Could you let us know what area of Florida you are located. If you're in an area that is frost free year round, the odds of being able to grow plants that way is greatly improved. If you live in an area that freezes or is prone to frost, you'll have to mount your orchids on cork, for instance, so that you can bring them in during cold spells.

Also, what do you mean when you say you want a plant that flowers a lot? Do you mean one that produces a profusion of flowers when it blooms or do you mean you want an orchid that blooms more than once a year?

Many orchids only bloom once a year, this is particularly true of species like den. aggregatum that you linked to. Others like certain oncidiums and their hybrids can potentially bloom multiple times per year since they tend to be less seasonal and simply bloom when the latest psuedobulbs mature.

Okay, I live in Pembroke Pines - 33028 - South Florida. I clearly know little about Orchids, I assumed there were prolific bloomers and some that only bloomed once a year. I would prefer one that bloomed frequently - I like flowers :) I am guessing that the kind with flowers growing up would be bent during our thunderstorms? Is there a variety better suited for harsher weather? Thanks for taking the time :) Christy

Well, I can't personally give you any suggestions, but I thought I would suggest giving people a general area where you're at so they can take local conditions in mind. Looking at the USDA hardiness zones map, though, you may be in a marginal area that is prone to winter freezes and frosts. This means that you'd probably need a way to bring your plants indoors during cold spells. You could mount plants to cork bark and then hang the cork mounts on trees for most of the year and still get a similar effect. Places further south of you remain frost free year round, and that's probably why you see photos from Floridian gardens with orchids and bromeliads mounted directly to the trees.

I'll leave the expert advice giving on plants for others more knowledgeable about Florida growing conditions.

We didn't get any frost this year, and I think it was an exceptionally cold winter. We are just NW of Miami, or SW of Ft. Lauderdale. I thought it was zone 10B. Hopefully prime for some outdoor Orchid growing!!

Ah, yeah I was trying to eyeball it from a low res map of Florida and comparing that to google maps showing where Pembroke Pines was. The zip code thing I used only specified zone 10, it didn't differentiate between 10a and 10b.

If you are in a zone 10b you may still not be safe from frosts or freezes. The USDA zones are based on the average minimum yearly temperatures, and I suspect that from time to time (maybe once a decade or so) you may have to deal with frosts in your area.

That said there are almost certainly a good variety of cattleya hybrids, oncidium alliance hybrids, vandas, and dendrobiums that will work for you. I'm sure there are things you could do to protect plants on the rare occasion that you got a frost in your area if you decide to mount plants directly to trees in your yard.

Wow, that's a really nice photo of an orchid growing on a palm! For more photos of orchids growing on trees check out the flickr group that I'm an admin of...Landscaping with Orchids.

Your local orchid society might be a good resource to ask about which orchids would match those criteria.

Off the top of my head I can't think of any fairly common orchids that are going to bloom regularly during the year. Generally...orchids from seasonal climates (like the Dendrobium on the palm tree) bloom once a year but some orchids from climates with rain year around (like Malaysia) are going to continue to grow year around and bloom whenever their growth matures. But the showiest orchids are generally those that save up their energy for one main blooming period.

My recommendation is to do a little research and attach maybe 4 or more orchids that bloom at different times of the year so there's always something in bloom or about to bloom. For the flickr photos, you can see when they were taken so that might help give you a rough idea of what blooms when.

Here's what I would attach to a palm if I lived in Florida...

Barkeria lindleyana
Brassavola cordata
Cattleya walkeriana
Dendrobium nobile
Encyclia cordigera
Oncidium sphacelatum
Schomburgkia splendida v cauca

Now is the best time of the year to attach orchids to trees. Whether you use fishing line, string, pantyhose, etc to attach the orchids to the tree make sure they are very securely fastened. For the first several months the orchids are going to need some extra water until they have a good root system established. Once established they should be able to get by with the rain...but during hottest summer days they probably would appreciate some supplemental water when it hasn't rained for a few days.

