Summertime makes watering my orchids on schedule that much more important. This schedule is not always conducive to going away on vacation without leaving someone to care for the plants. I usually leave someone to feed the cats 2x/day, but since orchids are so sensitive to water lodging in the wrong crevices, I don't feel as secure having someone else with no orchid experience water them for me. Since I knew we were leaving very early on a Monday morning for vacation, I opted to water the plants lightly the Saturday morning before our departure. I would give them a heavier watering that morning before we left, and of course, when we returned back home, the next Saturday morning.
I also top-dressed Vino with Sphagnum Moss and cleaned and filled the humidity tray, and hoped for the best as we made our way out the door. It has been hot, but lucky for me, also very humid. I left the windows open in the apartment to ensure they had enough air circulation. My experience indicated that Petaluma being a Phalaenopsis would fare well, but Vino being a Paphiopedilum might be stressed a bit if the pot dried out a bit too much for too long.
The vacation week was humid and hot. Surprisingly, Vino fared better than the Petaluma. Vino's media was dry, but the plant itself was in good shape and the immature bloom developing in the background looks ready to open in a few more weeks. It is free from it's leafy sheath and ready to start opening. The Sphagnum Moss was completely dry by the time we got back. I am not sure if it helped or not, but it certainly did not hurt anything.
Petaluma, on the other hand, had 3 immature blooms and she blasted them due to the lack of water. She is definitely a thirsty plant. Other than that, she was in fine shape. When I got up this morning, I changed out the water in the humidity tray and soaked Petaluma for a good 10 minutes or so. This perked her leaves right up. They had been a bit droopy, but not dessicated in appearance just yet.
I then watered Vino as well. I also dampened a paper towel, moistened it, and cleaned off each leaf and moistened them. I find this keeps those ugly water marks at bay. His media was dry, and even though his pot is much smaller than Petaluma's, the fresh Orchiata mix in the green plastic nursery pot held the moisture much better than the wood bark mix in the very aerated carousel pot. Then, again, a couple of lost flowers is much better than rotted roots any day!
I also top-dressed Vino with Sphagnum Moss and cleaned and filled the humidity tray, and hoped for the best as we made our way out the door. It has been hot, but lucky for me, also very humid. I left the windows open in the apartment to ensure they had enough air circulation. My experience indicated that Petaluma being a Phalaenopsis would fare well, but Vino being a Paphiopedilum might be stressed a bit if the pot dried out a bit too much for too long.
The vacation week was humid and hot. Surprisingly, Vino fared better than the Petaluma. Vino's media was dry, but the plant itself was in good shape and the immature bloom developing in the background looks ready to open in a few more weeks. It is free from it's leafy sheath and ready to start opening. The Sphagnum Moss was completely dry by the time we got back. I am not sure if it helped or not, but it certainly did not hurt anything.
Petaluma, on the other hand, had 3 immature blooms and she blasted them due to the lack of water. She is definitely a thirsty plant. Other than that, she was in fine shape. When I got up this morning, I changed out the water in the humidity tray and soaked Petaluma for a good 10 minutes or so. This perked her leaves right up. They had been a bit droopy, but not dessicated in appearance just yet.
I then watered Vino as well. I also dampened a paper towel, moistened it, and cleaned off each leaf and moistened them. I find this keeps those ugly water marks at bay. His media was dry, and even though his pot is much smaller than Petaluma's, the fresh Orchiata mix in the green plastic nursery pot held the moisture much better than the wood bark mix in the very aerated carousel pot. Then, again, a couple of lost flowers is much better than rotted roots any day!
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