Aussie Dens

[gngrhill]

I have a Den. Australian Artist (Den. Cobber 'Violet Gold' x Den. speciosum v. curvicaule 'Daylight Moon' FCC/AOC ) and also a kingianum and a kingianum hybrid which I understand are also Austrailian. Do all these need the cold nights and less water ?

[NYCorchidman]

In short, yes
Some might still bloom, but the flowering power will be very much weak.

Give them a nice cold winter (not freezing though) and reduced watering (not bone dry) during this time, and boom!!!!

You should dig old pictures of Sonya (Whiterabbit).
She lives in North Cali and grow them outside.
The flowering is great as a result! well, and her personal touch added to that I'm sure.

[Fairorchids]

KEY: No more fertilizer after mid Sept.
You can start fertilizing again after the blooming period.

[orchidsarefun]

mine is still outdoors, will cover it tonight and Sunday as temps forecast in the low 30's. Then - back into the 40's.
Its with a kingianum that I see is also producing new growths. Both are producing green-tipped roots in this cold weather ! They are in a south-facing position against the house so I think its a few degrees warmer.

[cbuchman]

Mine are still outside here in northern New Jersey where it is in the 40s at night now. Might have to cover them on Sunday when it goes down to 30 though. Or are they still safe?

[Fairorchids]

Originally Posted by cbuchman

Mine are still outside here in northern New Jersey where it is in the 40s at night now. Might have to cover them on Sunday when it goes down to 30 though. Or are they still safe?

Carrie,

Not sure how cold it will get. My thinking would be to bring them inside for a day or two, till the cold spell passes.

Last year I left them out till mid November. They were fine with the temperatures, but we had a lot of rain and it impacted negatively on the flowering.

Br,
Kim

[gngrhill]

Thanks all for your input.

[NYCorchidman]

These plants will be fine down to just around freezing given that they are kept on the drier side, although of course freezing cold is not needed.

Cold winter is essential to bring out the best flowering in the spring. Also, very bright light.

[stonedragonfarms]

Orchidsarefun, do you know how old your plant is? I have several plants from SVO, most of them are 2-3 years from bloom size when you receive them… AJW is spot on in his observations; the interspecific hybrids with speciosum in the mix will usually flower every year; speciosum itself often skips a year between flowering. D. speciosum also needs to get quite large before it will bloom; a typical seedling in a 2" pot may take 5-8 years to reach blooming size. Another quirk of speciosum is that it often makes vegetative growths twice in a growing season in the gh; it will put out the first growth around the end of May, and push another growth about mid September, just as the first growth is maturing and pushing roots.
Adam

[orchidsarefun]

Mine did push out a second set of growths-4. It consists of about 10 in total. Got the plant in late 2014. Hoping for spikes, it's still outdoors as we have had temps above 30f.