Which orchids in YOUR collection get a winter rest?

[kavanaru]

Ross, received my Tolumnias potted in Charcoal chunks with some Sphag mixed. When I saw that the plants were not doing well and were loosing many leaves I contacted the nursery and they told I should immediatelly stop watering them, as they need winter rest... then discussing with some friends in Germany, they even suggested "more drastic actions" and all tolumnias were either mounted (2 of them) of potted in small pott with EpiWeb (the other that survived, and the new Tolumnia hawkesiana), which retains almost now water...

[boytjie]

Originally Posted by kavanaru

Ross, received my Tolumnias potted in Charcoal chunks with some Sphag mixed. When I saw that the plants were not doing well and were loosing many leaves I contacted the nursery and they told I should immediatelly stop watering them, as they need winter rest... then discussing with some friends in Germany, they even suggested "more drastic actions" and all tolumnias were either mounted (2 of them) of potted in small pott with EpiWeb (the other that survived, and the new Tolumnia hawkesiana), which retains almost now water...

Both of mine (Golden Sunset 'Waiomao' and Ralph Yagi) are mounted on cork, with very minimal sphagnum moss. They get sprayed every day in the morning first thing, and are usually bone-dry within an hour or two. I'll be curious to see how this discussion between you guys plays out, so I know what to over the cold months.

[Ross]

Originally Posted by boytjie

Both of mine (Golden Sunset 'Waiomao' and Ralph Yagi) are mounted on cork, with very minimal sphagnum moss. They get sprayed every day in the morning first thing, and are usually bone-dry within an hour or two. I'll be curious to see how this discussion between you guys plays out, so I know what to over the cold months.

Stephen, as you are soon to find out, cultural climates make a big difference. Tolumnias are found as hybrids and as species. As species, they grow in the Caribbean Islands like Cuba and grow at the tops of trees on twigs, so are called "twig epiphytes". They get rather frequent rain from the ocean storms but dry out before sun down. Based on this, anything we can do to provide the same regime is to our advantage. I choose to submerge mine fully in diluted fertilizer water for a minute or so then set them up in a breeze from fans for the rest of the day. I do this daily. I have some in large charcoal chunks (no sphagnum), I have one in charcoal, but the basket is inside another pot, and I have several bare root in tiny "thumb pots". They all do about as well, except the one in the charcoal (in a basket) inside another clay pot has much better roots and has blessed me with multiple spikes. The bare root Tolumnias have multiple spikes right now. I think the secret for Tolumnias is no winter rest. I think they need daily rest after copious amounts of water and fertilizer. That's my 2 cents.

[kavanaru]

Ross, that sounds also logical... As I said, I did not give them winter rest at the beginning and lost two of them. I kept then the others drier and they really liked it. I will try spryaing the mounted one this winter and see how they react... if I see they do not like it, I stop the watering...

[cb977]

I've never rested any of my Tolumnias and haven't lost any

[boytjie]

Originally Posted by kavanaru

Ross, that sounds also logical... As I said, I did not give them winter rest at the beginning and lost two of them.

Originally Posted by cb977

I've never rested any of my Tolumnias and haven't lost any

Okay, so the upshot is, I guess I'll just keep on doing what I've been doing this winter, until/unless the plants show me they're not happy with the routine. Thanks, all!

[Phantasm]

My entire greenhouse gets a winter rest. With much shorter days and cooler temperatures there is not much need for fertilizer, and watering is slowed down also. The natural rhythms of life seem to take care of flowering and lack of growth. When the days get longer after the winter soltice and depending on the weather the water will increase again.

Cutting down water during cold weather is important to avoid baterial problems and also helps to initiate flowering in many orchids.

[kavanaru]

Originally Posted by boytjie

Okay, so the upshot is, I guess I'll just keep on doing what I've been doing this winter, until/unless the plants show me they're not happy with the routine. Thanks, all!

exactly that's the way to go, if you are not sure how to deal with a specific plant... follow more or less the guidelines you receive, but pay close attention to what your plants tell you! e.g. Catasetum, you will find everywhere that you should stop fertilizer and start reducing water after hallowen and when the last leaf are off, stop water too. I have two Ctsm, which are already complete dormant (process acelerated by thrips attack), two Cycnodes with mature PB, as they should be, and two Ctsm which are currently still on active growth. The first two plants, receive no more water. The cycnodes, will follow the recommended schedule, and the last two Ctsm will continue on a regular "summer"-schedule until they decide to go dormant.. just follow what they tell you

[cb977]

I'm bumping this up...let's not get off track...this thread was created to give us a true list of what our members treat differently through the winter months, not as a debate on what should or shouldn't be rested. I know for sure that more than 4 of us give some of our plants a winter rest so...

would anybody else like to contribute?

Winter rest is a major topic of conversation these days and this is one way to get some actual answers...
but we need more folks participating!

[Bolero]

DO you mean for the whole winter or just longer periods between watering?

If you mean the whole winter then my nobile hybrids and one Brassia are the only ones that do for me. I water most things a lot less though.