Hi
Have grown a lot of different types of epipytes on trees for many years.Mixed results at best. Most but not all will tolerate down to frost but hard freeze and they're toast.lol
Was going to start a thread on this as I'm curious as to others experience . Especially after the recent cold front.
I got a low of 35 but I cheated and covered them with frost cloth ,no added heat though. All six species seem to be unscathed at least so far.
One interesting point when talking about this with commercial growers is that "IT doesn't kill them but temps below 40 will cause stress. Won't flower nor grow as well, over time. I would generally have to agree with that ,particularly orchids. gary

I left some plants hanging in the trees, and mounted ones( I really don't want to loose them- I covered them with sheets during last week's cold front). The covered ones look intact including the spikes, and the other looks beaten up- have to wait a few more days to see the real damage.
Gary- where do you get this'frost cloth'?

I have around 100 orchids, various genera, in trees around the garden. We only hit a low of 41, but there's no apparent damage to any of them.

I brought mine inside last week, then found I overlooked 1. It was hanging on a trellis by the house and looks fine. I have 1 growing on a Christmas palm on the North side of my yard and it did fine as well, but I'm an hr south of Ricky.

Hi
Well to add another two cents lol. IME even the very warm growers will tolerate down to freezing . I've only lost some at 27 Anything above 32 is definitely surviveable.
Might point out that the recent cold front is a long way from a record both in lows and duration. So would certainly expect them to survive.
There are many things you could do to stack the odds in your favor .
Sambac. I got the frostcloth from a GH supply store. Like everything else it has limitations. To me, one of the great advantages is very light weight so doesn't crush the plants but blows around very easily. Is rather expensive especially compared to bed sheets lol. Can be kept on for the 3 days of a front as it doesn't block sunlight. Do a google on "Frost cloth" there are several weights as well as one that produces heat through chemical reactions .
Sounds interesting but have not tried it , If true would be fantastic.!!
Couldn't we just arrange for the temps to never again drop below 40?? At least in our lifetimes?? lol
gary

Thanks for your replies. I thought that I would let Mother Nature take care of the Orchids since I'm not doing such a good job myself.

Regina

Has anyone seen the many orchids in trees at disney world's animal Kingdom? I have no idea how they are able to keep them warm during cold times. Or any of their tropicals for that matter. I have never seen any damage in any of their parks

That is interesting lawtay. I wonder how they protect them? Maybe they have a superior type of frostcloth? Or perhaps they hurry up and replace the dead ones? lol

Hi
I would suspect it's the latter lol. Disney moves landscaping into madness . Don't know about orchids but various areas are duplicated in GH's The slightest fading and the duplicate is moved into place. They even control the size of trees to actual spec!! They want the tree in the background of a pic to be the same size no matter when the pic was taken
And they do all maintainence at night using those underground tunnels . The visitor must NEVER see maintence!!
You can arrange tours of the "Unseen Park". they take you through the tunnels which to me was far more interesting than ANYTHING above ground.
They push "landscape theory " into science fiction lol
Imagine a visitors horror if he were suddenly see someone pruning a tree or an annual with TWO faded flowers??
I know I'd never visit the place again lol
gary