Beallara wilted in only 2 days!

[happy go lucky]

This Tuesday night at the Westside Cymbidium Society auction in Santa Monica, California (in Los Angeles county), I bid on a Bllra Marfich 'Howard's Dream.' I put it outdoors in the shade. One day later, the flowers appeared a little faded and wilted. I should have immediately brought it inside. By the end of today, the second day of being outdoors, the flowers wilted more. The spots and lines on the petals disappeared. The ends of the petals curled. Also the leaves curled.

Why? The Cymbidium Society includes cymbidiums and other cool growers. This Bllra was obviously growing outdoors as the leaves are lime (light yellow green). This is the third time that I have purchased an orchid and had the flowers wilt and buds blast.

In west Los Angeles, the high was 82 F degrees and the low was 61 F degrees. Bringing it indoors may not be a solution. Its not that much cooler or humid indoors. I assumed coastal southern California would be suitable for growing various types of orchids outdoors. If they grow outdoors but flowers don't last outdoors, how do we know in advance to bring them indoors before the new flowers wilt? Are cymbidiums and reed stem epidendrums the only orchids that will flower well outdoors in southern California?

[kmarch]

Bringing an orchid home only to have its flowers (and/or buds) all blast is a surprisingly common occurrence. When you buy an orchid and bring it home we often don't know how long it has been in flower and sometimes we don't even know what conditions it was grown in. Flower drop like you're describing is usually from either a change in conditions or form the flowers reaching the natural end of their life. Bringing an orchid indoors, especially a cool-growing orchid typically shortens the life of the flower.

[happy go lucky]

Kmarch, why would bringing a cool growing orchid indoors shorten the life of the flowers?

[solay]

I've seen them grow all kinds of stuff outdoors in Southern Calif. I don't think you're limited to just Cyms. and epidendrums.

I know bringing Cyms. in bloom indoors shortens their life. They last much longer left outdoors. I have no idea why though. Maybe they just don't like the change in the environment?

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by happy go lucky

Kmarch, why would bringing a cool growing orchid indoors shorten the life of the flowers?

I don't really know the science but for whatever reason flowers last longer when kept cool. It's like flowers in a cooler at the florist last longer. I just had a cattleya flower outdoors (it's autumn here and so getting cooler). It would have probably lasted about 3 weeks or so outside. I brought it in and it lasted about half that long. It's pretty much gone now.

[violetta]

I also have a Beallara Tahoma Glacier but I was told to treat it as an oncidium. So I have it outside because I thought it's an intermediate/ warm growing orchid

It seems quite happy, it's growing a new pseudobulb but it's always very thirsty!