So who has brought their plants inside already?
 

For those of us in the cold north, it is that time again where we can no longer pretend that the summer will last forever and we won't soon be buried in ice and snow. So, who has brought their orchids and other houseplants inside already? Does anyone else dread autumn because they know they have bought too many new tropical plants?

I will be bringing all my plants inside at the beginning of next week. This week, I have been organizing where they will all go and I had to get a new light just for the gardenias (I will put them away from the other plants as they are vulnerable to pests). I already bought a miniature greenhouse for the Phal bellina and will be ordering a heating pad. This weekend, I will need to change out a few older T5 lights and put down new plastic in all the usual plant places. Then, Monday, the plants will begin coming inside.

My Gongora fulva, Bulbophyllum baileyii, Dendrobium reflexitepalum and Rodriguezia venusta are in now. The rest of my stuff is fine for the time being.

Not yet. I should have 2 to 4 more weeks outdoors, maybe longer for the cold-tolerant ones, like Cymbidium.

When I lived in Boston, I dreaded autumn every single year because I knew what it meant was next . . .

In my new place, most of my plants are inside except for my toughest Catts/Blc. Those can stay out for a good long while yet. :D

Brought everything in except Cyms and some Dendros. Now spraying thrips bigtime.

I brought mine in, not because of the temperature, but because I'll be out of town and unable to water them outside. They were pretty happy out there!

Except for my cymbs (always outside), all the other are always inside...easy!:D

Everything is inside (as of last weekend) except a few cacti and succulents and "others" that can take the cooler temps.

Dread it? Not really. I miss the ease of just grabbing a hose and watering away (leaves and all) but other than that I prefer having them all inside because I get to enjoy the blooms more. And, when fall comes it means no more destructive storms that can carry orchids off to far, far, away lands. I certainly don't have to worry about Mother Nature trying to drown the orchids and causing black rot when they are inside.

I really do like that I have complete control over watering and light when they are inside...just wish I could water freely w/a hose (like when outside) w/out worry about flooring and walls.

Everything's been inside for the past.... year! :D At home-home though, Norcal weather hasn't dipped into the low 50's yet, so everything all fine and dandy... for now!

My dream indoor orchid room would have its own high-ampere circuit breaker and ground-fault circuit interrupter sockets for plugging in lots of lights, heaters and humidifiers. Also fully tiled ceiling, walls and floor; a good slope to the floor; multiple drains at the low end of the floor; and, multiple hose bibbs on the wall above the high side of the floor. In other words, the monkey house at the zoo.

I wouldn't want to put a beer/wine refrigerator in there; would take up too much space. I can walk to the kitchen.

I keep almost everything indoors year round. I got tired of dealing with pots getting knocked over, limbs falling on and breaking leaves/spikes, and most importantly, bugs.

The few things I put outside each year should be good for another few weeks, we normally don't get too cold until later in October.

I did have a warm growing dendrobium and a vanda vietnamica that I brought indoors when we had a slight cool snap come through last week or the week before. But that decision was also partially based on the fact that they were both in bloom/spike and I thought they should come in so the cold or the bugs don't get them.

We've already had -2 Celsius overnight once, although I think right in the city it didn't freeze. So the 5 Oncidiums that were outside have been in for a couple weeks. I have one Cymbidium that will come in when frost is a real threat. Maybe a few more weeks. It sits against the garage which likely gives off heat a bit. I am re-arranging things just to get a bunch of my Catts off the window ledge where they spent the summer. It will be too cold there except for the Cymbidium once winter really comes. I hope to sell several divisions at our meeting this weekend, so that will help free up a bit of space.

Ok, last weeks reply to my post made me think about minimum temps and I think I'll be ok till temps get down below the mid 50s (in about a week and a half according to National Weather Service).
I didn't think about latouria dendrobiums being cold sensitive. My paphs (villosum, and hybrid brachys) display similar sensitivity apparently (new to paphs). And hey, the oncidiums are about on par too.
I guess the only one to stay out longer will be my miltonopsis hybrid.

I would have left them a few weeks too many probably, but for that reply...thank you.

