How low can you go?????

[Faz]

We lost power for about 10 hours and the temps were about 37 degrees outside. Inside the house it was about 42 degrees. Will my orchids forgive and forget? What do you folks do when you grow inside your home and the power gives up?

I have Dendrobiums, Paphs, Phals, Onc, and Brassia. Would like to hear some good news please.

Thanks.....Faz.

[jkofferdahl]

How the plants respond will depend on a couple of things. For how long did the temperature bottom out? Which genera were in the areas which became coldest? The warm-loving orchids are likely to show at least some adverse effect of the temperature, unfortunately.

[christina waines]

I doubt they will suffer any long term effects from the power outage. If they were reasonably dry and no moisture on the leaves I shouldn't worry too much. I've had it go to 0C in my greenhouse overnight and all that happened is some of my Vandas lost some roots but everything survived and came back.

[Lagoon]

I don't think it would faze you're dens at all.
You're warmer growers and seedlings don't like the tempt drops, but you must remember it takes hrs for the drops to really occur. 10 hrs is not along time inside you're house.

I would not be worried if these were my 'chids.

[Faz]

Thank you to everyone for your responses. Our tropical climate here in British Columbia bottomed out and we ended up with a ton of snow. Of course as soon as it started to melt we lost the electrical power. I have to look for some type of heater than can be run without electricity to keep my chids warm in an emergency.

All the best.....Faz.

[BikerDoc5968]

The other thing you might see, and this is a weak maybe, is some of your phals in spike may blast some buds....not to worry.

[Ross]

Besides the above responses, each genera has it's own "low point". For instance, Encyclia has been known to withstand temps below freezing (F) yet Paphs and other, naturally terrestrials, not so low. So besides the answers you have gotten and your own observations, I would opt toward the 40-45 degree zone as an absolute limit for the plants you have listed. Technically, any orchid will survive temps as low as 33 degrees F, but survive and thrive may be two different things. If one has a collection that gets down to near freezing because you can't stop that from happening (for instance power failure) that's one thing, but to set a greenhouse safety switch at 35 degrees is another thing (I know this isn't your point, but just wanted to take this opportunity to make this point). I think 40-45 degrees is a safe lower limit for many orchid species for survival. A bit higher for safety and good health.

[nhman]

From my own personal experience tolerating 5 DAYS without electric power this winter (The worst ice storm ever to hit New England), I found a generator that powered the furnace and water pump from the well to be invaluable. Best investment I've made in a while (and with the stock market doing whatever it's doing, probably for a while longer too...) We were able to maintain indoor temps without any problems. Those plants growing under lights had a 5 day "black out" and humidity dipped into the upper 40's without the fogger going day and night.
So far, no ill effects.
I would imagine that most of your collection will survive, although as noted above, some of the more warm loving plants may show some leaf damage with bud blasting on others that might be in bud.
Good luck and keep us informed on how they all fare!

[Cookiemonster]

I think your phals and paphs would be the ones to suffer the most- but I hope that is all.... I find orchids to be pretty resilient, but try to keep especially the warmer loving plants above 45-- they should do fine, good luck!

[dianecty]

What would be a way to heat up the orchids without using electricity that can be used outdoors? Thanks!