Ugh Oh Cold!!!

[Shiffdaddy]

Ok, so far this winter its been pretty cold for Sunny Socal.. 35 F is about as low as its gotten and ive had a lot of spotting and some deaths in my orchid collection. Now on thursday and friday the low temperature is supposed to be 29 F . I have orchids growing outside all over the yard.. like alll over. I've been covering a couple groups up with random towels lol. But this time i cant really do that for all of them.. too many. What should i do?.... i really dont have time or room in the house for them all. I'm lost as what to do.

Also in my experience having an orchid go from that night cold to a warmish house hurts them more than just leaving them out there. I had a Dendrobium that had a couple rot spots after a couple days of rain so i brought it in and immediately all the leaves started yellowing and rotting.

Ben

[ALToronto]

Get some styrofoam sheets, a utility knife with a few spare blades and a hot glue gun with lots of glue sticks. Then make styrofoam shelters for your orchids. They don't have to be pretty, just functional. I would use 1.5" or 2" thick styrofoam for this.

You can secure the shelters to the ground by putting thick wire stakes right through the foam, on an angle.

[Shiffdaddy]

If i only needed to protect them for a couple days (for severe cold) if i draped those black trash bags over them would it help a little. I dont know if i have the time to create the styrofoam cages for the like 9 groups all around the yard . I also have a whole bunch on a brick wall for like 25 feet too.

Ben

[ALToronto]

Black trash bags over burlap might work. You need some insulating material. Also, if you have some Christmas lights, put them on the ground under the plants. The little bit of heat they will generate will be enough to keep from freezing. Same for the brick wall, hang some Christmas lights, then burlap, then plastic film (a roll will be easier and cheaper than trash bags).

[Shiffdaddy]

Alright, i'll try insulating them a lot tonight. I do have christmas lights, i never thought of that! Good idea, thanks!! I'll try that out.

[Stray59]

Christmas lights are a great idea. If you have some of the Styrofoam peanuts, you can attach the trash bag and burlap to the bottom and sides of the orchid and then fill the 'pouch' with the lights and the peanuts which are good insulators. Or if you do not have burlap, you can use several layers of newspaper as it is also highly insulating.
Best of luck - let us know the results!
Steve

[WhiteRabbit]

I've read about using the christmas lights under something used to cover the plants

Do you have a garage? I put mine into the un-insulated garage when there is a chance of freeze - the most cold sensitive plants as near to the house as I can get them, the more cold tolerant ones go where ever I can get them

[Leafmite]

With those temps, I would move all my plants inside. Hope the ideas work for you!

[ALToronto]

Well, how did it work out? Are the plants OK?

[james mickelso]

Cold? Cymbidiums? No problem. Catts and laelias? No problem. Dens? No problem. Oncids? No problem. Phals and paphs? Problem. Do not water at all. But then again if you have, then just take them all into the house right now. By Saturday it will be warm enough to move them back outside. Orchids can take it down to near freezing if left dry. Phals and paphs won't but most other thicker leaf types will. As long as they are dry. I fail to figure out why folks continue to water orchids much in the winter time when it is cool/cold and they are not actively growing. Cool/cold and wet bring trouble. If all else fails, get some visqueen, lay it over the orchids and if you have them, christmas lights under that. My greenhouse is unheated and the sides have deteriorated to the point of being useless to help keep in the heat from the day. It gets down to 35-40 every night, 50-60 during the day and they are doing just fine. I don't water much except for the mounts which obviously dry by nightfall. Haven't lost anything including the phals. Orchids are tougher than folks give them credit. Where in SoCal are you located? I'm at the beach in O'side, Ca. Been just as cold here as where you are. Visqueen will help you and curtail the watering for now. My gallon pots with catts, laelias, and brassias/oncids are watered every 10-14 days and they are all putting on new growth. So curtail the watering. Pic 1 is at noon, pic 2 is pathetic little greenhouse. Pic 3 is an epidendrun ciliare on the palm tree and it's putting out 4 new shoots, 5 is greenhouse. It is as cold inside as out.