The Catharsis of Getting Rid of Orchids

[estación seca]

Originally Posted by bil

Don't they have to worry about introducing something invasive?

We think about that, but almost no introduced plant survives here in the lower desert without extra shade or water.

Our desert is much hotter (114F / 45C every summer, 122F / 50C record) and drier than most in the summer, and colder in the winter. Frosts to the mid teens F / -8C happen every 5 years or so. We average 8" / 200mm rain per year, and sometimes less. The hottest months are also the driest. Some years there is so little summer rain even the native prickly pear cactus die in the desert and must regenerate from seed.

Arizona has climate zones from desert to alpine, and most of the invasives are problems of grassland or higher. The worst invasive weeds in the lower desert are winter-growing plants: grasses and mustards, and Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum. Tamarix ramosissima and Searsia (formerly Rhus) lancea are trees that colonize areas near streams. Tamarix is the worst.

Non-Native, Invasive Plants of Arizona (University of Arizona)

My new neighbor just had the landscaper plant a clump of Pilosocereus, one of the beautiful blue-skinned cactus of Brazil. It dies immediately at 32F / 0C. A decent landscaper would have told the owner the plant stands no chance, but people here think a cactus is a cactus, and the landscaper probably has no idea what it is.

[bil]

Originally Posted by estación seca

We think about that, but almost no introduced plant survives here in the lower desert without extra shade or water.

Our desert is much hotter (114F / 45C every summer, 122F / 50C record) and drier than most in the summer, and colder in the winter. Frosts to the mid teens F / -8C happen every 5 years or so. We average 8" / 200mm rain per year, and sometimes less. The hottest months are also the driest. Some years there is so little summer rain even the native prickly pear cactus die in the desert and must regenerate from seed.

Arizona has climate zones from desert to alpine, and most of the invasives are problems of grassland or higher. The worst invasive weeds in the lower desert are winter-growing plants: grasses and mustards, and Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum. Tamarix ramosissima and Searsia (formerly Rhus) lancea are trees that colonize areas near streams. Tamarix is the worst.

Non-Native, Invasive Plants of Arizona (University of Arizona)

My new neighbor just had the landscaper plant a clump of Pilosocereus, one of the beautiful blue-skinned cactus of Brazil. It dies immediately at 32F / 0C. A decent landscaper would have told the owner the plant stands no chance, but people here think a cactus is a cactus, and the landscaper probably has no idea what it is.

Shame about that landscaper. There can't be much joy in waiting for that cactus to die..

[estación seca]

The neighbor hasn't moved in yet. I'll try and let him/her know when we meet. The earliest I've had frost was November 20.

[Joseia]

I have no idea why, but for some reason, I have no luck at all blooming cattley alliance orchids, except for anything with Brassavola nodosa in it. After two to three years of trying, I gave up and was going to toss them all. But I decided to give them a try in my office, and every single cattleya in the office has bloomed. For example, I had an LC Tropical Pointer "Cheetah" for nearly three years at home that never spiked. I took it to the office four months ago and it now has a spike with two buds on it.

So now any orchid that annoys me at home goes to the office before it goes to the landfill. I've now got an Iwanagara Apple Blossom, the Tropical Pointer and an LC Windward Flare spiking in the office. They never did anything at home, which still annoys me, but at least I get to enjoy them at work throughout the day.

[bil]

Originally Posted by estación seca

The neighbor hasn't moved in yet. I'll try and let him/her know when we meet. The earliest I've had frost was November 20.

See if you can cadge a bit off him if you have somewhere to overwinter it. Or is it too big for that?

[estación seca]

There are four tip cuttings between half a meter and a meter tall that were planted together in a standard nursery container holding about 5 gallons / 19 liters. This is a common way to propagate and sell cactus in the US. To plant, one digs a hole, unpots the cluster and slides the root ball into the hole. Or, they can be separated and grown individually.

I have a glass-enclosed patio with high ceiling where I overwinter tender plants. Brazilian cacti are some of the few non-native plants that tolerate our full summer heat and sun if well-watered. But they have to come in for the winter, so nobody has ones that are very tall. If we didn't have those few freezing nights per winter they would do very well outside here.

---------- Post added at 12:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:50 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Joseia

I have no idea why, but for some reason, I have no luck at all blooming cattley alliance orchids.... I gave up and was going to toss them all. But I decided to give them a try in my office, and every single cattleya in the office has bloomed.

This sounds like a natural experiment. What is the difference in conditions?

[gngrhill]

I would like to chime in on this conversation by saying I posted an ad on Craig's List for free houseplants including a few out of bloom orchids. A guy came down and took everything I wanted to let go. The houseplants all went except my collection of Christmas cactus and one prayer plant and he took a bunch of my "ne'er do well" Phals. The ones I let go I have had since 2013 that have never rebloomed for me and I got sick of looking at them. I had 100 orchids and got rid of 10 or so and promptly bought 6 more

[estación seca]

Originally Posted by gngrhill

I would like to chime in on this conversation by saying I posted an ad on Craig's List for free houseplants including a few out of bloom orchids. A guy came down and took everything I wanted to let go. The houseplants all went except my collection of Christmas cactus and one prayer plant and he took a bunch of my "ne'er do well" Phals. The ones I let go I have had since 2013 that have never rebloomed for me and I got sick of looking at them. I had 100 orchids and got rid of 10 or so and promptly bought 6 more

That means you have 4 more to go just to stay even!

[gngrhill]

Originally Posted by estación seca

That means you have 4 more to go just to stay even!

My girlfriends and I are taking a trip to Piping Rock Orchids this very afternoon, soooooo, who knows.

[Zabeta]

Originally Posted by gngrhill

I would like to chime in on this conversation by saying I posted an ad on Craig's List for free houseplants including a few out of bloom orchids.

This is a great idea, and one that didn't even occur to me. I'll try this next time. Thank you!