Cool/Cold growing plants wanted

[Randy]

Greetings,

I posted this on the "Greenhouse" forum as well. Well, my new greenhouse turns out to have some problems with keeping the heat. Now I did a bunch of things to keep the heat in that the contractor didn't do correctly (like using the correct type of caulk) and done other things to keep the heat down low by the plants. Part of the problem is that I got a rather large greenhouse. If it was smaller I think the heat I used would have worked a lot better.

Anyway, over the summer I am going to do some things to help it out but I think it will always be a bit towards the cool/cold side; just not as cold as it was this winter!

So what I would like to know is besides the obvious orchids like Cymbidiums & Masds. genera in general, what plants would you recommend?

My Laleas (sp) survived, some Catts (mostly species) a couple of Austrailian Dendrobs & some various hybrids. My Cyms are happy as clams and, although flowering was a bit retarded because of the cold, they are flowering, especially the cascading ones with devonianum in their lines.
.
Please suggest away!
Thanks,
Randy
________

[epiphyte78]

In addition to the Mexican Laelias...here are a few that had no problem down to 33F. However, I would only consider a few to be cold/cool growers because most of them definitely appreciate some heat during the summer months...so eurythermal would be a more apt description.

Cattleya intermedia
Cattleya loddigesii
Coelogyne cristata
Coelogyne fimbriata
Coelogyne nitida
Dendrobium x delicatum
Dendrobium falcorostrum
Dendrobium gracilicaule
Dendrobium hancockii
Dendrobium kingianum
Dendrobium loddigesii
Dendrobium nobile
Dendrobium speciosum
Dendrobium striolatum
Dendrobium teretifolium
Encyclia citrina
Encyclia hanburyi
Encyclia tampensis
Encyclia mariae
Epidendrum parkinsonianum
Neofinetia falcata
Oncidium flexuosum
Oncidium maculatum
Oncidium ornithorhynchum
Phalaenopsis wilsoni
Pholidota chinensis
Pleurothallis restrepioides
Rhynchostele bictoniensis
Sedirea japonica
Stanhopea tigrina
Vanda coerulea
Vanda cristata

[Bolero]

Gongora galeata (that might get some comments)
Slc's, Sc's and Lc's all generally do well in my orchid house down to 35F if kept dry and watered with a splash.

Sarcochilus species and hybrids would be perfect!

Dracula's will go ok with a minimum of 40F if you can maintain that - 45F would be better but 40F is ok. I have some that grow beautifully in very cool temps and I grow them with my Masdevallias.

Chinese Paphs such as micranthum and malipoense or others such as helenae, spicerianum and insigne. It's surprising how many paphs and their hybrids will grow in cooler conditions really. Just water early in the day and make sure the foliage doesn't have water sitting on them for too long. I water around the side so that the foliage doesn't get wet in winter, of course in summer it doesn't seem to matter much.

Odontoglossum will grow with a minimum in the low 40's as well - although I have had mine down into the 30's but this was a struggle. Some of them were ok but a couple are recovering from the 30's.

[Randy]

Thank you!

I do have a Catt. intermitiata which actually suvivied being outside in temps below 30 degrees F. It had scales and I wanted to see if the temps would kill off the scales before it killed of the plant. It worked. I also treated the plant to make sure there were no residuals. It lived through the winter no where near the heat because I kept it separated from the other plants just in case and it still lived. Yes, indeed, that is one quite hardy species!


Randy

[epiphyte78]

That's a really awesome method of pest control! Many epiphytic orchids are more eurythermal than most orchid growers realize.

[Bolero]

I absolutely agree. I know some people complain that something has happened to their plant when temps dropped to a certain level which they had been previously told would be ok.

It's a matter of adjusting culture when growing outside the natural range of some plants. Usually this mean growing them drier than you would at higher temperatures.

P.S. Also there are some Lepanthes that grow cool, I just don't know which ones.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Most Lepanthes are intermediate growers.

Depending on how cool/cold your area of the greenhouse stays throughout the year, there are those very unusual nose bleed elevation orchids that are extremely rare in cultivation such as:

Fernandezia
Telipogon
Teaugia
certain Epidendrum species
Masdevallia selenites

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

You know what...

I just remembered these...

Disas

[Bolero]

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

Most Lepanthes are intermediate growers.

Depending on how cool/cold your area of the greenhouse stays throughout the year, there are those very unusual nose bleed elevation orchids that are extremely rare in cultivation such as:

Fernandezia
Telipogon
Teaugia
certain Epidendrum species
Masdevallia selenites

Yes most are but I do know one grower who has a few and grows them cool - apparently some of them do grow cool but as I said I don't know which ones.

[orchidsamore]

Nobile type hybrid Dendrobium are supposed to go down to zero.

I accidentally froze mine (40 plants) to 25 with 40mph (4 hours) winds one year and they did not even lose their flower buds, They in fact went out for sale as is nothing happened the same weekend.