Question
QUESTION: Wayne,

I will be going on vacation in the near future and would like to come up with a misting system which can mist my vandas once per day for 5 minutes.

I am wondering if you have seen anything like it at homedepot, lowes, or any other stores.

I can ask a friend to water them for me, but that's quite a nuisance to have to drive over to my house every day; perhaps I can put it on a timer, hook it up to my garden hose .... etc.

Right now, I only have 3 vandas albeit I have about 20-25 other orchids (Phals and Cattleyas); I am more worried about the Vandas as they require watering every day.

Please advise,
Angelo

ANSWER: Angelo, you may want to use something similar to what I have in my greenhouse during the summer.  I have a few mister nozzles attached to a water line that derives its water from a hose attached to an outside water spigot.  Attached to the water spigot, I use an electronic timer that can be set both for onset time, duration and shut-off time. The timer has hose connections on both ends. What I like about this is that the only electrical component is the battery that operates the timer and that is contained soley within the timer.  I set my timer to turn on during the hottest part of the day to run for about 7 minutes-- that way I get both the moisture and the cooling. Be careful about watering them during cool periods as they prefer to be dry when it is coll or can rot in a cool wet environment.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Wayne,

Thanks for the prompt response, I do have a water spigot in my pool area that I can use.

Where did you get the mister nozzles from? do those just hang from the ceiling? on a stand?

Where did you get the timer from?

Please advise. Thanks again.
Angelo

Answer
Angelo, sorry that I can't recall where I got them as I have had them for so long.  You can go to a website: Charleysgreenhouse.com.  In his catalogue he not only has mister nozzles but entire misting systems. If you don't have time to do mail order. you will need to work with whatever components local greenhouses or garden supply houses have.  You should certainly be able to find something in the Orlando area.  There also may be local orchid growers listed in the yellow pages that have these supplies on hand.