for tropical climates- do you adjust for seasonal watering

[DirtyCoconuts]

I have lots of orchids of various types and needs and generally i try to keep them all within the limits of what i can grow outside and with minimal involvement from me

i wanted to know, for others in my circumstances, do you keep your routine pretty much the same year round (because the actual seasons don't really change) or do you create a fake dry season?

i sort of do the latter but i wonder if it is dumb...my mounts all get watered daily unless it drops to the 70s or below and the pots get watered like every three days in the summer and every 5 in the winter...give or take

so what do you guys do in the tropics?

[SouthPark]

In the tropics ... North-East Queensland .... most of my plants grow under a balcony, where rain usually doesn't wet them, unless the plants closest to the edge of the balcony get rain blown (by strong winds) onto the plants. But most of my plants are Cattleya type growing in volcanic rock (locally known as quincan gravel, pronounced kwing-kun gravel), and have never been negatively affected by 'non-stop' rain. Some impressive growth rate of roots from catts have been noticed during certain lengthy heavy wet periods.

Air circulation is quite good in the growing area.

I don't create any fake dry season, but during the cooler times of the year, when we observe temperatures are relatively low, and evaporation rate is much lower than summer times etc, just got to 'play it by ear', and act on instinct --- such as reduce the amount of watering.

Air circulation is quite good, as mentioned. Good circulation with the growing media. My orchids don't appear to have any problems with getting water all of most of the time. I do occasionally allow for a dry out of the pot - just to keep certain possible (potential) threats at bay ---- eg. algae or some other growth (eg. fungal) in the media or pot, and any follow-on activity/processes leading from that kind of thing.

I believe we get spoiled here (or actually - just very fortunate) in this part of the world. I'm sure that I'd have to apply different tactics if I lived in the southern states - cold climate, snails, insect attacks, and other things.

[Roberta]

If the orchids are growing and booming, they're getting what they want.. don't need a "fake dry season". It so much depends on the orchid. Many don't even want a dry season. And with a few exceptions, even those that might expect one don't really need one if they get a chance to dry out between waterings. Hint: Of those that do expect a drier period, mounting seems to make it not matter...

I live near one of the largest species nurseries in the US (Andy's Orchids)... plants are organized by temperature needs (vertical placement gives different light levels) Within those greenhouses and shadehouses, there's a huge variation of species, some of which have a reputation of needing a dry winter. Everything gets watered (probably a bit less in winter, because it's colder)... those deciduous Dendrobiums and others like that do just fine, since they're mostly mounted and dry quickly. So... the "dry period" for most seems to be not all that vital. (There are exceptions like the Catasetinae that really do need a dry period... but then there are exceptions to any generalization that one might make)

It's impossible to give everything in a varied collection exactly what it needs... but fortunately, a very large number of orchids are very adaptable, and it's possible to "reach a compromise" that works.