I hate to do this but...

[greenpassion]

It is 1:15 a.m. here in Vermont. I just got home from work an hour ago. Tomorrow I will go in at 3 actually 2, and I won't get home until 8 on Monday morning. My concern about this is, that I have been very conscientious about keeping the humidity levels in this living room kitchen growing area as steady as possible and that a good level. But since I will be gone for around 18 hours obviously the humidifiers will probably have run out of water and the humidity level will be much lower then 50%. I'm guessing when I come home on Monday morning the humidity levels will be down in lower 40s at best. of immediate concern regarding this topic is that I have several phalaenopsis orchids That are just ready to bloom. I have swollen buds and branching spikes and I know from experience that fluctuations can cause bud blast. Am I worrying or over worrying this thing here? So we're talking around 50% to lower 40s, in a matter of eight hours and then going back up to 50%. of course when I get home . The orchids I am speaking of are very special to me. Actually they all are but... in writing this I realize that regardless of the answer I still have to do the double shift So whatever happens with my orchids it's going to happen. I guess I just want to know ahead of time.

[estación seca]

I strongly doubt that will damage the buds.

[stonedragonfarms]

I'm with estacion--if the drop in rh were say from 70% to 20%, along with a significant rise in temp, then I'd be concerned. Think of it this way; the majority of phals that we see in stores have gone from optimum conditions at the grower to often subpar conditions on the retail end, yet most still manage to successfully bloom (and often for long periods at that...) The only exception to this that I can think of offhand would be if you were growing one of the species types (bellina, tetrapsis, etc., but even then, I doubt that the relatively short reduction would do much harm.
Just my $.02,
Adam

[Dollythehun]

Ditto the guys. Please stop worrying so much...life and Orchids are to be enjoyed, not fretted over. They'll be beautiful when you come home!

[Ray]

Yep. If you've been reasonably diligent about maintaining the humidity while the buds have been developing, it is unlikely there will be any issues from a short "blip".

[rbarata]

Sorry but I think you are overworring about this humidity issue.
I have phals that grow under humidity levels bellow 20% at least half of the year, even worse, with temps near 30ºC. Obviously they are acclimatized to these conditions. Maybe you should acclimatize yours.

[katrina]

Completely agree with rbarata!

[greenpassion]

Okay! And yes it's true I need to stop worrying and fretting and just enjoy... Thank you you guys! You have made my 16-hour shift so much easier tonight!

[rbarata]

If your min HR is around 40 to 50% I think you don't need any special care for its acclimatization. Just let them be and monitor how it's growing.
Phals, excep some species, are adaptable and resilient.

[jkofferdahl]

Your plants will be fine. 40-50% is better than most homes.