Outside Tolumnia's during storms

[Paul Mc]

Since these guys like to dry out by the time night rolls around, what do you Tolumnia growers do when you put them outside and it rains throughout the day and into the night? I'm assuming you bring them in so they can get dry, but I'd like to know what you guys do.

[epiphyte78]

When the temps don't dip much below 55F I water my orchids at night with regular tap water. However, all of my orchids get rained on during winter...when temps fall into the mid 30s. My orchids are all mounted though so they have excellent drainage. Plus, they really seem to appreciate the quality of the rain water compared to my tap water.

This last winter my 5 Tolumnia species had no problem with our winter rains. If your Tolumnias are mounted without any moss then I would be really surprised if they had any problems with summer rainstorms. If your Tolumnias are potted though then you might bring them inside at night...depending on how well drained they are.

[billc]

I leave them out all summer and have seen no ill effects when we have a rainy period. As soon as the rain stops they dry out fairly quickly if you have them mounted. They probably get rained on several times a day at times in their natural habitat.

Bill

[Paul Mc]

Other then a few pieces of small charcoal, they are bare root in a very small pot.

[ezil]

Mine are mounted and outside for the summer. These is always somewhat of a breeze, so the conditions are never "stale". They love rainwater and probably will grow better than they would if they were growing inside (depends of course on the conditions in your growing area).

[Paul Mc]

So a bit off topic, I suppose that when you mount them, they are root? I was advised to do clay pots as or winters are not humid and that the clay pots would help.

[ezil]

I live in Alberta. We have very few weeks that can be remotely be described as "humid". My plants each have a small pad of sphagnum around the roots, that gets removed before our "humid" summer (60% is really good here). Instead I drape live spanish moss around the branches, which keeps moisture in. They get misted every day, sometimes 2x. They dry out fast, and grow well. In winter it's very hard to get the humidity to stay above 30% in the apartment so that's why I need the sphagnum moss. In dull weather, I don't mist. I have had this "regime" for 4 years now, and it works.

[Zoi2]

I have mine bareroot in little clay pots outside. We have had a couple of weeks with rain and wind, I've been checking them and all seems fine. I even have a couple of new fans beginning.
Joann