Lori, don't give up! Every grower feels the ups and downs of the hobby, whether it's during a battle with scale or a period of neglect due to other life obligations. Anyway I don't think it's actually possible to just stop growing orchids once you've started. Once bitten by the bug, forever infected :-). Don't stress over it, move your favorites inside, and see what makes it through. Wait...you're in Florida...don't people tie orchids to trees and ignore em? ;-) just kidding...but maybe you can use this experience to cull the collection and start specializing? Most of us do that and it helps create more interesting collections of more manageable size

They can't be carefree like other plants because we won't LET them be carefree :) You're doing it because you want to baby them. We're all guilty of it! Granted, issues with freezing temps are a whole other issue, and you're dealing with special circumstances at the moment. If its just a few days, just plop them somewhere out of the way inside. They will be ok. If they can survive up to a week in a dark box during shipping, they will certainly survive a few days on a kitchen table thats not by a window. When I quit trying to baby them and started treating them like all my other houseplants, they did much better.

My plants are about as easy as it gets, and thats because I've found my groove and have found what works for me, which admittedly includes some risktaking for the sake of instant and long term stress relief. The best example I can give is that I'll leave all my plants out--including phals--until the first frost for the sake of not playing the in and out game (too cold one day, perfect for them to be out the next, in for 2 days, out for a day or two). I don't need that stress of worrying day to day. I'm willing to accept the leaf damage and possible plant death as a result. I don't let the hobby run me, I run my hobby. Its at that point it goes from being a hobby to being a job! Once I found this groove I discovered real results, and I've lost maybe one or two plants in the last year and a half. Find what works for you so the hobby isn't so stressful!

Maybe you DO need to take a break, recharge your batteries. The vast majority of people coming here asking about orchids eventually burn out and move on after a couple years...honestly, I'm surprised I wasn't one of them. Some space from orchids might do you some good, and give you better focus, be it on honing your orchid craft, or on something else.

Good luck with whatever you do!

Sacrifice a goat to OG and all will be well.

4 years ago we had a deadly freeze here. 23F to 25F lows night after night for 3 to 4 nights. On the advice of a proffesional agriculturist I would go out at 3AM to 4AM and hose them off. Paradoxically this protects them.

Nick

Hi
I know the reason that this happened is because my heating system broke down in Nov.lol If it were operating we'd be experiencing more record heat. lol
I have a "hedge" of Vandas growing between Palms into their second year as well as some Catts Dends and Epicatts on a Carombola tree They are covered with christmas lights and frost cloth. So far I've not had a frost and the day time highs have made it to high 50's . Will see how tough they are lol.
I have some understory palms ,gesneriads and several water plants that are rated at 60 for a low . So there are many other species even more delicate than orchids for sure.
On a positive note the amaryllis paper whites impatients are blooming their heads off . Should be fantastic for the winter dormant gingers .
I've found most epiphytic orchids will handle anything but a hard freeze. Though I'm sure it causes stress though sometimes some like Phals react with even more vigorous growth when temps sabilize.
Growing plants is always an adventure !!! garu

You don't necessarily need blankets or drapes. Newspapers or plastic tablecloths or shower curtains work as well. And it isn't necessary to take them off during the day if that same night will be cold again. They'll manage under the covers for a few days.

Hang in there Lori. What a pain this week has been. Having said that we get year around 'pain free' growing. So 1 week of lugging those monster plants, esp Schombs back and forth and all those bed sheet covers I came up with- no complaints for now.....

Hey Lori

The cold spell made the national yahoo news this morning. The report confirmed what I was told a few years ago when we had our deep freeze.

'In central and south Florida, farmers were trying to salvage citrus and vegetable crops by spraying them in protective layers of ice and covering them in plastic.'

As I said earlier, if your plants are in serious danger of freezing, watering them at 3am, or there about, will protect them. A layer of ice on the plants and to be saturated with water both help limit the damage.

Maybe an AG expert can chime in and further elucidate this practice.

Nick

Nick your timing is incredible...I forgot to turn off my sprinklers last night and woke to an artificial ice storm in my yard this morning. It was 33 when I got up and I had ice everywhere. When the commercial growers do it, they have a real strict schedule, they can only start spraying water when the temp hits a certain mark or else it damages things. I'm not sure what the temp was when mine came on so I don't know if I've made things worse or not.

Calvin-tying orchids to trees is a way to give them to people miles away during a hurricane.

Terp-I am thinking of taking a break from orchids. My life is hectic right now and I just can't deal with diva plants. Not sure if I really will or not, but definately thinking of it, lol.
Lori

I would be interested in the exact indications of this water spraying during low temps as I don't know the fine details. I got through our ice storm with relatively little damage so probably did no damage with my ice spraying and may have done some good. Lost a few plants, had some more leaf damage including the peculiar response of the all the Mymecrophelias (previously known as Schomburkias, the ones with the hollow canes). Every one of them lost all their leaves. All have recovered since then with the generation of new leaves but have not bloomed yet.

This too shall pass, NOW would be good.

Nick

Nick, I don't know the exact way to do the watering during freezing temps, I'm sure you could find it on the net though. I know it's complicated and not anything they ever tell homeowners to do, it's just the commercial growers who do it. I know they stay up all night watching the thermometer and can only start the process when it hits a certain temp, too early kills things. The idea is to have the water freeze almost immediately keeping the plant at 32 and not letting it get colder.

I do hear lots of controversy on whether or not homeowners should water prior to a freeze. The consensus seems to say yes before, but not during. There's a big thread on this in the Florida forum and other warming techniques, like using Christmas lights, going on in a couple of the threads.

I guess my sprinkler faux pas will hold me for tonight...still colder! in the 20's! I've seen snow twice in Florida. Once in the 1970's while in Ft. Lauderdale, and once in the 80's in Tampa. It was a blast. But I'm older now and own things that will die...so not looking forward to it so much anymore.
Lori

Nick, I don't know the exact way to do the watering during freezing temps, I'm sure you could find it on the net though. I know it's complicated and not anything they ever tell homeowners to do, it's just the commercial growers who do it. I know they stay up all night watching the thermometer and can only start the process when it hits a certain temp, too early kills things. The idea is to have the water freeze almost immediately keeping the plant at 32 and not letting it get colder.

I do hear lots of controversy on whether or not homeowners should water prior to a freeze. The consensus seems to say yes before, but not during. There's a big thread on this in the Florida forum and other warming techniques, like using Christmas lights, going on in a couple of the threads.

I guess my sprinkler faux pas will hold me for tonight...still colder! in the 20's! I've seen snow twice in Florida. Once in the 1970's while in Ft. Lauderdale, and once in the 80's in Tampa. It was a blast. But I'm older now and own things that will die...so not looking forward to it so much anymore.
Lori

Hi
I found the watering method often did more harm than the cold. Of course that depends on how cold and for how long. The trick is to run the water continuously because the water is usually above 50 degrees depending on you water source. Another tip is to be careful about removing the coverings when the sun comes up. My worst disater of all time was covering my shadehouse with plastic. stayed snug and warm all night the next day it was 151 degress inside while the air temp outside was 65.
I now use frost cloth and still only partially cover the roof.
This is a very unusal front being long and low daytimes.
This year the plastic would work fine. But hey winter is still young. Maybe we'll yet get those 3 day "normal" types??
Had a low of 31 yesterday and this morning hovering at 36. Don't give up yet as there's another due in monday.
Odd isn't that we had all those record highs in December
while already set two record lows as well as a record daytime low of 46. Someday we might have a normal winter??lol
gary