Winter care/Rest for orchids.

[Paul Mc]

Hello everyone.

I'm posting this actually for another member of the OB as he is really busy at the moment. I will email him the link to this thread so he can participate.

In this part is his email, and then I will post my reply to him - then leave the rest up to you guys to either agree, disagree or offer better advice.

His writting:
I'm not sure what changes to make as winter sets in. For the most part I have three types of orchids: Dendrobiums, Phalanopsis, and Paphiopedilum (with one or two other odd-balls thrown in the mix). I know each plant has different requirements, based on where they normally grow in the wild, but I'm wondering if there are any general guidelines I can follow. I think I'm supposed to reduce watering and fertilizer, but not sure how much. Right now I water all my potted orchids once a week, and fertilize at about 1/4 strength also each week. I have a few mounted guys that I water every day (or sometimes every other day). I also mist the lot of them more-or-less randomly throughout the week. I suppose I should do some research and figure out what is best for each plant.

[Paul Mc]

My email response:

You are correct that each one has different needs. Most paphs want to stay somewhat moist with little dry time between and stay in a constant temperature environment. I would not change a thing with them except maybe reduce fertilizing just a bit, as in skipping it one week. However fertilizing is something I rarely do so would default to another's judgement.

My dendrobiums are not deciduous and I water them once a week pretty much throughout the year. I think deciduous are a bit different. That being said, some dendr's need to be relatively moist all the time such ad cuthbersonii, as they are find in dense fog mountain tops. But your standard den's you see mostly would be fine with weekly watering. Again, a slight reduction in fertilizing is generally recommended.

Phals are a bit different as they continue to grow roots relatively year round. I water mine twice a week and do not change fertilization patterns for them. Again, default to others judgement on the fertilizer part.

The mounted ones will need more constant watering ad they need the humidity and dry out fast. Unless they are deciduous, I would not personally change a thing with them except to skip a fertilizing once in a while.

The most impotent thing right now is that they experience a dip in temperature relative to the season, and they feel about a 10 to 15 degree temp difference between day and night. Paphs don't need that extreme of temp differences from what I understand, but your phals and dend's will to initiate the bloom cycle.

One word of caution though about misting. It does little to raise humidity except for about a minute or two. And you risk getting water set in and on the leaves which could lead to numerous issues and kill your orchids, especially phals. I would advise against it and instead purchase some window humidity trays such as those offered from repotme.com and oak hill. With some air movement over the trays such as a ceiling fan or oscillating, that should be good enough to maintain the proper humidity relative to the season for mist orchids. Not sure what other miscellaneous you have, so keep in mind some do require much higher year round humidity, such as those which need to be in terrariums.

If you can tell me exactly what you have, I can do some research for you. I'm a bit concerned about my advice thus far in relation to your miscellaneous and mounted ones. Without knowing details, it's hard to give specific information.

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[Orchid126]

Some dendrobiums need a dry winter rest, such as nobiles. You can tell what kind of den you have by where the old bloom spike stubs are. If they're at the tip of the cane then you have a den that probably needs year round care. If they're up and down the cane then you probably have a nobile, which want to be kept cold and don't want any water or fertilizer during the dark winter months, say from Thanksgiving to the end of January.
There are many, many den types and it helps to know what type you have.