"sandra" wrote in message
oups.com...

My orchid will be in Deep South Texas, I do have central heat in that
home


Do you have any sort of a gauge to determine the humidity in your home? I
like the one from Radio Shack. Costs about $25, runs on batteries and will
keep track of the minimum and maximum humidity. There are probably other
stores that sell them if you look around your town. Or maybe you have one
of those wall weather stations that give you some sort of an idea what your
ambient humidity is.

The reason I ask is because many orchids are bred for the home and do not
need fancy equipment for successful growing. Maybe they only need to be
over the kitchen sink, or near the shower in order to get some moisture in
the air.

Frank Fordyce (a well known orchid breeder) told me the story about how he
was lecturing in Houston Texas on orchid culture. Someone asked a question
and Frank automatically answered maybe the plant needed more humidity -
which is usually the answer here in California, but in Houston, which is
usually wringing wet, the ambient humidity is adequate. His audience
laughed and Frank learned a valuable lesson. Know your conditions.

So my only point was do you know if your conditions warrant the expense of
buying a humidifier? You may have adequate humidity and not know it. So
get a gauge. Borrow one, or ask for one for Christmas (as well as a second
orchid to keep the 1st one company)

One of the nicest books I ever got about growing orchids was one written by
Bob Gordon called Phalaenposis Culture - or something like that. He has a
down to earth way of writing that gets you to think like an orchid. You can
get it from Amazon.com or the American Orchid Society or directly from Bob.
I want to say he's Laid Back Press.

Good growing

K Barrett