COLD, HEATER, WATERING??

[edwardwang]

I just learn from my map about the latitude of Miami. It is almost as the same as Taipei. We are luckier than those poor guys!

[Jkelee]

Thank GOD it's warming up here in FL!! For a few days anyways...

[JennS]

Stop being a baby Jackie! Some of us have real problems here, like living in a tiny 700 sq. foot apartment with about 80 orchids inside, plus succulents! I will trade you with throwing rocks for moving 80 orchids inside and outside over and over! Haha! You know I am kidding. I am glad your babies are surviving. I have been showering the vandas in the shower about every 2-3 days and watering everyone else just once a week. They take turns going to the bathtub! It is pretty hysterical. If a neighbor saw me they might think i am crazier than they already do! It is just too funny...

[peeweelovesbooks]

Thank goodness it was HOT today!! I hope we get more days like this. JennS...that is too funny. My grandmother would think that I was performing a santeria ritual if I brought plants inside my bathtub. LOL

[rogerman]

today is 86 degrees and my orchids are loving it....... Nice cool weather to get those roots growing.

[JennS]

Stop bragging! Jk...I do the same thing. We are just having a really strange cold spell. The days are pretty decent though with mid 60s and low 70s, but the night is the problem. We might get down to 39 tonight! Yikes! Good thing we are all prepared...

[Swamper]

I back off watering them from every day to every other day, every 3 days. IF we had a lot of days of continuous cold like say a week then I would pick the warmest part of the morning and then water.
Its been pretty dry out the past few days so I also water the ground/rocks to try to help with humidity.
I'm pretty sure that vandas could go a week without watering but I hate not watering

[orchidophile168]

Hi,

Generally, I would cut watering back to maybe every other day. I'm not sure about your exact temperature range and what type of chids you have, but that's what I do during the winter. I grow most of my chids outside year round in CA, and I always cut back on water during the winter and cooler months, even on the vandas. The chids don't complain either.

If you have vandas, what I do is cut back on watering to every other day. Depending on how cold, I would mist the roots (ROOTS ONLY) liberally (making sure I don't get the leaves wet). Also, I basically only grow Vanda coerulea and it's hybrids, so they are more cold tolerant than other vandas, esp anything with warm parents (ie. Vanda/Euanthe sanderiana).

As for other orchids, I cut back to once a week to aobut once every other week, depending on temperature and the plant's needs.

Hope this helps, there are so many things to consider when growing orchids when it gets cold. As for watering, just remember: COLD + WET = DEAD. COLD + DRY = OK!