I really hate to end the summer vacation, but I guess it's coming quite soon.

Be careful with the Miltoniopsis also. While they are classed as cool growers, it is more meant to imply they do not like heat. Not that they like cool or cold temps. I wouldn't leave those beyond mid 50's either. The only ones I would leave (of the common genus's) are Cymbidiums and the nobile Den's. I'm sure there are others, and some Oncidiums have cool growing species in their make up but usually don't need below 55 to bloom if they are hybrids.

I've had a couple of upper 40's mornings to get me thinking about this. Time to set up the racks inside.

My Cymbidiums and Kingianums stay out all year in a protected place. (I throw a sheet over them if it's below freezing)
Most of my Cattleyas and the temperature tolerant Dendrobiums and Vandas stay in a slightly heated greenhouse in winter. Everything else will be inside in the next 2 weeks. Space will be at a premium.

I'm northeast of Columbus, Ohio--we've had a few nights with lows in the 40's lately, but the days have been sunny and warm (70's) so all the orchids are still out (even the phals and they're growing like weeds). I know it's borrowed time (don't even want to think about the "s" word yet), so I'm getting things ready indoors for that mad dash to bring everything in....And yes, somehow, despite my best intentions (and even giving some away) I still have more plants than I started with....

Catherine

People say that you can always fit in one more. Right.

I just finished bringing in part of my plant collection; tomorrow the rest will be coming inside.
The first picture shows the kitchen window and that has mostly orchids. The second is a two-foot, two bulb lamp and this has the gardenias, coffee, camellia, and the piper nigrum. The third picture shows the 'little' trees. The larger Theobroma cacao (chocolate tree) is sitting on the floor this year as it really loved our summer weather this year. Even though this is an understory tree, I have a grow lamp to give it a little boost and to keep the plants in the fairy garden growing.

LOL, funny. But I do see a couple tiny spots that you might slip one in, just trying to help :)

The window where you can see light? Yes, I did think about that but two of those are Angraecoids and need good air flow around the roots and leaves so I can't really cram them too much. Since I still am bringing in plants, though, that could change....

Leafmite I love the little jars! Looks like a science lab.

Lows here at the Ohio River below 10C/50F all this week, but next week looks to be warmer. I might give them a couple more weeks outside...but I might start bringing in the warm growers sooner.

It's still 20 at night here with the odd night dipping to 15, I have welded in new shelves to take the phals, and another to take pots and saucers etc. This should be interesting as they all come in, as I have been buying a few this year, so I'm not 100% sure that they will all fit...

Wow, am I ever blessed to be born and still living here in beautiful Florida.

Not all of mine are going to fit so the last of the large Cattleyas and a few others will be left outside until the next orchid meeting which is in two weeks. Our Orchid Society is having its fall plant sale so those orchids will be finding new homes.
CambriaWhat, thanks. I wish all orchids could grow in jars.
Our temps will be dropping to a daytime temps of 57'F/8'C and colder nights with the possibility of more rain.

I also set up my large rack and moved most of my plants indoors. I have been battling AWFUL SCALE!! I thought I had rid the scale and moved the cattleyas back with my other plants and it SPREAD!! :((:shock::hmm I have no idea what to do other than toss the plants?! I can't get rid of it. Help!!
I have used Neem oil, Bayer 3 in 1 and Alcohol.

Do you use it weekly for a few weeks? Bayer 3 in 1 is a systemic so once it has a chance to enter the plant, it should work. I find even with the systemics I need to treat weekly for a number of weeks. I spray them with Malathion to kill any that come in contact with it and keep it under control until the systemics can do their thing.

Often insecticides don't kill eggs, so you have to be persistent. Try horticultural oil you buy at a regular nursery. People with deciduous fruit trees spray this in the winter to kill insect eggs.

Here near Sacramento, CA, we are still in the 80's and 90's during the day and 60's or so at night. I figure it will be November before any of mine come in, and then probably only the oncidiums. The cymbidiums and dendrobiums will just tough it out outside, unless we get to some freezing nights.

Pay attention to your Dendrobiums. Some of them can't take cool weather. Look up some of the posts from pheli in Taiwan. No frost, but sometimes Dens die from the cold.

