I personally do not use a humidifier. I find them more of a bother. you have keep them clean, and keep them full... and with a house your size, i would think you'd need one in every room.
I really don't worry too much about humidity. too much grows mold and mildew.
I keep my orchids on some homemade humidity trays. the other plants in the house seem to do just fine.
if you're really worried about, you could always place your plants on pebble trays.

My house in Ottawa, Canada is quite dry in winter. I tend to grow mostly houseplants that can take dry - like succulents and cacti. But I have heard that if you have a plant that must stay humid, the best thing to do is sit in on top of a large saucer full of tiny pebbles. Fill the saucer with water so that the plant is sitting above the water but not IN it, if you get my meaning.

I just set up a humidity tray under my fern but I read that they aren't really all that effective. I definitely do not want to deal with humidifiers if I don't have to. I agree, they are a big pain in the neck. Last winter, the leaves of my janet craig dracaena all got brown tips and edges due to the dryness in the house. It turned a beautiful healthy plant into a pile of dry brown shriveled leaves. Plus, the fern I have now has not yet experienced a winter in my house, and I'm afraid it will not survive.

Humidity trays can be pretty good if they're wide, and the stones are large (and fill the tray), as all the stones' facets give off water.

I find humidifiers too much of a nuisance to use.

I do use humidity trays under almost all my plants (except the succulents). I also keep the plants in big groups together. I feel that the combination of the two helps keep my plants happy.

If I find my apartment drier than usual, sometimes I'll keep a kettle on the stove at a low simmer for hours at a time.

Most of my plants are out in the greenhouses for the winter. Those in the sun-room have two small inexpensive humidifiers from the Goodwill store running 24/7. The air gets too dry in our house for many tropical jungle plants to thrive. I have not found they need constant cleaning. They keep the humidity around 60%. It's close to 20 to 30% without them.

The best way to go is a whole house humidifier, especially if you have forced air heat. It's good for your health and your furniture too.

You can also buy a portable humidifier for the plant room. They are a pain to keep filled with water, but they work much better than humidity trays if you need a big increase in humidity. There are some newer models that don't produce white dust and don't need much cleaning. If you have enough plants crammed together like I do, you can just close the door and often get enough humidity in the room that way.

plants generate their own humidity... grouping them together is probably the best way to increase humidity, along with pebble trays.

The more plants you have in your home, the more humid it becomes, it's a knock on effect, the more plants you have the better you will be at looking after them... a great excuse to go out and buy loads of big leafy and cheap plants like ferns, ivies, monstera and the like.

To get a good level of humidity (one you can actually feel ever so slightly when you inhale) you might have a large plant or a plant group every few metres around the edge of the room... as I do. Although when winter heating kicks in your plants may need more assistance, and more pebble trays.

And humidity isn't just good for your plants, it's good for you too. You get a humidity level more like the level your body is built for (the humidity inside most buildings is lower than even the driest areas naturally found on Earth), you'll be less succeptible to migraines.

I heat with wood.I keep a pot of water on the wood stove that seems to help.I Just fill it up a couple times a day.
My boston fern is not doing so hot think its time to move it to another location I whould put it in my bathroom but its just to big LOL.

I live in a 10 x 15 dorm, and I'm not exactly sure what kind of heating we have -- in the room, it's a small radiator-type thing under the window. I don't believe this is forced air?

Anyway, I'm not allowed to have a humidifier because I guess they're prone to randomly exploding into fiery balls of oil and lava (Or so says the hall staff. Ahem).

Anyway, I have most of the plants sitting together, which I've heard is good, but I'm thinking I might need to try and increase humidty in a few other ways.

So, given that it's winter and I'm not going to have the window open and thus no real air circulation so to speak of, what would be the best way of raising humidity? I've considered a humidity trays and I must admit that as a side benefit, I also think it would simply *look* nice if I set up a few in various places. I've also tried just setting a few dixie cups of water out, although I don't know how much good that'll really do.

