Temperature Watch
 

How cold does it have to get before I take measures on orchids in general?

vandas...36 with no wind, if its windy and cold than you may see burns before that.

Gee Swamper, I think that is cutting it a little too close. I never let my G/H go below 50 however, the cyms are still in the shade house and go much lower.

I know I'm not in Florida, but I have to deal with cold temps all winter! I usually play it safe with the orchids, since I care about them and don't want to take unnecessary risks. Most of my orchids come in when the night temperature dips below 55. The only ones that stay out longer are my Cym and Den kingianum (which stayed with my mom in France). I asked her to bring in the Cym in about 3 weeks ago, when we has lows of about 40-45 at night. The kingianum is still outside, but I completely forgot to tell her to bring it in. Lows of 33-35 are expected tonight, possibly lower. I'm worried and really really hope she remembered to bring it inside for the night...

Kingianum is a tank, I've never had issues with either Cymbidiums or Den. kingianum going into the high 20s.

ok 37 LOL, the reason I gave such a precise number is because I asked several local growers here this question about 3 weeks ago or so and that's what I was told. Maybe I didn't elaborate enough?:)

Growing outside in Northern California all year long, I have found over the years that Cyms and the kingianum type dendrobiums can tolerate 28 degrees for a period of no more than 8 hours without permanent damage to the plants. That said, I protect anything in spike with 4-6 degree protection freeze cloth when the temps go to 32, as damage can occur to the spikes at that temperature in 4-6 hours.

I regularly allow my Phals to go to 45 degrees at night for 1-2 weeks before bringing them in, and find it sets spikes. Just what has worked for me.

CL