Hi
I live in Palm Beach county just north of you have grown orchids as well as several other epipytes attached to trees . Unfortuneately besides COLD there are many other problems lol Wind storms not to mention hurricanes lol. If they don't rip off the limbs they will defoliate the tree exposing your prized orchid to too much sun.
Another is choosing the right specie of tree too dense you get reduced flowering too open you get burn. Almost impossible to control irrigation. and of course wind burn.
My worst disaster was I had 50 growing on an orange tree(One of the best choices for supportIMO) The state whaked the trees down because of citrus canker. Ever move 50 orchids ib one afternoon?? I moved all but 5 back to the shadehouse since Wilma left me with only one tree.
Those 5 are still there and DID survive the record setting cold winter but much too soon to see how it affects flowering. All have survived
You certainly can grow them on trees but I will almost guarantee you you will have less flowers of lower quality.
If you have no experience growing orchids at all I'd suggest you start with standard pot method ,then move to Mounted then to trees??
It is SOOOOO handy to have them portable whenever an unexpected disaster comes up. Orchids are generally too expensive IMO to work well as annuals besides not getting to see the full growth flowering of a mature plant.
It certainly can be done I know for a fact and is more satisfying to grow them "natuarally "
In fact many species grow better thn in pots but that all depends on what disaters await your garden??? lol gary

You might visit Miranda Orchids in Haines Fl, is that near you? Anyway looks like they have many in baskets which could be placed in a tree but still be removable ahead of a freeze or storm.

Here is a link that might be useful: Miranda Orchids

Well I had a bunch of Ebay bucks built up and needed to be spent, so I bought 10 orchids for $50.00 minus what I had accumulated. In the collection are oncidium hybrids and I informed the seller that I intended on mounting them in trees. I really only had one tree in mind, but I looked at the flickr account from epiphyte78 and holy cow was I inspired!!! Yes, storms may take some - if they come, but for 5 bucks a plant it's worth a shot!! I have 5 different palms with multiple trunks, 4 large palms trees and 2 live oaks, plus 2 plumerias that I just started. I have one Dendrobium hybrid that me realtor left for me when I bought the house 6 months ago. I put it outside and it tried to bloom once, but gave up because of the cold and is currently blooming. I really just ignore it, so the light must be favorable. Good morning early afternoon light and then afternoon shade. There are two tees in my front yard with heavy afternoon sun - is there a specific sun exposure these will prefer?? Thanks for all of the advice :) Christy

Glad to hear that the photos were inspiring! :D

In addition to ebay...Craigslist via RSS is a good place to find some great deals on orchids. Since Craigslist is all local, oftentimes the orchids are divisions of orchids that have been growing outside in your area for years. Plus, it provides an opportunity to meet other local orchid growers and take a tour of their gardens.

Here in SoCal I've got some fairly common NOID Dends growing on the side of my tree that receives heavy afternoon sun. I think perhaps because of the higher humidity in Florida that orchids can grow in even more exposed places over there. Ideally, you'll want to acclimate the orchids to greater exposure...probably just by moving their pots gradually closer to the trees you have planned for them.

Once acclimated, I'd probably put the Oncidiums on the sides of the trees that receive morning sun and the Dends on the sides of the trees that receive mid-afternoon sun. If you err on the side of too little exposure...since they are on a tree...they will just grow towards their ideal exposure.

I have recently moved to Boynton Beach (January 2010) and have begun to attach some orchids to palms (Queen & Pygmy Date Palm). A neighbor has many dozens on his trees and most seem to do well, even after the cold snap we had this winter. A great bloomer, although not for tree mounting are reed stem epidendrons - easy to grow terrestrials...

