Cool growing orchids in your house

[Kim Brown]

Hi, all!

Is there any trick that allows you to successfully grow cool orchids in your house?

I have a Zygo hybrid, a Miltoniopsis hybrid, a Trichopilia suavis, and, most significantly, two Oncidium alexandrae hybrids. All of these, I understand, are cooler growers. Is there any way to cool the air around them in the living room/windowsill? Could a small fan or an air humidifier work?

I dream of growing the species Oncidium alexandrae one day, but the nearest goal is no doubt keeping the hybrids happy and healthy.

Any tips?

[jcec1]

I grow zygos, miltoniopsis and recently had success with a masdevallia. I grow in unheated or barely heated rooms - however Victorian British buildings are not particularly insulated so there are draughts and the air is not too dry.

One suggestion is to grow in unglazed clay pots which will cool the rootball by evaporation.

[Kim Brown]

Thank you so much, jcec1!

Would you keep your cool growers in plastic pots inside the clay pots, and are daily watering necessary to achieve cooling via evaporation? And how do the cool growers handle summer temperatures?

Forgive all these newbie questions. I’m a bit green when it comes to cool growers, but there are so many pretty ones!

[jcec1]

Pot directly into clay pots so the water wicks through the clay, daily watering would be too much - probably twice a week in summer would be sufficient. Temperatures here in Scotland are cool in summer usually 18 - 22C and the house is never above that so I don't have those issues - if you have a North facing outside area I think they would do well outdoors in the warmer months.

Otherwise open a window and grow them beside that.

[Kim Brown]

Thanks - very useful advice! Danish summers are a bit warmer than that, but it may be worth a try for the drop in night temperatures. Would you protect the plants against rain? Danish summers tend to be either hot and dry or warm and rainy.

[jcec1]

If the pots are free draining - either hung or on a wire rack I would leave them in the rain - if you search London masdevallia on Twitter you will find someone who grows lots of orchids mainly outdoors which will be more like Denmark - you'll find some great ideas on his timeline.

[Fairorchids]

Kim,

You can place the Zygo outside in light shade (under a tree) as soon as night time temps reach 5C or higher, and leave it there till night time temps drop to about 3C.

I have never grown Onc alexandrea, but it is reportedly growing at elevations from 2000 to 3000 m, so I would say that it can tolerate even cooler temps than the Zygo.

While they are inside, it is more important that they have cool night time temps than day time temps.

[Keithj]

I have a Zygopetalum hybrid and a Nelly Isler that I grow successfully in the house on windowsills. Both are kept on damp gravel for humidity and watered when the medium is just damp, not completely dry.

Keith

[Kim Brown]

Thanks for the suggestions all - I will try to move my cool growers out into the garden when temperatures are high enough. We occasionally have squirrels, but they don't eat the weeds, so why should they eat the orchids? ...famous last words.

I was in London a couple of years ago, and I was surprised how much warmer the climate is there - or, at least, how much earlier the growing season starts there. They had roses coming into bloom in April, something which doesn't happen here until June!

[Ray]

Kim, one of the tricks that folks do is to grow such plants in semi-hydroponics, using a clay pot sitting in a tray of water. The evaporative cooling can be significant.