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So sometimes when it comes to winter, we wonder if our orchids do need an extra supplement of heat
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Well, if you are warm inside your house and you do not need to turn up the heat during the winter
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then your orchids probably won't need a heating pad. But if you have to use an extra heater for winter, then it's a good idea to provide at least heat underneath the orchid pot
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so that the roots can stay warm. Keeping your orchids warm during winter is not exactly a luxury
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It's more of a necessity for them. When it comes these temperatures indoors
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and when it refers to caring for orchids indoors, that means that sometimes we have to take an extra precaution with our warm-growing orchids
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Now, warm-growing orchids can never go below 64 degrees, which is 17.7 Celsius
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because that will hinder their growth. They'll survive, but their growth will be extremely hindered
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Most warm growing orchids will thrive in the temperature of either in between 70 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit, which is around 17 to 32 degrees Celsius
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Warm growing orchids are usually not sold in big box supermarkets because they will have a higher humidity preference, a higher temperature range
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and more specific requirements to growth Not all orchids are warm orchids Some demdrobiums will fall into that category Most all cattlias will All vandas do And some phalanopsis there are summer blooming phalynopsis and winter blooming phalynopsis Sometimes it not even the warm growing orchids that need an extra boost and temperature from a heating pad
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The next thing that you should consider when using a heating pad is what your orchid is potted in
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If your orchid is in a terracotta pot, that's going to keep the temperatures down considerably
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and those roots aren't going to develop as much as they should
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But if your orchid is in a pot, is in a clear plastic pot, and it has lots of orchid bark
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and charcoal and pearlite, that will keep the roots warm a little bit. But if your orchids are in just a glass vase with water, then there's not much
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that's going to keep those orchid roots warm. And talking about warm, I'm about to freeze out here
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The heating pad is not only going to raise the temperatures, it's also going to raise the humidity
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Any extra humidity that is inside that pot with the heat that is applied, it will evaporate faster
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and when it evaporates, it travels up and therefore hydrates the roots even more
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So having a heating pad underneath those roots really helps increase the humidity
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You might be wondering if the heating pad will interfere with the natural life cycle of the orchid
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Well, it really doesn't. To the contrary, it really helps. The orchid knows when to bloom because of three things
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light, humidity, and temperatures. And when you can grow orchids indoors you can manipulate all those three things and manipulate in the good sense not the sense that you cheat out of people
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I'm about to freeze out here. It's colder than it looks. That's why I don't do videos outside
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You will not want to keep the heating pad on all day during the whole day and all night
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You need to pick either a day or nighttime period. I usually keep mine on during the night because I want that temperature to remain more stable during the whole season
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And it's easier that way for me. During the day, I can already keep those temperatures higher and it won't influence that much
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One thing you'll also want to look for in heating pads is to buy a warm
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waterproof heating pad. Waterproof and water resistant are two very different things. And since we water
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our orchids and water just splatters all over the place, you need to know, you need to get one that is
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waterproof. The next thing that you need to look for when you buy a heating pad is that it will
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have a timer to it. I made the mistake and got one that isn't automated. So I had to go back and
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buy a timer and put them both together. If you can get one that is a timer
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already automated with both the timer and the heating pad together, that's the best thing for you
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During winter, the ground is going to freeze up. The temperatures on the ground are going to be
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going to drop. So having a heating pad underneath those orchids is going to raise the temperature
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from the ground. And this is what nature does naturally. When it starts to become spring
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the sun rays will hit the ground and the temperature from the ground
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up will start to change So you can induce your orchids to naturally follow a life cycle based on that Of course in the rainforest the temperatures aren going to fluctuate that much like they do in the continental
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United States, but they will still fluctuate a little bit. And the other thing that you can do
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with a heating pad underneath your orchids is to raise that humidity. And spring is one thing that
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actually does that. When the orchids in rainforest feel that extra humidity coming on, they know
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it's time for spring. Another thing that orchids will need to know what season it is are the light
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levels. During winter, you need to turn down the light levels and during the summer you can increase
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them. But remember, orchids are tropical and subtropical plants. They will not change that much
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to light because where they live, the light levels aren't fluctuating as much as they do in the
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continental United States. So during winter, tune down those lights and just a tad bit and during summer
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you can raise them. Better yet than work with the light levels is to work on how long the lights
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stay on. So during winter, you can keep those lights on from 10 to 12 hours a day. And during summer
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anywhere from 12 to 16 hours a day. Oh, sweet Jem, I can't feel my fingers
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Next time I'm using gloves. If you want to continue learning about orchids
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there are two videos that I can recommend. The first one is about light requirements for orchids
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and what you need to know when you go to buy artificial light
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And the second one is down here. It's about temperatures where you can learn about
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not only orchids that are warm growing, but all kinds of temperatures for your orchid care
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Thank you so much for watching and happy cultivating
