To cover or not to cover

[ArronOB]

We have had two days of heavy rain, with 6 more days of moderate rain predicted.

It makes a nice change from drought and bushfires. However I’m worried about my orchids. I keep most in shadehouses with shadecloth roofs. They are saturated, and if not covered will remain that way for at least 9 days in total. I could cover them and let them dry out but it’s not an easy job. What should I do, any thoughts.

Predicted temps are fairly consistent around 20 Celsius at night and 28 by day. (68-82f).

It’s mostly the Cattleyas I worry about. The Oncidium types seem to shed water fairly quickly.

Cheers

[SouthPark]

Arron, with the catts - if the drainage is good, and the media is quite airy, the catts can handle rain bombardment for days on end.

We had big rains last year up north here - with the wind making the rain bomb my catts that are normally sheltered under a balcony - but the rain just came down on an angle due to wind. No issues at all.

But - if your setup has any chances of water-logging/saturation - then the safe way to go would be to cover - or to just shift the catts indoors or somewhere, at least until the rains ease up.