South Florida Cold Weather

How cold is it going to get tonight? All good outdoor orchid growers show be paying attention to the weather forecast. Know your plants. How low can each type go? Be careful. Many hard cane dendrobiums are the most sensitive....no lower than 60. Phals maybe down to 55. Most Vanda's can take 50 to 55, but 60 is real safe. Most cattleyas will be alright 45 to 50. Many nobile dendrobiums will take low 40's and some even to 35. The Callista section will be fine along with most encyclias as long as you do not let them frost. 

BEWARE....these are only generalizations.  Know your plant and know your environment.

Some ways to protect from the cold:

1.  Blocking the wind with plastic.
2.  Bringing plants into a garage
3.  Running a sprinkler system to water the plants during the coldest part of the night......( I would only do  this as a last resort)

How do you protect your plants?

Zygopetalum Ryan's Moonlight

Have you come across this hybrid?  I purchased one at the 2009 South Florida Orchid Show.  I have been told that it likes cool weather and to not let it get warmer than 75 F.  Just what I needed, an orchid that has environmental requirements that is hard to have in South Florida.

Well, anyway....I have kept it indoors in the air-conditioning all summer and even into December.  I have put it out just today since we should be getting cooler weather.....finally.

I have not been able to find this hybrid on Orchidwiz.  I have found a very few mentions of it on the internet, but with very little information.  I am hoping with the cool weather that it will bloom.  It typically blooms in the winter.  This will be the first year of me trying to get it to bloom.  When I bought it, it was in bloom with the typical Zygo coloring with a VERY STRONG fragrance.

I will update here on the blog with a picture, if I get a bloom.

In the meantime......let me know........do you know anything about Zygopetalum Ryan's Moonlight?

Rly Hwa Yuan Bay 'She Shu'

Many orchids in the Cattleya Alliance bloom during the winter and early spring. Unfortunately, most of my Cattleya's are still seedlings and are two or three years away from getting their first bloom. However, this one opened just yesterday. It is a hybrid developed by a Taiwanese grower. It is not a mini-catt but is compact and easy to grow in South Florida. It likes high cattleya light and ideally likes night time temperatures between 58 F and 85 F. I grow this hanging in the backyard in a wooden basket with NO media. I know this sounds strange; but I have found in South Florida that most cattleyas grow best mounted in some way with NO media. Do you grow yours that way? If so, let me know. Leave a comment. If you have cattleyas in pots outdoors and keep rotting them out, then try mounting them in an empty wooden basket, or on a wooden branch, or on a piece of tree fern plaque, or on a cedar round. The variations are endless and they will require less care and you will have more success in our rainy, South Florida climate.

DO YOU GROW VANDAS IN SOUTH FLORIDA?

If you do,leave a comment and share how this past season has been for you.

I have found that the unusually warm weather that has extended late into the year has made my Vandas grow faster and bloom more.

For example my Asco Motes Burning Sands now has its fourth bloom in the last sixth month. Usually, I have two really good blooms and maybe a third.

Have you had the same experience?

A Native Florida Orchid

Florida has nearly half of the species of orchids that are found in the United States and Canada.

One orchid that is native to Florida is probably familar to every orchid grower in Florida.

Encyclia tampensis. This orchid is also known as the Florida butterfly orchid and is native to Florida, the Bahamas and Cuba.

It grows abundantly in the central and southern counties, especially along waterways. Many orchid lovers grow these in their backyard with nearly no attention at all. They will grow on a wide variety of trees, including live oak, red maple, gum, bald cypress, buttonwood, pop ash, and pond apple. They like the high humidity of Florida and will take temperatures down to freezing, although will do better with temperatures no lower than 40 F.

They normally bloom in June and July, but they can also be found in bloom in every other month of the year.

Plants in cultivation have been known to have over 100 flower spikes with over 1500 flowers. The flowers have various shades of yellow, copper, green, bronze and purple. There is also a white form of the flower.

Do you have an ENCYCLIA TAMPENSIS? If so, let me know about your experiences with growing this orchid. Do you have it in a pot? If so, what kind of media? Or do you grow it mounted? What is it mounted on?

Are You Watering Your Vanda's Enough?

Growers of Vandas know that these plants need much water.

But how can you tell if you are giving enough?