I need to get on a better regime with the plants as far as spray rotation. I am smothering them in neem and bayer every few days now. These are some of my favorite Cattleyas so it is very upsetting. But one of my cattleyas I had checked the day before I placed it with my others. I checked the next day and 2 entire plant bulbs were COVERED in them and it spread to a nearby oncidium. They have been killing my cattleya growths one by one! It's the worst issue I have had with any pest including mealy bugs, aphids, spider mites. These scale are horrible.
Should I stick with Bayer or Neem is my main tool for the KILL!! :evil:

---------- Post added at 08:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:15 PM ----------

Oh and even worse, I definitely won't get flowers this year or maybe next it has set my plants back so much killing off growths.

If it's that bad I would definitely submerge the plant in some water with dish soap and leave it for a few hours. I use about a tablespoon / 15ml of dish soap per gallon / 3.78 liters water.

My Cyms and Nobiles are still outside as are my Onc alliance ( except for my twinkles, which are inside, inspike). I don't know yet what needs to come into the house (steady 68 F) and what can stay on the porch with the T-5s (70-80 F days and 55-65 F nights. The lights really heat it up in the daytime. I have Catts, Phals, Dens, Paphs and a few misc. genera . I'm not sure what prefers cool over what can stand cool. I know the Miltoniopsis prefer cool. Other than that , I don't know.
Any advice on that front would be appreciated :blushing:

Cattleyas can usually tolerate temperatures in the upper forties as long as they are not the warm growers (i.e. aclandiae, dowiana). I brought mine inside because it was cold and wet here. If yours are under lights, they shouldn't have any problems as long as you water in the morning.
The Dens are a huge group so it just depends on what it is. The Phal-type Dens. do not like temperatures below 60'F. I brought all of mine inside, even the kingianum (it came from Hawaii). Usually, you would leave a kingianum outside until temperatures are just above freezing.
Again, with Phals and Paphs, it just depends on what you have. If you have hot growers, like bellina or violacia, they should definitely be inside. If you have Just-add-ice orchids, they will probably be fine.

Thank you, Leafmite for your input. That really helps a lot.

We're having lows down to 50F/10C combined with a bit of rain this weekend, but next week it's supposed to be sunny and warmer. I'm going to risk leaving them out during the chilly spell and hopefully they won't drop any buds or worse.

We will see...

Our low tonight is supposed to be 41 F, so I brought in all but the Nobile and the Cymbidium. We are in the hill section, so Our temp will probably be in the 30s.

You can get the best forecast from weather.gov. Put in your City, ST and on the resulting map to the right, click on your exact location. You may need to enlarge the map a bit before clicking.

It doesn't work well in hilly areas because the cold air flows downhill, but it gives a good idea what to expect.

You can also get a high/low thermometer and track the actual temperatures over time at your home. They make relatively inexpensive wireless weather stations that broadcast data to your computer. Either manually or automatically, over time you can learn how much colder or warmer you are than your local official weather site. This is usually your nearest airport. For example, I've learned that on cold winter nights, I'm about 8 degrees F colder than the lows forecast or recorded at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.

If you have Cattleyas in bud or anything with new growths, you might want to cover them to prevent them from getting wet, then cold. I lost a few buds on some of the large Cattleyas (that I am not keeping, anyway) last week with the cooler weather and rain.

I decided to keep the Cattleya mossiae and just ran out to get it. My resolve to get rid of all the larger Cattleyas has failed once more. :( I am getting rid of the others, however. :)

---------- Post added at 07:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:30 PM ----------

I used that website for a long time but a year ago, we had a terrible thunderstorm with a funnel passing right over our home and the forecast gave no indication of even rain, let alone violent storms. The funnel cloud touched down ten miles past our home. I use Weather Underground, now. Seems more accurate for our area.

Well it's chilly outside and everything's wet. Crowns and leaf axils full of water. It is windy, too. Tomorrow will be even cooler but still in the fifties (F) / low teens. Sunday back into the seventies (F) / low twenties.

Once again, we will see. If they rot, you told me so.

Soup and Irish coffee weather!