"Dry by night time" - Page 2 - Orchid Board

SouthPark · #11 08-09-2020, 09:44 PM

KG - that's quite ok. The youtube video was mentioning something about leaves needing to be dry by night time. That would definitely cover crown being dry by night time too.

I just assumed that Ray was replying to my original post. But in any case - I know that Ray definitely provides excellent recommendations and advice. I might have just mis-interpreted what Ray was writing at the start.

The guy in the video appears to be really well spoken. I haven't communicated with him before, or got orchids from that nursery ----- but apparently quite a large operation there! It is pretty good how that gardening show sometimes puts these clips with orchid themes. Nice relaxing music too heheh.

The resolution of the segments on TV is much better than what they end with on youtube though! Which is a slight shame, as the orchid colours and sharpness is great on tv.

isurus79 · #12 08-09-2020, 09:53 PM

I water my plants in the afternoon/evening during the warm season (i.e. spring/summer/fall). I've haven't had a problem with rot in Texas. Quite the opposite.

JScott · #13 08-09-2020, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by isurus79

I water my plants in the afternoon/evening during the warm season (i.e. spring/summer/fall). I've haven't had a problem with rot in Texas. Quite the opposite.

I, also in Texas (DFW) water whenever I have the time, which is sometimes right at sunset, and I've never had any problems with rot.

Roberta · #14 08-09-2020, 11:20 PM

Temperature is the biggie... in the tropics in general, or in temperate areas in the summer, the night temperatures are high enough that bacterial/fungal issues aren't a problem with wet leaves... in fact, when nights are warm and days are hot, it can be beneficial to water in the evening so that the plants have more hours to soak up the water before it evaporates.

When it is cool (like much below 15 deg C/60 deg F), that's a different story. At the very least, that's when flowers get nasty botrytis spots, and other fungal threats can be a problem. When it gets very cold (like below 7 deg C/45 deg F) one can push the limits of cold-tolerance of orchids by making sure they're dry at night. When temperatures head closer to freezing, dry by day too can help push the limits a little more.

So like most "blanket" advice, the response should be "It depends..."

JScott · #15 08-10-2020, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roberta

Temperature is the biggie... in the tropics in general, or in temperate areas in the summer, the night temperatures are high enough that bacterial/fungal issues aren't a problem with wet leaves... in fact, when nights are warm and days are hot, it can be beneficial to water in the evening so that the plants have more hours to soak up the water before it evaporates.

When it is cool (like much below 15 deg C/60 deg F), that's a different story. At the very least, that's when flowers get nasty botrytis spots, and other fungal threats can be a problem. When it gets very cold (like below 7 deg C/45 deg F) one can push the limits of cold-tolerance of orchids by making sure they're dry at night. When temperatures head closer to freezing, dry by day too can help push the limits a little more.

So like most "blanket" advice, the response should be "It depends..."

That's a good point. In the winter when my orchids are inside, and I must carry each one to the sink to water them, I am careful not to get water in any place where it will stand (phal crown, Cattleya developing growths, sheathes around Oncidium bulbs, etc), and if I get water in those places, I blow a strong gust of breath to blow the water out of the place where it is standing. I bet if I left water standing in those places in the winter when it it cooler in the house, then I would experience problems with rot.

SouthPark · #16 08-10-2020, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by isurus79 >>
I water my plants in the afternoon/evening during the warm season (i.e. spring/summer/fall). I've haven't had a problem with rot in Texas. Quite the opposite.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JScott

I, also in Texas (DFW) water whenever I have the time, which is sometimes right at sunset, and I've never had any problems with rot.

JS ....... the post about watering plants in the evening didn't mention whether the leaves were watered too. Whether the leaves were watered or not isn't the actual issue. It just wasn't clear about what was meant by 'watering at night' heheh. I don't mean your post. I meant the former.

JScott · #17 08-10-2020, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SouthPark

JS ....... the post about watering plants in the evening didn't mention whether the leaves were watered too. Whether the leaves were watered or not isn't the actual issue. It just wasn't clear about what was meant by 'watering at night' heheh. I don't mean your post. I meant the former.

Well then I'd say it doesn't matter when you water as long as there is no standing water in places that might easily rot, like phal crowns or developing Catt growths.

SouthPark · #18 08-10-2020, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JScott

Well then I'd say it doesn't matter when you water as long as there is no standing water in places that might easily rot, like phal crowns or developing Catt growths.

Thanks JS! I had been wondering about the mechanisms behind crown rot for a while! As in - whether the rot is due to portions of leaves running out of oxygen due to water sitting on them for a long time ...... or whether fungus/bacteria activity in the wet region starts up, which then attacks the cells of the leaves in that region ..... or combinations of both.

I see some websites merely mentioning - crown rot - due to water in crown. But lacking details about what it is that leads to the rotting.

Fran20 · #19 08-10-2020, 08:25 PM

After viewing the video remarks, I feel the speaker was trying to emphasize that good air movement, even on a rainy day, was preferable to watering on a still and sunny day (although I don't know why I would want to water outdoor plants when it's raining). Also, since it's a very short clip, any remarks he might have added for elaboration may have been edited out for the sake of brevity.

Roberta · #20 08-10-2020, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SouthPark

JS ....... the post about watering plants in the evening didn't mention whether the leaves were watered too. Whether the leaves were watered or not isn't the actual issue. It just wasn't clear about what was meant by 'watering at night' heheh. I don't mean your post. I meant the former.

I guess I don't distinguish between watering leaves versus watering any other part of the plant... when I water, they get a good bath either from sprinklers or the hose. The whole plant, and the medium, gets wet. Too many plants, many of which are mounted, to water "surgically". If it is reasonably warm (or likely to become so in a few hours) I water. If it is cold and likely to to stay that way, I don't. Simple.

On the rare occasion when it rains, they get wet. Fortunately, when it rains the cloud cover keeps the temperature up so that it is very rare that I have to worry about night rain leaving the orchids too cold while wet. (Once in a very great while the clouds might clear during the night after a rain allowing it to get colder. Rare enough, and for few enough hours, that I have never had fatalities from that situation)