Which orchids in YOUR collection get a winter rest?
 

Hi everybody :waving

There is always SO much confusion about orchids and which ones get a "winter rest"...even those of us with extensive collections and LOTS of research find it a daunting question so...

I decided to list here which orchids in my collection I put on the side and treat differently from Halloween through Valentine's Day. I use those holidays as a general guide...if I see lots of action in late January, I do sometimes bring them out of their rest earlier. As with everything orchids...there is no one exact set of rules...pay attention to your plants and they will tell you what they need ;)

I've started moving my winter rest chids to their own rack, away from the other racks in the room to avoid any overspray. They are still getting misted at the moment but it is a much lighter misting...and it will stop at or around Halloween. After that, the rack will get a very general light misting once every two weeks or so until early February:

Den nobile var kingianum
Den aggregatum
Den lindleyi (aka aggregatum ;) )
Den smilleae
Den farmeri x griffithianum
Den kingianum
Den Little Sweet Scent
Den amethystoglossum
Den moschatum
Den dantaniense
Den pierardii
Den aphyllum
Den anosmum
Den senile
Dendrochilum filiforme (slight rest)
Ctsm Rebecca Northen (mine is now gone :bua: but she did get a severe winter rest when I had her)
Ctsm pileatum
Galeandra batemannii x greenwoodiana (still in bloom now but will be moved to the "rest" shelf once that's done)
Barkeria scandens
Barkeria Marsh Melton (slight rest...first year with this one and only one parent likes an actual rest :crossfing )
Stan lietzii (slight rest)
*after reading through our Neo forum, I realized these two go too:
Neo falcata
Neo Falcata 'Benisuzume'

I'm sure I've missed a few and will amend my list here as I find them.

If each of us gives our individual list here, I think it will help the many people who are just starting out or aren't sure about what they should do. I'm making this thread a "sticky" till the end of November.

Now it's your turn...what plants do you personally treat differently during the winter months?

:hmm

My only winter rest orchids are:

Dendrobium anosmum
Dendrobium senile

LOL...thanks Ross...I forgot to add the Den senile :blushing:

Come on folks...lists please :typing:

:blowkisses:

We didn't get much first time around, either. :scratchhead:

I only have two for now that need winter rest, and the last one I will be buying in a few weeks, when I will finally have time to go to a nursery near Rotterdam.

Dendrobium kingianum
Dendrobium aphyllum
Barkeria spectabilis

I'm hoping it's just that folks aren't at their computers right now...because we all know this will help with the hot topic of winter rest when our members contribute ;)

:cheer: :cheer: :cheer:

Thanks Camille...now I'm wondering if all Barkeria get a rest :scratchhead: I'll have to get it researched :faint:

I think this Barkeria needs rest. At least, that's what I found on internet but I'll ask the grower about it. This is a completely need genus for me!

Camille, for yours, according to Orchidwiz:
due to heavy dew in their location, the water should be heavily reduced but they shouldn't be allowed to go completely dry for long periods of time. Occasional early morning mistings, especially on bright sunny days will help keep it from becoming too dry. Eliminate fertilizer until you see new growths.

**Basically the same info for my two Barkeria,
which are Barkeria scandens and
Barkeria Marsh Melton (Barkeria melanocaulon x Barkeria whartoniana)

See? This thread has helped already! :banana:

Good subject!! I need to pilfer through the greenhouse and make a list.

Also, if you have species that require a rest...are you going to put them a part from the others so they don't get watered?

Where will you put them?

How long will they rest?

How do you know when they're ready to join the living again?

Thanks Deb :clap:

I have a rack set up in the corner of the room which gets very bright light. I use it for the chids year-round but when October arrives, it becomes the "winter rest" area so it doesn't get any overspray from the rest of the collection.

I keep a close eye on them starting in mid-January for signs of new growths and/or spikes

Ctsm pileatum
Ctsm Durval Ferreira (pileatum x vinaceum)
Cycnoches haagei
Cycnodes Taiwan Gold 'Orchis'
Cycnodes Wine Delight FCC/AOS
Coelogyne cristata
Dendrobium kingianum
Cymbidium devonianum
Cymbidium kanran
Tolumnia hawkesiana
Tolumnia variaegata Hybrid

Sue, do you give a winter rest to your Dendrochillum? I have magnum and glumaceum, and I think that if I do not give them water, they just start walking and drink it from the WC and the cats water-dispenser! (had never seen any other plant so thirty as this genus!)

