Phalaenopsis sp. for tree mounting outside in Zone 10?

[Kostas]

Hello,

I would like to ask you which Phalaenopsis species can live tree mounted outside,unprotected,in zone 10. I am mostly interested in evergreen species and not so much in deciduous. Are there any that can take 0C to -2C once or twice a year at the coldest part of the night,and be ok?

Thank you very much in advance!

[camille1585]

Most Phals are not really OK with anything below 10C, it will cause them severe damage, and death if the cold is prolonged.

There are a handful of species that will take cool temperatures, but certainly as cold as what you are saying so would certainly need a lot of protection on the cold nights. The only ones I know that tolerate freezing temperatures in their habitat are deciduous, such as Phal wilsonii.

Without providing protection, I think it will be very difficult to keep Phals outside year round. Maybe you should consider some winter resting Dens, or Neofinetia falcata even, which tolerates below freezing temps in its habitat.

Or you simply hang them from the tree, so that they can be brought in on the cold nights. It also depends how wet your winters are. Cold and wet is a disaster for anything.

[Kostas]

Thank you very much for your reply Camille!

Which Phalaenopsis species are known to take near freezing temperatures well? Chance are,they will take a little below freezing temperatures fine as they are made to survive an unusually cold winter in their habitat. Phalaenopsis lindenii comes to my mind for example. Do you know how cold this species can tolerate?

Unfortunately cold protection in not an option but the tree offers full frost protection and probably keeps the area a little warmer than the temperatures i said.

Neofinetia falcata is a species i will probably try and i will search for a nice evergreen Dendrobium species as well but now its Phalaenopsis turn!

Cold and wet in outdoor mounted orchids is not disastrous due to the high air circulation and the constatly flowing water over the roots from the rain. My tree mounted orchids did great this winter so far even with our heavy rains Stanhopea tigrina,Prosthechea cochleata,Sedirea japonica and Leptotes bicolor are undamaged from the -2C to -2,5C they saw and Lycaste lassioglosa just got 50% leaf damage in a more exposed location This was a bad winter,not the normal for the area. They were certainly cold and wet as they get sprayed early every night

[camille1585]

I checked the lindenii in Orchidwiz for you, and in habitat the winter temps are around 13-15°C. I'm surprised, I though that it would have been lower. The wilsonii goes down to 0°C. I did further searching and found Phal taenialis and honghenensis which also take temps down to freezing.

[Kostas]

Thank you very much for your reply Camille

I found that too about the Phalaenopsis lindenii. It doesnt sound that promising but i find this species labeled as zone 9 in Botanica's guide to orchids and being a much cooler grower than other Phalaenopsis,i guess it might have some chance? I havent found any info on it being tried though.

Thats great to hear about those other deciduous species,didnt know they actually saw freezes in their native habitat. I hear P. hainanensis might also be tolerant of freezes but i dont know what temperatures it sees. I would guess above 0C but if its close enough to 0C,i would consider it certainly freeze tolerant!

What about other tropical species? I see Phalaenopsis hieroglyphica for example labeled as zone 10 in Botanica's guide. A little hard to believe i think but...maybe it is and just nobody tried it??? I dont know...I would love some first hand info on this species and others.

P. lindenii might actually be freeze tolerant and if thats true,it would be the first beautiful Phalaenopsis to be grown in frost prone areas...Any first hand info with this close to 0C or even below 0C?

Thank you very much in advance!

[camille1585]

I don't have Orchidwiz at work, but I checked IOSPE and Phal Phal hieroglyphica is given as a warm to hot grower.
I'll check the Phal hainanensis this evening for you, IOSPE does seem to indicate that it comes from cooler regions.

[camille1585]

So according to Orchidwiz:
Phal hieroglyphica is a warm grower, it doesn't get below 22°C.

I was surprised to find out that Phal hainanensis is actually a synonym for Phal wilsonii, so you already have the information for that one.

[Kostas]

Thank you very much for the info Camille!

It surprises me that P. hieroglyphica in particular is labeled as zone 10 while others are labeled zone 11-12,especially since the 22 min it sees is way too high and probably the same with the other such as P. gigantea...Maybe it has better cold hardiness in its genes? Who know,only if someone actually tried it would know...

I am also very surprised to hear P. hainanensis is a synonym for P. wilsonii!!! Didnt know that! That brings down the choices even more.

I think i am going to try Phalaenopsis lindenii this year and see. If it does well,i will grow many of those and may dare a try of a tropical species. If not,i will just get one of the hardy and tried deciduous ones.....

Thank you very much again!

Just a reminder,whoever has first hand info with a P. lindenii or a Phalaenopsis hybrid or species living outside unprotected in zone 10,i would really love to hear it!

Thank you very much in advance!

[Kostas]

What about Phalaenopsis mannii? I heard a positive experience with this species from a member of the Greek Orchid Society,his P. mannii was the only Phalaenopsis he had to survive outside all winter unprotected on his balcony in Athens(cooler than Pyrgos but his microclimate might have had a higher low than bad winters in Pyrgos). Since hearing that,I searched more on this species and found this:
Phalaenopsis mannii anglais

It mentions among other things that this species sees temperatures exceptionally behind the point of frost which i guess means it sees temperatures much below 0C,right? If thats true,this would be a surely viable choice for my climate and a tested one!

What do you think?

Thank you very much in advance!

[Brooke]

Two others which are also deciduous in cold temps are lowii and braceana. You might also be able to push the temps on lobbii if your lowest temps aren't for an extended period of time.

Brooke