I was really hoping for more input from a bunch of people on this subject but it appears it is time to wrap this one up. Since most people don't really want to bother with ever watering their plants, many people go into a garden store and a very rich potting soil that stays soggy all the time. As a result you may eventually kill your plant. Many plant species can literally drown in mucky soil! For some unexplained reason many growers believe the rich soil makes a plant grow better! Typical "potting soils" just don't work for the vast majority of tropical plant species since most grow in trees, not in soggy soil. The roots of many tropical plants are designed to*collect rain water during the wet season and suffer through the dry season. But even in the dry season a specimen can collect enough water from the humidity around their exposed roots to survive. * Although house plant growers commonly believe tropical plants do not need water in winter that belief is simply a myth. Tropical plants live in very humid conditions and are capable of gathering water directly from the air even during the drier portions of the year when it doesn't rain on a daily basis. Dew and fog are very important contributors to the water available to a tropical rain forest plant species and homes don't have dew or fog! If we deny the plant the water they crave they only suffer and will never be able to display their natural beauty. In the temperate rain forest the amount of water available from the dew alone is estimated to be between three to five percent of the total annual precipitation! As a result, your tropical plants need water year round but it is wise to reduce the amount offered during the winter. We water every week of the year averaging four days a week in summer and three days per week in winter. As can be seen in the photo the plants love water. Despite the belief of far too many growers, growing plants is not just about the water content of the soil! The advice to water only once a week and keep the top two inches of the soil dry is not always good advice! Many aroids and other plant species grow in very wet soil! Instead it is about the fast flow of water through the soil or the lack thereof which causes a lack of oxygen, anerobic fermentation and saprophytes which turn into pathogens. Saprophytes are organisms including fungus or bacteria that grow on and draw nourishment from dead or decaying organic matter which often includes soggy wet soil. The pathogens attack the roots and cause them to rot so all of the advice to "slow down on the water" is really about how to control the pathogens. Fermentation and saprophytes often occur in muddy soil that will not not allow the roots to breathe but they don't necessarily occur in water which is why we can cause a plant that is about to die to grow new roots in clean water. As a result, it is necessary to use soil mixes that allow the roots to breathe and will not remain soggy. I've attempted in many threads to explain the necessity of mixing proper soil for plants but the advice is often ignored since it requires some "work" on the part of the plant's keeper. The reason plants rot is not the amount of water given to the plant! These are rain forest plants and are literally drowned for months at a time! If you could visit a rain forest you would quickly learn the soil is composed of leaf litter, decaying wood, compost and the charcoal left behind when a part of the forest burns. If we'll just listen to Mother Nature we can all make our plants grow as they should in nature. That is precisely what I attempt to explain when I recommend mixing soil, not just buying a bag at the store. Over time we've developed a soil mixture for most of our aroid and tropical species. We use this mixture on the advice of the aroid keepers at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis. The goal of this mix is to allow the roots to freely find places to extend and grow without constantly finding wet places where they will rot. This mix will remain damp but drain quickly. Rather than using a rich, soggy soil and watering only once a week (or less), use a soil that holds moisture well but drains quickly. With the help of botanical garden researchers we've developed a soil mixture*for most of our specimens that works great. People who visit our artificial rain forest are often amazed at the size of many of our specimens which grow much faster and larger than they often do in a home. The exact mixture is not critical but we use*roughly 40% potting mix combined with 20% high quality peat moss, 20% orchid potting media containing charcoal, hard wood and gravel), and the balance cypress mulch mixed, with 10% Perlite and finely shredded pieces of sphagnum moss. We often add extra charcoal such as aquarium charcoal or hardwood charcoal to help purify the soil and sometimes volcanic rock If you are concerned about your soil remaining wet just add more orchid mix, cypress mulch, Perlite and sphagnum moss. We grow many different species in this basic mixture and*some of our specimens have reached their adult or near adult size and regularly produce a spathe and spadix (inflorescence). *The goal of*our mixture is to cause the water to flow through the soil quickly, remain slightly damp, but never soggy. The roots of our plants attach to the bark just as they do in nature*on the side of a tree. Most growers call a mix similar to the one we use a "jungle mix". Again, I welcome your input. We also openly invite anyone living or visiting in MidAmerica to visit our private botanical garden. There is never a charge. You can see photos on the homepage of our website.

They said they were seeing a few 90's in Texas a few posts above.....well Oklahoma has now also seen their first 90's this last weekend as well. So the warming trend is moving north. I have some trees stuck up north waiting on a truck and I expressed my concewrns to the grower that I was getting past my comfort zone on planting time for conifers. Like most folks in the north he told me not to worry because the trees were still dormant due to the cold weather they were still in. What I try to get most northerners to realize is it's the shock factor that worries us.......not just the fact this tree will have to endure so much more heat that it has been used to throughout the summer, but nothing turns a tree into a crispy critter faster than for it to come from nice cool cloudy growing conditions and drop it right in the middle of a heat wave of 90 - 100 degree temps and full sun. mark

Hmmm I've never thought to water in the rain, makes sense. Only issue I see is if the water is not penetrating the soil and running off, then watering is a waste of time as that would run off also. It seems to be raining every few days here. The rain two days ago was so intense at times you couldn't see five feet out the door. All the rain and the clay soil seems to have made my gardens very happy. Don't ever remember such a lush Spring, I'm hoping we continue getting showers at least once a week when we hit Summer. Donna

Wow, very interesting everyone on all your views and what you all do. As for me I will answer my own questions too in the hopes it will help others also) I was wondering if many here uses rain water and consider it a very important to the success to your orchids? Yes, I do and when I do the roots always look more vibrant and healthy. When I use tap, it discolors my pots, roots to my orchids and seems to make many of the tips of my plants turn brown. Take for instant 'ptothos'. I can't use tap water. I can't use my tap water on my palms, carnivorous plants, ferns and mosses along with all of my orchids. How do you collect it? I collect water in a 30 gallon bucket from my roof from a roof gutter that pours it straight into it. Then I use a hose and sifon all the water I collect into my 30 gallon buckets in my basement. 6 to be exact. Enough to last me thorugh the whole year when I keep refilling. I do use tap water for all outside plants and baskets. Do you use bottled water? Not for plants , just for humidifer use along with bottled water. Tap water would destroy my machines. Do you use tap? Only for outdoor plants, and to flush out my orchids, which I will come right behind when I have time and rinse with rain water. Do you flush your orchid pots and how often? Yes, once a week at least. The roots always fatten up and turn a rich green . When I just water or use a sprayer, the roots seem to stay partially dehydrated anyways. Why do you you use rain water? It's cleaner, very low TDS (2ppm). Rainwater also contains a little nitrogen. Do you SOAK your orchids or just water them in? Both) Do you feel it's important to spray your orchids and why? I do this to wet everything near where my orchids sit, and top moisten the top layer of many of them while the bottom still dries out. It's easier for me to do this with mounted ones. those I can't reach in the green house, and to keep the spider mites in check and leaves clean. Do you use a humidifier? A BIG FAT yes!! I don't use one in my greenhouse or my sunroom that does not have a heating system in there. I do use one in my sunny warm heated room uspstairs where I sleep and where all my plants reside of the air in there would be bone dry and warm. Do you measure the moisture in the growin room? I use a standard humidity/temp meter. I have to know how much humidity I have in there to make sure there is not too much to prevent mold issues and too little to prevent plant issues. So I adjust my humdifier accordingly. Thansks for all the feedabck. I had no idea about water and the issues they can prevent like explained above. I wish I could afford to use a RO machine or I would do that too. Thanks everyone.