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Good Luck!
Ken

hi
That's the spirit !! the truly greatest advantage to growing in pots even if the climate conditions are perfeft is the choice of moving it if there is a problem/ Once attached to tree it is stll possible to move it but at the least you will have a serious set back which could easily be avoided by being portable.
Another characteristic of orchid is the "goldilocks" syndrome. lol If all conditions are not "Ideal " you end up with huge plants no flowers or at very least less flowers with inferior qulity. All easily avoided by portable.
Ken You can grow all the semi terrests such as the reed stems either way . The BEST way is terrestrial in full sun. Most flowers best quality longest lasting blah blah blah. I can never resist stuffing a few into my Catt baskets where I get flowers but nevr the gaudy displays of terrest.
Anyway good luck with which ever method you choose . Always an adventure for sure!!
gary

Thank you :) I got 10 orchids in the mail today:

Mini Mutany "Spring Fever"
Vuyl. Helmut Rohrl "Purple Waters"
Bllra. Pasha "Tropic Ice"
Blackwood "Sweet One"
Wils. Harvest "Argal Okika"
Brsdm Ashibule "The Orchid Works"
Bllra. Tropic Lily "Ice Palace"
Mtssa. "Nite Naulege"
Mcina. Pagan Love Song "Cupid's Beau"
Wils Pacific Panache "Dorothy Jean"

I haven't decided how I am going to secure them all to a tree, but am mostly considering pantyhose or hot glue. I plan on tying them up tomorrow. Is there anything else I should add to them? Should I let them recover or gradually bring them outside first? Keep them moist? Thanks for any more help :) Christy

I see you've got a taste for the oncidium alliance! I do too. I have about as many plants in the oncidium group as I do phrags. I tend to enjoy miltassias the most, but then they also do well when grown on the wetter side in my conditions.

If it were me, I'd let them acclimate a bit before trying to mount them. Leave them in the shade (protected from critters like slugs) for at least a couple of days. If it's humid in your area right now, moisture probably won't be much of an issue for now.

Also, I'm not sure how well some of those plants will do when the temperatures in your area start to soar. I haven't looked up the parentage for your plants, but the vuylstekeara (sp?) and the wilsonaras might have a lot of influence from cool growing species that don't fare well for long stretches in hot weather. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable about those crosses can chime in on this.

You bought a bunch of cool growers which will not do well in Florida heat. Best to grow those inside in AC.

Jane

Last year, when I picked up a Dracula from my society's raffle table my buddy, who is an expert grower, predicted it wouldn't last 10 days outside here in SoCal. So far it's still alive and endured 105F last summer. It's in a shady spot in a plastic basket filled with New Zealand sphagnum moss. I water it enough so that it's always moist.

Admittedly, the names of your orchids mean next to nothing to me but people are more likely to kill orchids from over-watering than from too much heat. It's not the easiest thing to over-water an orchid mounted on a tree. You could keep 5 inside and mount the other 5 on your shadiest trees. In my book, hybrids are good candidates for conducting crazy experiments with.

You could also try and trade them out on Craigslist for some other types.

I think we have the same type of climate as Florida so I'll chip in here.
I have a lot of Phal-type Dendrobiums growing on my coconut palm trees and they just love it! The spikes do start off growing almost straight up but as each bud blooms, the added weight gives it a very attractive droop.
The Dendrobium crumenatum also has very pretty drooping canes and spikes. In Mumbai they dont bloom very often (just 2-3 times a year when the weather changes and gets cooler) and the flowers dont last very long but to their credit,when they do they're filled with flowers and they're fragrant.
Another orchid you could grow on palm trees are oncidiums.

Christy, I strongly suggest that you check out a local Orchid club they are so much fun and you can get fantastic plants, more so then what you find at HD not to say that I have heard some stories about terrific needle in haystack finds but you will learn so much plus its so much fun. This weekend the group I go to is having a Mother Day Sale they do it to help thin out collections and also to hopefully find new members. They will be holding free classes this week open to the public at Enchanted Park I posted an invite on the Florida exchange section and I am going to copy paste it in here as well. The person that will be doing the class is fantastic teacher and has a very relaxed attitude and you will learn a bunch from her. She had a TV show on channel 2 years ago. I live north of you in Davie but the group is called Gold Coast It would be great if you could make it out on Saturday but if not your welcome to come to our group meeting they have many terrific speakers and if you decide to sign up they give you an Orchid you also get one on your birthday and Christmas. But of course there is absolutely no obligation to join Anyway I thought I would throw that in if you have any questions please feel free to contact me. BTW when I joined the group I had 4 orchids I now have over 200! lol but that is a small collection compared to most.