Some of the signs of UNDER WATERING are listed below. However, please note that most of these signs can have OTHER meanings also. Be careful, observe your plants, and be aware of your environment.

1. If the leaves do not unfold from the top of the plant, it could be a sign of under watering.

2. Under watering can also cause the leaves to turn pale yellow.

3. Flower spikes fail to mature and bloom.

4. Wrinkling of the leaves.

5. White roots fail to absorb water. If this happens, you may need to soak the roots in water until they turn green.


If you conclude that your Vandas are under watered, you need to make sure that each time you finish watering that your roots have turned completely green. If this does not solve your problem, then you need to increase the frequency of watering also.



Good Growing!

2010 Tamiami International Orchid Festival

Tamiami International Orchid Festival

Jan 30, 2010 (Sat), 9:00am to Jan 31, 2010 (Sun), 4:00pm

Fair Expo 10700 Coral Way, Miami, Florida

Jan. 30th - 31st 2010 - Tamiami International Orchid Festival, 10700 Coral Way, Miami, Florida, now the largest winter event in Florida. Contact Martin Motes at martinmotes@gmail.com for additional information.

HOW TO WATER VANDA'S IN MIAMI

Everyone always asks, "How should I water my orchid".

The answer to that question is, "It depends."

This article is about how to water Vanda's in Miami.

There are a few general things you should know about watering Vanda's. First about the environment: What time of year is it? How dry is it? How much breeze is blowing? What time of day is it? All of these environmental issues will affect how you should water your Vanda. So a Vanda grower needs to OBSERVE his plants and his environment.

Second, you need to realize that your Vanda wants to get a LOT of moisture, but it does not like to STAY wet. Sounds like a contradiction, doesnt' it? However, it is so true. So water EARLY in the day. Then the plant has a chance to dry before nightfall and does not STAY wet overnight. You want to water when the ROOTS are dry and when they have a "white" looking color. If humidity is low in early spring and the temperature is rising, you may need to water more than once per day. During the summer downpours in Miami, you may not need to water at all; and, you pray that those afternoon rains do not start some kind of fungus to grow because the plants are wet overnight. In the cooler months, you may find that you need to skip a day or two of watering.

Third, what kind of "pot" and "media" are you growing your media in. Generally, the more your "pot" or "media" holds moisture, the less you will need to water. But beware, since Vanda's do not like to STAY wet, in Miami I have found it best to have only a plastic or wooden basket with NO MEDIA. But this is an entirely different topic. Just beware that the "pot" and "media" can affect your watering and how long your plant and roots stay wet.


So how do you water a Vanda? The following are GENERAL guidelines. You should ADJUST your habits based upon the information above and what you OBSERVE about your environment and plants.

In Miami, generally,

1. You will probably need to water most EVERY DAY. This is not a rule. There are exceptions.

2. Apply the water to the plant just long enough to get the water dripping off of the plant and the roots.

3. Now you need to FORGET about the plant and go and do something else. Stroll around your yard, pick up some leaves or palm fronds, pull some weeds, or have a cup of coffee.

4. REMEMBER to come back and water AGAIN just like before. Generally, somewhere after 10 to 20 minutes, you should apply water again just until the water is dripping off of the plant and the roots. Do NOT let the water run continuously on the plant and roots.

5. Do step 2, 3, & 4 over and over again UNTIL your roots are COMPLETELY GREEN. The picture above is how your VANDA roots should look when you get done watering. OBSERVATION is key.


I hope this helps you keep your Vanda's happy and healthy. Good Growing!

Vandaceous Orchids in Bloom

Three more vandaceous orchids in bloom. I have doubts about the red one. The tag says it is a cross between V. Fuchs Delight and Ascocenda Yip Sum Wah. This would make it an Ascocenda Fuchs Royal Dragon. But it looks too red in color to me. Looks more like Ascocenda Yip Sum Wah without the Fuchs Delight.

The tangerine colored one is Mokara Moonlight 'Tangerine'. This one needs as much light as you can give it without burning it, otherwise it just does not bloom. With enough light, it will bloom twice a year. And it almost always blooms with two spikes just like this one.

The orange colored one is Ascocenda Banjongs Delight. The flowers are very flat and are so strong that they look like wax. I have not been very sucessful in getting this to bloom on a regular basis; however, I have been giving it more water and more light and it gave this beautiful bloom this year. Notice that there are still some buds to open.

