crazy orchids.....................

15 years ago

We've all been experiencing this cold front and I've got to admit, I was a bit worried. I've got too many Orchids to bring them all in.

Apparently, they're lovin' the chilly temps because 6 of my Phals have thrown out spikes this week as well as Rene Marques 'Flamethrower' and a NOID Epi.

Ground Orchids are also spiking:

.....and........ Colmonara Wildcat is in bloom!

I brought him in and put him on the dining room table.

Whodathunkit?!?

Anyone else leaving their Orchids out and if so, are they spiking?

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Comments (14)

scott361
15 years ago
Cool and really nice for you!
My Cyps and other natives are the only things that
are outside all year.

I'm sure that there are others with temps like mine.
I think that it hit a high of 35F sometime around three.
After about ten minutes, it started dropping again.

It's about 15F right now, sooo...
Not goin' to happen any time soon!;~)

Scott
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lellie
Original Author
15 years ago
15F?!?!?!
Good grief!
I'd simply perish along with my chids...LOLAM!
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

BTW: I did breakdown and bring them all into the first floor Flarda Room...I don't think I could've slept thru the night knowing they were out there freezing (almost, but not quite). Hehehe
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Harvey, your vanda is gorgeous! It is the stuff that my little, frigid northeast gardener heart dreams of! I started with Phals. Got a couple as gifts 10-15 years ago, before I had kids. I loved the challenge and got a Paph and Ludisia. I had no idea what I was doing with them but was able to keep them alive and rebloom the Phal and Paph. Then we got a dog and had babies. With my husband traveling all week, every week for work, the orchids were forgotten in favor of the survival of the small humans. 3 years ago we moved into a house with a solarium (sun room) with it's very own heater, so I decided to try 1 orchid (and a meyer lemon tree). I learned very quickly that my solarium is too bright for phals in the windowsill! My phal migrated to our master bathroom where it bloomed regularly and then made a keiki. That was perplexing, so I searched around and found you guys :) For the next year I bought a few more phals to see how they did. last year with both kids in school (9 whole HOURS per week to myself!!!!), I decided what better hobby than to try to grow difficult plants? I began buying other orchids - Dens, Oncs, Catts, Vandas etc. - mostly NOIDs from Trader Joe's and a few from an orchid sale at a local estate greenhouse. Now, a year later, I have more varieties than I know what to do with and too many phals - you see a friend, who is also a florist, got wind of my orchids and started donating past-bloom phals to me that would otherwise be thrown out. The kids are still young (4 and 7), but I like plants and I intend to stick with it. I have lost a couple phals along the way, but both came to me very sick. We'll see about the rest ;) Thanks to all of you! I still have so very much to learn!
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scott361
15 years ago
I really don't mind very much.
We could be having weather like everyone is back East.
It looks like everyone else is having scary cold conditions!
So, I'm fine with it.
But, I really need more rain. It's all been going north of me.
I had to unload ten tons of alfalfa on Wednesday, twenty tons today and I'm gettin' another ten tons on Monday!
This weather is much better to work in, instead of doin' it while it's hot. ;~)
My butt is sooo draggin'!!
And...
Sniffle, I ended up with a couple of blisters on one hand.
Wrong gloves today, so I'm paying the price.
I haven't even changed yet, but if can drag my butt off the couch...
Bed is lookin' really good! ;~)
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garyfla_gw
15 years ago
Hi
Even though I've been in in florida many years I still refuse to believe they are NOT garden plants lol. At one time had almost 50 growing on an orange tree.. State whacked the tree down.Wouldn't even let me keep a piece of the wood.!! For an afternoon of fun try moving 50 plants in a day lol. Though i subscribe to the wisdom of keeping them portable I still moved ten of them to a Carambola tree.. All are wintering just fine so far lol. I do have a
contraption made of frost cloth powered by Christmas lights but only setup in the 30's.
Some years the ones on trees actually do better than those in the shadehouse.
I remember one year it fell to 27 for over two hours!!
ZAPPED them all lol. Big difference between frost and hard freeze.
Two of the Phals on the Carambola are spiking right now
Holding breath lol gary
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aachenelf z5 Mpls
15 years ago
Scary cold is right! We're dancing in the streets today because it finally warmed up to 20 F. After a week of daytime highs below 0 F and nights in the -20 F range, I can hardly take this heat spell.

No orchids outside except the ones I don't like.

