Outdoor orchids for oceanic climate

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Diane56Victor

I grow in conditions like that too.
One klm (half mile) from the sea. Very similar temps, in fact I don't recall a temp less than 3C in the past 5 years.

I grow Aerides, Vanda, most of the Cattleya hybrids, Dens, nobile included and Oncids, Sediera japonica. Haven't tried Coelogyne.

Coelogynes come from a wide variety of habitats. Some are warm-growing, but many come from higher elevations and so grow quite nicely under our cool coastal conditions. So, it's important to get down to the species level to determine which are candidates for any given area.

[Diane56Victor]

Originally Posted by Roberta

Coelogynes come from a wide variety of habitats.

Sound like a Coelogyne could be in my future, but I will research as suggested.

Getting down the specie level to determine if a plant would grow in my environment was probably why I lost a few when I first started with orchids. I have a far better understanding of how to find out their parentage now, and use a few different sites to get an overall picture.

I also water far less in the winter, but I will admit my hands itching when I walk past the orchids and they haven't been watered for several days!.

Originally Posted by Burgos

My climate seems to be quite similar to that in Melbourne and very similar to New Zealand, parts of coastal Brazil, southwestern France...

You can add Victor Harbor South Australia to your list too. We are probably a little warmer than Melbourne in the winter, but very definitely cooler than Adelaide in the summer, its got its own little microclimate here.