Cattleya dowiana and less-than ideal winter temps
 

So at the beginning of this spring I gave into an impulse and purchased a few seedlings of Cattleya dowiana. They have grown very well over the last five to six months, but now that winter is approaching I need to find a solution for keeping them happy.

My sunroom drops down to the high 40's to low 50's at night. I can keep it higher than that, but everything--until now--that I grow requires or is adaptable to cool winter night temperatures. Has anyone ever tried using a grow mat--heat mat, in other words--to keep cattleya seedlings warm during the winter? Is this a decent idea? I figure that the seedlings will remain relatively dry during their winter dormancy. But I don't want to cook them. And even with the low-wattage heat mat being used, I don't know if that will be sufficient to keep the plants alive (regardless of how warm the roots are kept, the "above-ground" growths will still be exposed to the cool night temps).

Any advice will be appreciated.

Steve

---------- Post added at 05:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:11 PM ----------

Also, I apparently can't read very well today. Will one of the moderators please move this to the cattleya section? Thanks!

I don't have any experience with species dowiana but I do have a Potinara Susan Fender 'Cinnamon Stick' which, according to orchidroots.com is 58.75% C. dowiana.
Someone I watch on Youtube said dowiana does not like low temps.
I grow outdoors under a verandah in Australia but Winter temps can get down to 5C (41f)
As this plant is very small and has a high percentage of dowiana I decided to err on the side of caution, so it spent winter in the family room where winter overnight temp lowest was 14C, just sitting on a table with early morning sun for about 30 minutes.
Must have been ok for it as its started a new growth.
I've moved it outdoors now as we are warming up.
I'll get a photo later this morning.

Edit for the photo
For size reference the wooden beam is 80mm or 3 inches.

Can you keep this one inside your house in front of a bright window instead?

i think a heat mat is a possibility but maybe raise the seedlings off the surface of the mat so that they can cool down into the 60s at night. then put them directly on the mat during the day to give them warmth. i wouldn't expect these to tolerate temperatures very far outside their native ranges, although seedlings might be a bit more flexible than older plants.

I second isurus79's suggestion of growing it in a warmer room of the home. Unless the grower that sold them to you told you these seedlings are more cold-hardy than the usual dowiana, it is risky trying to grow it in conditions not recommended.

I find that plants that come from cooler places that have grown them from flask/cuttings/seeds tend to have a higher chance of being more cold tolerant. Sometimes I have had to buy a couple of a certain plant until I get one that will survive my cooler home temperatures but if I want a plant badly enough, I do it. The problem with your seedlings is that unless you know they are tolerant of cooler temperatures, you will be risking them by not keeping them in the conditions they prefer.

Thank you, everyone, for your feedback.

Steve and Leafmite, yes, I can keep them inside of the main area of the house, but the humidity never really climbs above 50% during the winter (the furnace has a humidifier component to it, and the setting is usually set around 45 - 50 percent in the winter), so it's not ideal.

Perhaps it's simply time to find them a new home. Thanks again for all of your comments.

Steve

Done! :)

Thank you, Camille!

I third isurus79's suggestion. I've kept mine going inside my home (60-70 range in winter) under a grow light. It was difficult to get the roots to dry out quickly inside the home and I found that frequent spritzing was the right amount for me. If the p-bulbs started to shrivel, I did give it a light watering here and there and it plumped back up quickly.

These don't seem to need much humidity in the winter. As long as you spritz the roots (as Jeff214 said) until they turn green and then let the roots dry completely, they should be fine. I was sent a tiny dowiana seedling by accident by Hausermann's and I found it easy because it didn't need much care in the winter and didn't seem too troubled by the dry (or cool) environment. If it was one that stayed small, I would have kept it.