COLD snap coming- here's my plan, any suggestions are REALLY welcome

[DirtyCoconuts]

It is getting 20 year cold here tonight and i am scrambling as i thought it was not going to be this cold

we are looking at 41 as the low and fortunately it is at least dry (ish)

i am going to put the polycarobate on the roof of the lath house and then drape the whole house is visqueen

i have the bulbos and most of the phals in there

i was going to leave all the others out and let them do their thing....maybe bring any young or smaller plants into the patio

i was going to wrap my musenda in a sheet and the same for the starfruit

any genus that are super cold intolerant? any thoughts on other plants i need to cover?

i can wrap any of the mounts in a garbage bag but i don't know if that is necessary


Thanks!

[Leafmite]

Is this just for a couple of hours or is it for longer? Is your area breezy? From experience, that is too cold for most tropical plants without a strategy to provide them with a little extra heat.

I have covered the tougher tropical plants/orchids with plastic drop-cloth, making certain it goes all the way to the ground and is weighted down with bricks and rocks to take advantage of the warmer ground. When the ground isn't warmer, I put buckets of 'hot' water under the shelves (it isn't close to boiling). From experience, there are some orchids and other plants that do not fare well under fifty degrees and must be brought inside or provided with a heat source. And, even doing everything, you might still suffer some leaf damage. I have heard that non LED Christmas lights can help provide heat.

See if the St. Augustine Orchid Society has any helpful information. I have actually used it to try to determine which orchids might tolerate cooler temperatures.
St. Augustine Orchid Society - North Florida Orchid Growing

I also do quite a bit of desperate googling. Good luck!

[Roberta]

Catts will laugh (or at least most... where C. dowiana is dominant you might want to protect) Cyms will think they are in California... totally don't care. For just a few hours, most of the Dens will be OK, Protect the bulbos and Phals. Vandas may get spots but should be OK, again a few hours won't be bad. But if you have any that are easy to move, they could stand some protection. Smaller plants probably less tolerant than bigger ones. "Dry" works in your favor.

Take a look at my website Index of Plants for what I grow outside... that's a long list of things that routinely tolerate temps into the low 40's F and below.

[DirtyCoconuts]

It’ll be under 60 for two days...maybe 3.

I have the wind break up. I could do a propane heater but I hate the idea of unsupervised fire...

[Roberta]

Maybe use the heater during the day, just turn off before you go to bed. That way they'll get some hours of warmth to compensate for the cold night - and build a little residual warmth into walls/ floor.
And don't even think of watering.

[DirtyCoconuts]

Well crap. The cold air came and my air was apparently still moist enough to piss all over. It is pouring. And it’ll be dark before it stops. Ugh


I did grab the walkerina. Amazing tip. And I got the whole bulbo section covered doubly so they are dry no matter if cold.

Oh well. Maybe it’s the great cull of 2020....bleach and cold. Whoever survives makes it!

Sad face

---------- Post added at 03:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:25 PM ----------

R- great idea. I’ll do that and run the fire pit in the patio for similar effect there.

[Roberta]

Another thought... if you have some big containers - like 5 gallon jugs or such that you can fill with water while you're running that heater (to warm them up), they can also act as heat sinks... or fill with hot water, how effective I don't know but even a few degrees can help.

[early]

[/COLOR]DC I feel for your babies. Roberta has great ideas. perhaps call some of the orange growers to see if they have anymore ideas. But I suspect you have it covered with the P. heat and fire pit to warm up. I have some soft drinks outside on my covered screened porch and and last few nights has been 17* and they have not frozen, perhaps from the radiant heat escaping the house though a sliding glass door. Good luck. The following is not funny as your situation with your orchids is so serious, but have you been a naughty boy this year?

[Roberta]

Citrus is safe for the time being... trees and fruit should be fine down to freezing. They use wind machines - keep the air moving so the frost doesn't settle. A commercial Cymbidium grower near San Diego, in an area that does get frost, uses low-flow misters when temps get down to about 29 deg F, to encase the plants - and flowers - in ice... as long as liquid water keeps being added, the temperature does not go below 32 deg. F, and as it freezes it gives off heat. But DC's area is a lot "warmer" than that. Not exactly tropical (rough on the Phals) though.

[DirtyCoconuts]

Sweet call!

I am going to fill as many buckets as I can. I have a rain barrel too and run the heater tonight

Hopefully it will be enough to keep a few extra degrees in those area.

Major thanks y’all