Morning, Thanks for the replies. To those who are lucky enough getting TC's blooming withot short days or first frost, Congrats. I never had such luck. Nancy, so good to see you? Wondered where you've been hiding...some members just disappear. lol. Remember the variegated TC I found 2-yrs ago? I went to Ted's, 'local green house,' last Feb, to see if they had more, thinking about you all the time. No such luck. The owner said they had no TC's, but an employee brought me out back where two shelves filled with TC were sitting..6" pots, 2.00 ea, no variegated. What a disappointment! Nancy, what and where is your house plant ID? lol. Where do I look? Is it a photo site? Anyway, happy you're back, and hope you're here to stay. Hey Mike..you know I'm always glad to see you, too. :) So, your TC's are blooming indoors? Any light hitting them at night? Sure, love to see your photos..Please post. Mike, ants like ALL plants. Think they lay eggs in soil..This year, like last, I placed ant baits on tables plants summered outdoors sit. And vinger-ized, 'my word,' ALL plants..again, like last year. Know what? Vineger-ized plants didn't have many plants in 2013. Hey Will...So your TC's never seen the outside? Your TC is beautiful. So large and filled with deep green foliage. Beautiful!!! CB. You're one of the lucky TC gardener's too. I don't understand why my TC's won't bloom when kept inside. I pray they bloom by the holidays. Rhizo...Another lucky gardener. Did your TC's get any night light? Did you halt watering/fertilizer before they bloomed? Thanks for the replies...

Marcia - You're doing great, even though it may not seem that way. At first, it's difficult to keep all the variables in mind at once. :) An inexpensive tool that will help lots is a maximum/minimum temperature gauge. Most measure relative humidity (RH), as well, but that's not very important. Big box stores, including Target, and garden centers often have them, but you might want to call first. Lean the gauge up against something - an empty pot, maybe - that's close to the window but not touching. Record max/min temps for a cloudy day and a sunny one. Then you can nail down that part of the equation. The outcome could be that you'll move the Phals closer to the window so they get more light and heat. An inexpensive light set up for a few plants is an octopus floor lamp - Target, Home Depot, etc. Get one w/ 5 arms, rather than 4. You can put a 23W or 26W compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) in each fixture. These are CFL wattages, not incandescent equivalents. As long as the fixtures aren't touching the plant or pot, you can't get them too close, plus they generate a bit of heat. One of the commercial orchid growers in the Midwest recommends this watering schedule for home growers with bark mix (bark, perlite, and charcoal): 1st watering, good quality water; 2nd & 3rd waterings, good quality water w/ orchid fertilizer; 4th watering, flush w/ tap water, equal to filling up the pot four times. (Your tap water may be fine for all waterings.) Are you feeling overwhelmed? Hope not. Whitecat8

hey junta.. a GW newbie.. welcome ... you question is impossible for anyone to answer.. but yourself ... and the reason why.. is that we have no experience with your soil ... how much water is necessary for you soil.. in your garden.. with your mulch and your sun .. can not be answered by anyone other than Mr. Experience ... when i went thru this.. and searched for the knowledge you want.. the only way to figure it out.. is to run the system.. and then go out and find out what happened ... take a little trowel ... and dig a few holes.. and find out how much water got into the soil ... and then adjust from there ... you would be better off .... to provide a thorough soaking to about 2 inches.. once per week .. than you would be to mist them once a day ... does that make sense .. but then.. whether that soaking is needed once a week or sooner.. or longer.. depends on how your soil retains the water.. and what kind of mulch you have on your soil to retain it ... again.. you just have to experiment ... any frankly.. i have no clue what that has to do with the water in your gutters ... what falls from the sky is an interesting fact.. but it is hard to see what your soil will do with it .... again .. after rain .. without the system running .. you should go dig a hole after you get an inch of rain.. and find out how far into the root zone the water got .. and then perhaps you could extrapolate from there.. as to how to adjust your system .. i usually sum this all up by saying that watering.. system or not.. is an ART.. rather than a science.. meaning it is not really some mathematical formula which fits neatly into a calender or schedule ... all that said .. we do not water in the evening.. as we prefer the leaves to go into darkness dry [to avoid mold and mildews] .... and we dont water in the heat of the day.. or it just all evaporates away ... a good time to water would be around dawn .... and for a period to time to ensure a deep soaking ... and then let the soil NEARLY dry before the next watering... and all that is complicated when your garden has a diversity of plants ... e.g. your lawn will need water much more often than your conifers/trees .. and something like a water loving hosta.. will need water much more often that some of your plants that prefer dryness ... so you might even have to go so far as watering different beds on different schedules ... i have spent a lot of time describing all the variables .. so that you could get a better 'feel' for what you are asking ... but when it all boils down.. let the installer set it.. and if some plants look stressed .. change it .. lol ... really now.. lol .. [but then knowing whether it is stressed from too much or too little water will the the next question ...] enjoy your new system ... ken

You are correct young plants need water more often. I just installed a nursery clock where a certain row of plants gets a short burst every 10 minutes or so. Only certain plants are on this table. Plants are each individually different some plants cannot tolerate watering daily such as cactus. Other plants can handle it three times a day such as Bermuda. Keep in mind rules of thumb, like the noon time watering, are generally safety rules to tell the masses of people who don't want to do much study, but they want to have plants.