Humidifiers do not go "exploding into fiery balls of oil and lava (Or so says the hall staff. Ahem)." Your staff must be retarded. I use an Air o Swiss and it's not a pain to operate at all.

amccour:

They're not really leaving you with a lot of very good options, are they? I can think of three possibilities:

1) Misting. Not hugely useful, I don't think, but it's better than nothing, plus it's a way to get up close to the plants on a regular basis, which means you'll be better able to see how they're doing and take more extreme measures if something needs more humidity than you can provide.

2) Laundry. Space and roommates permitting, hanging towels up to dry in the room can be very useful in raising the humidity, plus -- thrifty and environmentally conscious. It's not the most attractive look for a room, granted. But it'd be humid.

3) Pebble trays on the radiator. Perhaps. If you have something that won't be damaged by the heat. A metal cake pan, with or without pebbles in it, would serve the basic purpose of increasing humidity, and if that sounds ugly, brainstorm and I'm sure you could come up with something more attractive-sounding (just off the top of my head -- maybe a bundt pan filled with marbles? A cookie sheet with a layer of aquarium gravel on it?).

Sounds like the hall staff is confusing humidifiers with lava lamps! ;) I remember living in old dorms in the 1980's, and the college was very finicky about electrical appliances because the wiring couldn't handle all the appliances that today's people are used to having.

Does your radiator thingie get warm on top? If so, a humidity tray on top will help some. Make sure you use something that is heat resistant, like metal, if the radiator gets REALLY hot. Make sure the bottom of the pots don't sit in water.

Amccor
If you put a pan of water on the radiater it will humidify the room the dorm probably doesn't want to pay high electric bills just as I do with my wood stove above it needs to be changed daily though.It seems to work well I do it for my kids when they are sick as well.

Michelle

I think what I might do is move the plants that are downstairs into a room upstairs that can be close off, and put a humidifier in there. It is a small room so it shouldn't be too much of a pain to keep it from getting dry.

I never used a humidifier, or pebble tray....

Most houseplants adapt just fine to the lower humidity in the home, so they shouldn't be drying or turning brown, at least, not really bad, BUT, sometimes, the ends of certain sensitive type plants can get brown tips like spider, Dracaena's Chinese evergreens and a few more like my Boston fern will do that when the heats starts to come on, but in the spring, it loses any dry ends.

Having certain houseplants outside all summer, then they are brought back inside can cause a humidity/low light shock, doing that can also cause browning.

Some people stand water out, like in an old plastic milk jug (without the top/cap) for 24 hrs, letting the Chlorine evaporate (can also cause brown tips)

Make sure your plants are in the right light, not too low. or too high, no winter fertilizing. Keep them watered correctly, and they should do fine all winter.

Billy Rae

I live in a fairly dry climate.
I have most of my "pickier" plants set up in my bedroom with a small humidifier and grow lights. (I just started experimenting with the humidifier this year)
The hardier of my houseplants I have left in other parts of the house to fend for themselves in the dry winter air.

Everything seems to be working really well so far.
Not only are my plants thriving in the warmer, more humid, conditions of my room but so am I and my older kitty. We are all enjoying the benefits of this set-up.
And I find it nice to curl up in a warm room and enjoy looking at your happy plants while the furball purrs on your lap. Add a book and a cup of tea and it is heaven for me.

I haven't had any problems with the humidifier yet. I only run it for part of the day (Otherwise I get too much condensation on the windows) and only need to fill it about every two days. I guess this would depend on the size of your room, the size of your humidifier, and the types of plants you are dealing with.

We have hard water here so cleaning it can be annoying but I find the positive effect on my plants makes it worth the effort.
I don't have room for humidity trays under all my plants and I would need to fill them more often than the humidifier if I did use them.

Different set-ups work for different people. Try stuff out and see what works for you, your living space, and your budget.
I have nowhere near the experience of most of the wonderful people here but this is what works for me at the moment. Maybe it will work for you.

Good luck. I hope your plants do well this winter.

BlackWyld