recomendations for easy outdoor orchids?

[Pk93]

Hello, so far every orchid i have been given or have bought, i have ended up killing " mainly due to the condition i received them in". So now i have decided that I'm going to try my hand at orchids again. Can anyone suggest an orchid that I would be able to be grow outside in Southern California?

[epiphyte78]

Glad to hear that you are going to give orchids another try! Here are some orchids commonly grown outdoors here in Southern California...

Bifrenaria harrisoniae
Brassia verrucosa
Dendrobium kingianum
Dendrobium nobile
Dendrobium speciosum
Epidendrum ciliare
Epidendrum parkinsonianum
Laelia albida
Laelia anceps
Laelia autumnalis
Laelia gouldiana
Laelia superbiens
Lycaste aromatica
Oncidium flexuosum
Oncidium forbesii
Oncidium ornithorhynchum
Prosthechea cochleata
Rhynchostele bictoniensis
Rhynchostele rossii
Rossioglossum grande
Sophronitis purpurata
Stanhopea tigrina

If you're interested, there's a flickr group for orchid growers in Southern California...no need to attend meetings or be a member of the orchid society.

[Pk93]

wow thanks for all of the recommendations! can all of these be grown outdoors year round? know i just need to make my mind up on which one to get first

[epiphyte78]

You're welcome. Yup, they can all be grown outdoors year around in Southern California. I collect people's outdoor grow lists and store the info in a database. Once you've got all those let me know and I'll recommend some more.

A good resource for learning the culture requirements of each species is the orchid culture website.

[Pk93]

I went looking for these but no luck, but naturally i bought an orchid anyways . I ended up buying a Burrageara. castle issa 'Hilo Bay', just wanted to know if I would be able to grow it outside?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Bletilla striata. Grow like a perenial bulb. Easy, I have one outdoors, and I live in Los Angeles County. They're inexpensive and can easily be obtained at any hardware store's garden center in the bulb section or at any nursery's bulb section for a reasonable amount.

[epiphyte78]

No idea on the Burrageara...with complex crosses its difficult to identify whether any cold tolerance traits will be dominant or recessive. In terms of commonly available orchids I've had no problems growing the yellow Oncidiums and Dendrobium nobile hybrids outdoors.

Not sure where in Southern California you are located but there are two orchid auctions coming up...

San Gabriel Orchid Auction - May 21

Burbank Orchid Auction - June 13

[Pk93]

wow I will def try and make it to one of the auctions