encyclia/dinema polybulbon languishing
 

A couple months ago, I placed a few of my orchids in a plastic crate with a saran wrap covering (with a gap for air) and some water at the bottom to create high-humidity conditions. They seem to mostly be doing okay, but the E. polybulbon is going downhill; it's been dropping leaves and generally looking rather sad. Could it be because it doesn't like stagnant air? Previously it had been out in open air and was watered pretty consistently, but none of its sheaths produced buds, so I thought it might like the extra humidity.

I grew mine mounted on cork bark and watered it at least daily - and that was in a humid greenhouse with lots of air movement - and it tended to stay wet for hours afterward. It was hung just under the vandas with what I’d call “cattleya light levels”.

Are you watering the plants in the bin?

Mine is in fine bark; it gets watered occasionally – less frequently than it would be if it were not in the bin.

I grow it mounted - daily watering. It somewhat grows on the mount, then takes off in various directions with roots and growths free in the breeze. So I think that says that it is very strongly epiphytic, needing to dry out, and requiring lots of air around the roots. So if you don't have the conditinos to grow it mounted, you need to get as close to that environment as possible.

i think it does not like stangnant air...remove from the box and see if you can make a loose basket of medium to have it humid but open

I also think that it is not that fussy about humidity... mine grows outdoors, humidity is decent most of the time but not really high. (MId-day this time of year in the 40-60% range, higher of course at night) There are multiple days when RH goes down to single-digit. The daily watering seems to be quite sufficient.

Could consider whether one individual might be less or more susceptible to fungal attack in those environments. That is - very little, or even no air-movement. Also consider what is happening down in the media in stagnant conditions.

I remember hearing Alan Koch of Gold Country Orchids say in a lecture it grows best mounted on a horizontal mount, in very bright shade, and watered every day. I've been to parts of Mexico where it grows. It is wet all the time, even in the "dry" season. There is plenty of nightly dew.

Thanks for the advice, everyone! I'll see if I can transfer it to a mount soon. :)

Should I put a layer of sphagnum between the roots and the actual mount?