This will be the first year I have it and it was very hard to find info anywhere on it's care.

Orchidwiz says that they should get less water than in summer so this one gets what I call a "slight rest"...if I see it looking scraggly or unhappy, I will give it a little bit of a heavier misting.

By the way, thanks for your listing :clap:

I have my both Dendrochillum growing in S/H, and I tried giving them a bit of rest last year, but they starting growing new PBs in November, so water non stop fpr them.. Obviously they liked it, because they are both in spike now :) just after spike, the PBs start growing, so I think I will keep the watering as usual...

Thanks for the info, Ramon :blowkisses:

I'm gonna try to hold back a little bit and see what happens...I don't mind experimenting a little ;)

If I don't like what I see, I'll definitely go back to it's usual regimen.

[QUOTE=kavanaru;155491]
Tolumnia hawkesiana
Tolumnia variaegata Hybrid

So... Tolumnias benefit from a total winter rest, then? Good to know. Does that include the hybrids, or just the species? Thanks for this list -- I'm learning some very useful new things. :biggrin:

almost no watering during winter: maybe a spray from time to time, but they need to dry out very quick.. last winter I lost 2 Tolumnia for watering "to much" (it was my first winter with Tolumnia)

I don't see most Tolumnias needing (or tolerating) winter rest. But I wait to hear from others.

Ramon, how are yours potted? Mine are either bare root in mini pots (like 1-2cm size) or in charcoal chunks.. Either way I dunk 'em and let them get bone dry. I stay with this over the winter and they bloom just fine. So what am I missing? :hmm

Ross, received my Tolumnias potted in Charcoal chunks with some Sphag mixed. When I saw that the plants were not doing well and were loosing many leaves I contacted the nursery and they told I should immediatelly stop watering them, as they need winter rest... then discussing with some friends in Germany, they even suggested "more drastic actions" and all tolumnias were either mounted (2 of them) of potted in small pott with EpiWeb (the other that survived, and the new Tolumnia hawkesiana), which retains almost now water...

Both of mine (Golden Sunset 'Waiomao' and Ralph Yagi) are mounted on cork, with very minimal sphagnum moss. They get sprayed every day in the morning first thing, and are usually bone-dry within an hour or two. I'll be curious to see how this discussion between you guys plays out, so I know what to over the cold months. ;)

Stephen, as you are soon to find out, cultural climates make a big difference. Tolumnias are found as hybrids and as species. As species, they grow in the Caribbean Islands like Cuba and grow at the tops of trees on twigs, so are called "twig epiphytes". They get rather frequent rain from the ocean storms but dry out before sun down. Based on this, anything we can do to provide the same regime is to our advantage. I choose to submerge mine fully in diluted fertilizer water for a minute or so then set them up in a breeze from fans for the rest of the day. I do this daily. I have some in large charcoal chunks (no sphagnum), I have one in charcoal, but the basket is inside another pot, and I have several bare root in tiny "thumb pots". They all do about as well, except the one in the charcoal (in a basket) inside another clay pot has much better roots and has blessed me with multiple spikes. The bare root Tolumnias have multiple spikes right now. I think the secret for Tolumnias is no winter rest. I think they need daily rest after copious amounts of water and fertilizer. That's my 2 cents.

Ross, that sounds also logical... As I said, I did not give them winter rest at the beginning and lost two of them. I kept then the others drier and they really liked it. I will try spryaing the mounted one this winter and see how they react... if I see they do not like it, I stop the watering...

I've never rested any of my Tolumnias and haven't lost any :crossfing

Okay, so the upshot is, I guess I'll just keep on doing what I've been doing this winter, until/unless the plants show me they're not happy with the routine. :D Thanks, all!

My entire greenhouse gets a winter rest. With much shorter days and cooler temperatures there is not much need for fertilizer, and watering is slowed down also. The natural rhythms of life seem to take care of flowering and lack of growth. When the days get longer after the winter soltice and depending on the weather the water will increase again.

