COLD WEATHER AND ORCHIDS

So how did your orchids do during our very long streak of cold weather here in South Florida?

What has been your experience?

Since I grow outside without any greenhouse or shadehouse cold weather is always a worry.  My most sensitive orchids ---- hard cane dendrobiums, phals, and vandas ----- I protect by bringing them into my garage.  It did not get any lower than 55 in the garage. 

All of the Vandas did great! And also the Phals.

The hard cane dendrobiums have experienced the dropping of leaves ----- but not very bad.  Oddly enough, I accidentally left three of the hard cane dendrobiums outside and they experienced temps as low as 34 and they have not experienced any leaf drop.  They seem to have done better than the ones in the garage.  I cannot figure that one out?

All of my cattyleas and encyclias stayed outside.  A few yellow leaves on some of the cattyleas, but all of the encyclias just loved it.

Now the strangest.  Den aggregatum is supposed to like the cold weather.  I have five of these plants ---- two seedlings, two mature plants, and one that is sort of in between.  The seedlings did great, so did the in between one and one of the mature plants.  But one of the mature plants simply did not like the cold.  About half of the leaves turned yellow, shrivelled up, and fell off of the plant.  Has anyone else had this experience?

Grammatophyllums -- Cold Weather - Know your Plant

My last post was about orchids and cold weather.  Well, we have had plenty of that these past few days in South Florida.  Those Callistas are just LOVING IT.

Remember how I said that you have to know your plant?  An example is Grammatophyllums.  I have had both G Scriptum and G Tigers Paw.  These plants typlically grow in warm areas of the world.  Day temps average in the mid 80s and night temps average in the mid 70's.  However, I have not had any problem with these orchids when the temperature goes lower, even into the forties  ---- however, I do not know about the 30's which we might see tonight  ----- maybe you should protect them if you can.

My experience has been that there is one thing that they definitely do not like.  They do not like being WET and COLD at the same time.  And the longer they are wet and cold the less they like it..  This is usually not much of problem in South Florida because when it is cold here it is also usually dry.  However, this weekend we are having rain and cold.  I suggest you try to keep your Grammatophyllums dry and warm.

If it has rained overnight on your Grammatophyllum, get it some place where it is above 60 degrees and dry.  Keep it dry until it drys completely.  I actually water my Grammatophyllum very little during the winter months.  From October through February, I water once every two weeks.  I also try to water on days that are above 70 degrees.

Be warned.  I have found that nothing will kill a Grammatophyllum faster than being cold and wet repeatedly or for long periods of time.

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?