Ascocenda Mary's Lemon Drop

This particular hybrid will bloom two to three times per year, most often in the summer months. However, it will also bloom in the fall or early winter, usually once. It has very vigorous roots. I have three of these starting to bloom now. This picture is one of my blooms this past summer. The picture was taking July 3, 2009.

They need usual Vanda-type care, but can be more susceptible to leaf-spotting fungus than many vandaceous orchids.

Good Growing!

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

I received an "orchid tip" yesterday that I had not heard before.

The recommendation was to never grow an orchid in a glazed pot. The reason was that there are toxic materials in the glaze and these materials can weaken or even evtually kill your orchid. If one wants to display an orchid in a glazed pot, have the orchid either in a plastic pot or a natural clay pot that slips inside the glazed pot.

What has been your experience?

What do you think?

Orchid Show in Ft Lauderdale - Bonnet House

Saturday and Sunday, December 5 & 6, 2009 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.


Bonnet House Museum & Gardens will be hosting its third annual Orchid Fair in December! An exciting line up of local orchid and exotic plant vendors will highlight this unique sale in the Bonnet House Grove. Bonnet House Museum & Gardens is located at 900 N. Birch Road just south of Sunrise Blvd. between A1A and the Intracoastal on Fort Lauderdale beach. For more information please visit us at www.BonnetHouse.org or call (954) 563-5393

Epicyclia Serena Oneill

ORCHID SHOW

The 64th MIAMI INTERNATIONAL ORCHID SHOW

February 26 - February 28, 2010

Doubletree Miami Mart/Airport Hotel and Exhibition Center
711 N.W. 72 Avenue
Miami, FL

305-261-3800

Do not miss it. One of the best!

Ascocenda Motes Burning Sands

Orchid Advice

When you first start growing orchids, it seems like that the first-timer has questions about everything. I know I did. What became confusing to me is that many times different people gave different answers to the same question.

First, it is important to realize that there are so many different types of orchids that require different types of care. The same question may receive a differnt answer depending on the type of orchid. Also, each grower has his/her own unique climate and habits. Both of these can affect how you care for your orchids. Finally, there are different ways to accomplish the same goal and each may work.

So what is the practical advice regarding all of these different kinds of advice.

1. If what you are doing works, do not change it because of someone else's advice. Stick with what works for you.

2. If what you are doing does not work, use some of that advice to try different approaches and find out what works for you.

HAPPY GROWING!!!

Thrips

With the prolonged warm weather in South Florida, Thrips can still remain a problem for your orchids. They can particularly damage Vanda blooms and even attack the Vanda roots. Beware of Thrips in South Florida when it is hot/warm and dry.

Phal Strategy for South Florida

If you cannot control both temperature and light, it is very difficult to impossible for the hobby grower to grow Phals in South Florida. Even with low light, the heat of 95 degrees plus in July and August either kills or severely damages Phals. Some help can be obtained by misting fans. I have tried fans without the misting and even those had limited benefit. The easist strategy for hobby growings of a limited number of Phals is to grow the Phals indoors in a window. However, you will not be able to grow them indoors all year long. The temperature inside the house will not be variable enough to have good blooms. So you will need to move you Phals outside protected from direct sun when the weather starts to have 55 to 60 degree nights and no warmer than 80 to 85 during the day. This VARIATION in temperature will help the Phals bloom stronger and bigger......Good Growing!

South Florida, Orchids, Water & Fertilizer

Now in October, as the days get shorter and the temps cooler, remember to cut back on water and fertilizer.

Some orchids require dryness and rest from now until March or April. If you have these, resist the temptation to water. Some of these are nobile dendrobiums and the Callista section of dendrobiums. No water for the cowhorn orchids either

South Florida: Vanda Orchids and weather change

The weather is changing in South Florida. Shorter days and cooler nights. This change can be good for your Vanda's. The cooler nights with help your Vanda's to start blooming. If you gave your Vanda's plenty of fertilizer and water during the summer, the cooler weather will get them to bloom.

Just be careful. Most Vanda's do best if they do not get below 60 degrees. They will usually survive with lower temperatures, but the lower temp will slow or stop their growth and it may take four or five months before you get them started again. Since they grow slowly, you do not want to loose any growing time.