Cutting down water during cold weather is important to avoid baterial problems and also helps to initiate flowering in many orchids.

exactly ;) that's the way to go, if you are not sure how to deal with a specific plant... follow more or less the guidelines you receive, but pay close attention to what your plants tell you! e.g. Catasetum, you will find everywhere that you should stop fertilizer and start reducing water after hallowen and when the last leaf are off, stop water too. I have two Ctsm, which are already complete dormant (process acelerated by thrips attack), two Cycnodes with mature PB, as they should be, and two Ctsm which are currently still on active growth. The first two plants, receive no more water. The cycnodes, will follow the recommended schedule, and the last two Ctsm will continue on a regular "summer"-schedule until they decide to go dormant.. just follow what they tell you ;)

I'm bumping this up...let's not get off track...this thread was created to give us a true list of what our members treat differently through the winter months, not as a debate on what should or shouldn't be rested. I know for sure that more than 4 of us give some of our plants a winter rest so...

would anybody else like to contribute?

Winter rest is a major topic of conversation these days and this is one way to get some actual answers...
but we need more folks participating! :faint:

:typing: :typing: :typing:

DO you mean for the whole winter or just longer periods between watering?

If you mean the whole winter then my nobile hybrids and one Brassia are the only ones that do for me. I water most things a lot less though.

Thanks Darren :)

We'll use:
Den nobile hybrids
Brassia

We should all know by now that, in general, all watering and feeding should be cut back in the cooler months as the plants just don't need as much during that time frame.

We're looking for a specific list of plants that are:
a) put in a separate area of your growing space
b) not watered or fed for winter

Keep 'em comin', folks... :typing:

A picture of the rack I have the winter rest plants on...it's in the corner of the room. The plants on the table next to it get watered regularly but there won't be any chance of overspray hitting the rack.

I love your growroom! I don't have dedicated shelf for the winter rest orchids. My den kingianum will spend the winter at the country house behind a south facing window in the basement. I hope it will bloom next spring, I only just got it this May!

Sue, for your Den aphyllum, do you stop watering after the leaves fall, or stop watering before to make them fall? Mine is a baby and the canes are from this year. They are still green and growing so am unsure how to start it's winter rest!

I stop watering it around Halloween...and have never had all the leaves drop! A lot of them do but there are always lots left on the canes :scratchhead:

I'm not sure about resting a new plant. My first reaction is that it should get cared for till it's well-established but that may be wrong. Let's hope somebody with more knowledge about this one can offer you some advice :crossfing

Thanks Sue. I had posted a question about this plant in another thread, and did get some good advice for it's care. I'm tempted to keep watering normally as long as it's growing, and when (if) it shows signs of dormancy I'll start the winter rest.

No one else has orchids that need winter rest?:scratchhead: I would have thought that more people would have posted, since this would be a very useful reference thread!

Me too! :tapfoot: :tapfoot: :tapfoot:

Sorry, I have most of the ones mentioned that require a rest don't know if lycaste was on the list I rest my Lycaste macrobulbon aka rossiana (yellow)same as mattogrossensis also the Schoenorchis Wine delight.
I do not rest the Tolumnias , or the Dendrochilum .My Barkeria shoemakeri is in bud no rest for it just less later on .
The whole green house is on reduced watering in the winter if cold, just more days between them and less Fert. No water for anyone if there is no sun and cool .
I also start the rest on the species Dends. around Halloween but this year some of the leaves are starting to yellow so might start earlier . Gin

Thanks Gin :blowkisses:

Here's the list I have from my db. I don't have all of these, but I add the info to my db as I find them. I was doing the Dens from the Dendrobium book. The Dendrobium book has the details on how long and how hard of a rest they get. I haven't figured out how to best capture that info yet.

Coelogyne fimbriata
Den acerosum
Den aduncum
Den aggregatum
Den anosmum
Den aphyllum
Den bellatulum
Den cariniferum
Den christyanum
Den chrysanthum
Den chrysotoxum
Den crepidatum
Den cruentum
Den dantaniense
Den delacourii
Den densiflorum
Den devonianum
Den fimbriatum
Den formosum
Den guangxiense
Den hancockii
Den hercoglossum
Den heterocarpum
Den hymenanthum
Den infundibulum
Den linguella
Den lituiflorum
Den loddigesii
Den moschatum
Den nobile
Den ochreatum
Den parishii
Den primulinum
Den pulchellum
Den sulcatum
Den thryrsiflorum
Den tortile
Den unicum
Den wardianum

:yikes: WOW!!!

Thanks very much...this list will be helpful to a lot of people! :bowing