K
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sambac
15 years ago
Jsut like Gary, I was holding my breath. We were out on FRI night with 53 F temp. Too cold for me> Same night brought in some spiking phals, only for my son to break the spike on one of them.
We will see what happens to the tree mounted ones- I have 6-7 spiking phals, a whole load of spiking vanda's and Schoms outside. I know the Dends will make it with no problem
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Sheila
15 years ago
Anybody want one thoroughly frozen Vanda kultana 'fragrance'. I'm just sick over being a bad grower and letting in out when our temps dropped to 26 F. I moved my couple cyms & a sarco, but never thought of the vanda hanging in the tree :(

Lellie, love th shell planter, your plant/blooms/photo are beautiful.

Scott, what are you feeding? At today's feed prices, I wouldn't want your bills!!!

Sheila :)
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olyagrove
15 years ago
Lellie, looks like your orchids are happy!
Olya
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sambac
15 years ago
Down to 38.. spiked ones are in the garage and large Schombs and vanda's are in the patio under bedcover- hope that would keep em safe!
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scott361
15 years ago
My outside tropicals went through a midnight panic move inside last Sept.
Usually, it's closer to 3:00AM!
So, I'm improving! ;~)

Sheila,
Link below, if you're interested!
But we have Irish Dexter cattle, Shetland and Jacob sheep, a mule,
a spotted ass, a Shire/Quarter horse, etc!
About a quarter of that was oat for the equines
And, we ended up unloading 50 tons total!
Whew!

Also, it's about 20F right now, early and a clear night.
The dogs made sure that I carried wood in for 'em!
They get very concerned about comfort and are terrible nags!
Everyone sits around and gives me dirty looks until I do something about it.
Then they all do a happy dance while getting in my way.
Err...I mean helping me!;~)

Scott

Here is a link that might be useful: Ranch folder
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garyfla_gw
15 years ago
lellie
really holding my breath this morning ,5 am and 34 will probably drop another couple of degrees ay least before dawn. Hard freeze all over Palm beach county away from the ocean.
Will get an answer to the eternal question "Are Orchids garden plants in zone 10??" lol Hoping for the answer "Orchids are much tougher than reputed to be so go ahead and plant them on the trees "
Hope yours do okay !!! gary
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lellie
Original Author
15 years ago
Well...mine are all inside...I caved, as I said...hehehe.
I just couldn't sleep at night knowing they were out in the cold...no more than I could have left out my cat or parrots. :)

My Florida room is still not a Florida room...yet.
It presently holds "everything-in-the-free-world"...LOL...plus my 2 parrots, Griffin & Carey Firetail.
Eventually, it will house a bar (oh boy-oh boy-oh boy!)...a TV and furniture for pool-partyin'.

The man I bought the house from years ago was a woodworker.
He had tons of equipment in there as well as extra outlets and tons of large hooks all over the ceiling to hold cords away from the machinery.

My Vandas are currently hanging from these hooks.

{{gwi:140178}}

This morning I went down and sprayed them and all the others.
Phew!...my hand is cramping...LOL

More:
{{gwi:140180}}

and more:
{{gwi:140182}}

And the "Fritters", as I call'm, feel like they're back in the jungle and rain forest...LOL

{{gwi:140183}}
{{gwi:140184}}

'Spose it'll be cold again tonight, but nuttin' like I remember while living in PA years ago...UGH!!!
{{gwi:140185}}

Oh...and Miss Marcia...that roaring fire looks to die for!!!
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montereyorchid
15 years ago
I live in Monterey KY and we have had temps in the teens and twenties for quite a few days. No orchids outside,BUT do have a circa 1870 HUGE house that I am attempting to heat with ONE wood stove. Needless to say the chids are cold as the south facing window where they live is at the furthest point from the wood stove (avg temp 27-36 degrees...living in temps WAY below recommended. I know this isn't an ideal situation for them...BUT, I have three catts blooming right now, four other catts in spike or sheath, cym in spike, 1 Onc, 2 paphs blooming, 2 phals in spike and dends going crazy. I have 41 orchids total so this is a pretty high percentage to be active, especially at this time of year and at these temps. Must make a note that these have had all season to harden off as they were brought in and never heated to begin with so I guess they acclimatized...heck...I dont really know what is keeping them happy, but I know that they are performing very well.
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garyfla_gw
15 years ago
Hi
I keep my birds with my orchids. Not parrots of course.lol Honeycreepers, which are impossible to catch so I provide a IR heat source. Lizards use it but the birds go on and roost in the usual places lol. When i kept finches I provided a warm box which the lizards used but the birds refused lol.
Seemed oblivious to the cold this morning gary
gary
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crazy orchids.....................

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