How to Set Up a Plant Room at Home for Orchids

Temperature Control

• 1

  Purchase a maximum-minimum thermometer. Place it in the orchid room. Record the daily minimum and maximum temperatures for a week.

• 2

  Install an air conditioner or an evaporative cooler if the maximum temperatures regularly exceed 85 degrees Fahrenheit in the room.

• 3

  Provide a space heater, infrared lights or heating cables if minimum temperatures go below 60 degrees regularly.

• 4

  Continue to track temperatures with the maximum-minimum thermometer once heating and/or cooling devices are in operation. Adjust times of heating and cooling to achieve necessary temperature regimes. Choose appliances with thermostatic controls to make temperature maintenance easier.

• 5

  Put the thermometer in different areas of the room and record the temperatures. Put a fan in the room to circulate air and equalize temperatures if there are hot spots or areas cooler than desired.

Humidity

• 6

  Purchase a hygrometer, also called a humidity sensor. Put it in the room before placing plants in it and write down the humidity readings for a week.

• 7

  Install weather stripping around doors and windows and to keep humidity within the room if necessary. Recaulk window panes if needed.

• 8

  Purchase a humidifier if the humidity levels are below 50 percent. Keep taking hygrometer readings routinely throughout the time the room is used for growing orchids, since humidity changes with air temperature. Adjust humidifier settings as needed.

• 9

  Install humidifying features like pebble trays, misting devices, open pans of water or recirculating fountains to raise humidity in specific areas of the room where you want to grow plants that need humidity greater than the humidifier setting provides.

• 10

  Inspect the room weekly for growth of mold on walls, ceilings, floors, shelves, and plants. Use fungicides and/or physical methods like scrubbing with brushes or scrub pads to remove mold on walls and fixtures. Remove fungus-infected leaves from orchids with pruning shears.

Light

• 11

  Measure the light in different areas of the room by using a camera with a built-in light meter. Focus on a piece of matte white paper where you want the light measured. Record the f-stop readings.

• 12

  Match up the f-stop readings with orchid growing requirements to see where your orchids would grow best.

• 13

  Install full-spectrum grow lights if there is no light available in the room or if light needs to be supplemented according to the f-stop readings.

• 14

  Measure light conditions throughout the year as natural lighting changes with the season. Adjust orchid positions or provide shade or the addition of artificial light as needed.