Question RE: Crown rot, all orchids?

[chefatplay]

Can all orchids get crown rot or just phals? I have just accquired some Dends, got them home this evening and watered them on the front porch. It has been raining every other hour for a couple of weeks and the temperature remains in the high 80's low 90's every day. Needless to say, the humidity is high. I have taken advantage of this and left them out on the porch until the morning. In fact, I have moved all of my orchids out there for the night.

Will I kill my Dends by leaving the water in the joints?

[jbigio]

Any orchid that has leaves that can hold water in them can potentialy get crown rot. many orchids in the wild grow with their leaves downward which prevents this.

[chefatplay]

Oh, I better get out there and mop of the mess, I guess.

[brookn]

Hi chef, I keep my dends outside, They have had rain at all times, and I do not dry them out. As long as they have a chance to dry out (like a decent breeze) they should be fine. Mine are doing great. If the humidity is high, and there is not enough air movement to dry them out in a few hours, then I would dry them. The thing I worry about most is morning showers and them not drying before the sun hits them.

I keep my phals inside, but the same principal applies, you probably want to be more concerned with the crowns drying on these.

[chefatplay]

Do you have them on a porch? In pots on the patio? What kind of sun do they get?

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

I would not worry about the rain. I water in my greenhouse with a hose end sprayer, and I definitely don't worry about water in the leaves. Plants that are stressed or severely under lighted, are in a weak condition and may get fungal/bacterial problems even with out the water. We usually recommend that the leaves be dry before the temp starts to fall, just because it lowers the chance of infection.

I just finished spraying all the plants in my GH with worm tea and the instructions say to do it late in the day to avoid denaturing by the UV, so they all went to bed wet. Not worrying. I have plenty of air movement, and no doubt lots of left over systemic fungicide all over everything.

[chefatplay]

Thank you very much. I feel a lot better now. I know they will be happy out in the warm humidity.

[brookn]

Mine are out on a table, and get some full sun, and some filtered sun. They are under a huge tree with ivy all over it. The biggest problem I am having is bugs right now, we have had quite a bit of rain, but the bugs ugh!

[jbigio]

As everyone said rain isn’t a bad thing as long as the plants leaves are not in direct sun and they dry over the course of the day. However your original question can all orchids get crown rot the answer is still yes. Good luck
Joe

[chefatplay]

I'm trying so hard to overcome the lack of humidity in my house without a greenhouse to put my babies in. I really appreciate all of the input you have given me. My babies are looking better already!