka]

sadly being a army wife i am living somewhere where i know pretty much nobody. most my friends are from school and they live mostly a hour away. i am a pretty private person and there is no way i would let a stranger in my house when i was gone. it was hard to find one person so that they fell thru was a big blow. that and the fact that i leave in 3 days leaves me very little time
i have not made it to a local meeting, sadly i keep wanting too

so i think my only hope is to set something up for them to watch themselves

[tansyflower]

I'd go the total neglect route.

Put them somewhere cool (maybe the bathtub), and then water them before you go. I know when I lived in a two story house, underneath on the concrete was the coolest place. I think, if anything, you may lose a couple of buds.

I saw some orchids in the wild a couple of weeks ago, and I don't think they had been rained on in months. And they were spiking ready to bloom. They were Aussie orchids tho, and are used to this.

[Rivka]

ok i feel really good amount this now

-i went and got some larger square to-go containers and cut a close fitting circle out of the lid for each of the two sizes of container i mostly have.

-then i burned one extra hole in each of my existing deli s/h deli containers on the side right near the very bottom (meaning these containers are not good for normal s/h anymore)

-then i placed them in the larger containers and this lets me fill the larger container with water and let it fill from the bottom the inner container, i filled them up to the old water level

-but since i now have this larger container i can put in about 4 cups of water rather than about 1/2 cup that usually fits in the bottom of my s/h container

-and since it is covered and had basically no air exchange all the water will go to the wicking


-i have also moved the whole collection down to bright daylight basement that stays cool since it is tucked into a hill side and the large windows get bright indirect west sun that is only direct for a small amount of time in the late afternoon

i think everything will be just fine.

if this plan has any problem is it that they will be getting less sun and will be a bit cooler than they are used to, basically they are getting a little winter time

anyone see any issues?

[flowerchild]

I went away for 2 weeks last summer and had my aunt come to feed the fish and the lizards. I told her not to worry to much about the orchids, if they lived they lived, but much to my surprise when I came home the silly bu##ers were blooming and these were ones I couldn't get to bloom before!!!! Just remember to water really well before you leave!!!!

[Rivka]

they were soaked and watered in my week fertilizer solution yesterday then a few hours later they were rinsed in clear water and set up with my larger reservoir set up that i explain in post #6

[janet_a]

yes, that. -points up and down-

i have been thinking about maybe placing each pot in a larger container that can hold more water and fill it so that i actually get about 3 inches in each pot, since my plants have been moved recently, i don't think there are many roots at all down in the bottom 3 inches yet.

[grandmapenguin]

Like you Rivka I am leaving for over two weeks. The best suggestion I got from an Orchid grower was turn out the lights. Seems you have taken care of the watering with what you did. I just question you leaving them in a window.

I sent all my S/H to stay with Orchid Geek kid a.
The rest will be taken out of the window and put in a bedroom with the shades drawn. We will have to leave the A/C lower than we usually leave it when we are away. i will leave a few outdoors that are out there now. I moved the Phallies in because i can't be sure the temp won't stay above 60 degrees since we have had some 50s lately.

Good luck because we are attempting the same feat.
Terry

[Rivka]

the windows i am putting them near have dapped indirect light that would never be enough for most orchid usually, so i think that i have little to worry about add that to the cooler temps down here and i think light wise it should be just right, they have so much water to drink now i would leave them right where they usually go but it gets too hot upstairs on our rare heat days and i would rather not leave anything but my circulation fans going, i just don't need 2 weeks of a/c to pay for

[NicC]

I would repeat, make it dark and water as best you can. One of the disadvantages in putting water above the drain hole in the S/H pot is that you cut off air circulation. However your idea of a larger reservoir as in the picture is good. I would probably fill to just over the drain hole on the assumption that after a day or two, the water will be below somewhat.
That being said, I agree with person who said to ignore them. They really are tough and yours seem healthy. You will be surprised how well they do. Try to have a good time if it is a vacation and don't even think of the orchids. They will greet you on return.
Nick

[Rivka]

i really don't believe that they get any air circulation from the drain hole at all, they get it from the air getting sucked down after as water drains out. to get air from those small holes you would have to have it blowing pretty hard right at that part.
and yes it is filled just to the drain hole, mostly so that if any roots are near there the water level is not suddenly high and rots them

that being said if they have plenty of water, which they now do, why would i want to make it much darker than normal? i have taken them out of the direct sun since i don't know how it be weather wise while i'm gone, but this is Washington State we are talking about, too much light is not really our problem

[grandmapenguin]

Quote
Why would I want to make it much darker than normal? i have taken them out of the direct sun since i don't know how it be weather wise while i'm gone, but this is Washington State we are talking about, too much light is not really our problem [/QUOTE]


An Orchid Guru told me to put them to sleep; that's why I mentioned moving to a darker location. This is what I am going to try. Also I appreciated the comment. Gop and enjoy and forget the Orchids for a while. I'm sure they will live and if not then I can always buy new ones. I only said this to scare them in case they read this.

[Rivka]

i think the idea of "putting them to sleep" would only be necessary if i was leaving them for much longer than 2.5 weeks, seems a disruptive thing to do to them during a big part of the growing season, they have been moved to s/h only in the last months and they need all the root growth i can get

[Rivka]

Update:

just got back from my vacation and the orchid did wonderfully! Many drank up a ton of the water i set up for them, it was neat to see who drank more than the others. this mostly was along the same lines ad the ones in big growth spurts but there was a few surprises. Somehow just two of the collection either did not get their containers filled (or they totallllly drained them) and they both show light signs of dry stress, but not too bad. sadly one was my very proudest currently blooming one, it is still great but not quite as spectacular.

the only side effect that i saw was a slight build up of salts, this seems pretty expected, i did not use distilled water, just fresh and i kinda figured it would happen. in only one case does it look like it may have burned a new growth.

in most all of my plants i can see a really amazing amount of new root growth, a happy thing since they are all pretty new to s/h

i took them all outside into the wonderful breezy mild warm shade and run tons of water thru them all over and over to help rinse the build up away and them let them soak in fresh water for about 45min. I'll leave them to enjoy the breeze till the even cool sets in and then return them to there usual window sills.