Moving to the Atlanta area...

[stragged]

In a few weeks I will be moving from warm and sunny south Florida to the northern Atlanta area. I have a small collection of various orchids, but I am unsure if the vandaceous species I have will be able to grow well up there. I am wondering if anybody has had any luck getting a vanda to grow in a colder climate, or if I should leave my vandas with a friend that lives down here? I would hate to bring them up north and end up killing them off, as they are doing so well down here.

Here are a few pics of the vandas in bloom:

[orchid_girl]

Atlanta is a pretty humid place the only thing is that you will have to bring them in during the winter. I am sure someone else will have more info for Atlanta.

BTW...Beautiful Vandas!!!!

[pikevi]

What a beautiful collection!

[arleneg]

stragged,

I don't know much about Atlanta weather. But from what I've heard, Atlanta gets rather humid and warm during summer months. Your vandas will love that. If Atlanta gets cold during winter, just bring them indoors (which I have yet to do with mine ). Place them outdoors when spring comes.

Basically, bring your vandas with you.

[tom499]

I certainly couldn't leave such beauties behind

[Brad Gun]

Good news guys
I here I with you

[fred]

welcome Brad
do you grow orchids
Is so what sort do you have
where are you located

[chefatplay]

Should you decide the stress of moving them would be too great, I would be happy to pick them up (and pay for them, of course). I'm half way out of the state on the eastern coast. I have the perfect spot for them.

[janet_a]

what everybody else said. hot & sticky. inside in the winter.

be sure and visit the fuqua center at the botanic garden in piedmont park.

did they make you promise to bring a tanker truck of water with you when you cross the state line?

[waggles2004]

Good mention about the tanker truck.

All of North Georgia is under a Level 4 Drought Condition. This means absolutely NO outside water usage whatsoever (unless you've hired a professional landscaper). But they are even discussing removing that exemption. At current conditions, the experts are stating that we have about 115-120 days of water left, with no real prospects of rain in the future. Friends are turning in friends and neighbors who are violating the water ban. It is sad really, but with 5 million + people in the metro Atlanta area, we need to conserve where possible.

Bring your Vandas anyway. You *are* allowed to use grey water for outside use. This includes sink and shower run-off, and if you have a freshwater aquarium (like me), you can use that water to feed your plants. The lack of real rain has been so bad, I've stopped doing weekly water changes to the fish tank, and just doing it once a month, and filling empty milk jugs with the "dirty" water for my orchids and roses (which btw, love it).

Oh, I'm in Decatur, inside the permeter, on the East side of Atlanta.

Welcome to Georgia!

[janet_a]

some folks in ATL just aren't getting it, unfortunately. i stayed in 2 four star hotels in september and october, and i had to fight with my chambermaids about taking my towels. (i didn't want them to.) i would not only have expected the hotels to be practising their green thing (not changing the beds daily, only swapping out towels that had been thrown in the floor), but a note on the bathroom mirror saying "dear valued guest, we are experiencing the worst drought in 25 years. we would appreciate it if you would be mindful of your water usage" would not have been out of order.

a very nice restaurant i went to *insisted* on giving me a glass of tap water, despite my protestations that i wasn't going to drink it..

this is basic stuff-- i don't know why i didn't see it in action down there. and the letters to the editor of the AJC--! one guy said "i have a $6,200 irrigation system hooked up to city water and i'm going to use it as much as i want!"

(of course, i live 30 or so miles south of frederick, MD, where the mayor drives around in her little car and writes up citations for houses that have their sprinklers on.)

when i drove over the rapahannock, it was flowing--but just barely. maybe a foot of water in it. and many of the little lakes further south were showing yards and yards of shoreline.


i guess some the atlantans will only take this seriously when they turn on their faucets and mud comes out.

(oh, and when we were under water restrictions here a few years ago, i turned in one of the local golf courses which was watering against the restrictions. ha! (hate golf.))

[PhalPal]

Waggles we are right behind you in the water shortage. They are thinking about implementing a ban on watering landscaping here. I don't know what I'll do, I have thousands of dollars invested outdoors. We are always dry but I can't imagine Atlanta without rain everyday during the summer. In my area we are at least somewhat used to conserving all the time, even when not in a drought year. Next month we'll be on the news because of flooding and mud slides, just watch!! It's feast or famine!

Stragged - take your vandas with you and just adjust them a little bit in winter. Atlanta is just as humid as Florida and they have a lot of sunny days, snow is unusual. I know lots of people have 'sun porches' and your vanda will do well there.

[pikevi]

Yea , I did not want to discourage stragged.

I think most of the people in atlanta are getting it now. It is expected that an inch of rain may fall tonight. But they need at least 24 inches of rain just to break even.

There is no rain in the long term forecast, I hear.

PhalPal: The long term idea of bringing arctic water (ice) to so.CA is a bit shaky now since the arctic ice is melting away too!

We had a slight drought here too. We had the lowest rainfall in 55 years , I believe.

Countries in the East are getting more than what the need.

I hope these are only temporary changes.

[PhalPal]

Arctic ice to So Cal??? I have not heard of this pikevi. We are not even close to desperate yet, just anticipating what may happen if we have another dry winter. We already have significant snow in the Sierras which is a good sign.

[flowerchild]

Hey if I can grow them in Canada,you can grow them in Atlanta!!!!!

[m3phist023]

Wow, we must be stealing everyone's rain then. Our rainfall lately (in the Sacramento area) has been 123% of normal for this time of year. Also, it cooled off very quickly this year. I remember as a child sometimes it would be almost too hot to wear my chosen Halloween costume. Now we have rain and highs in the high 60's to low 70's. I bet my cyms are loving life on my patio, but I wonder if we will get a big orange-killing freeze like last year....
I would gladly send some rain to all of you if I could! <-- These guys are doing a rain dance for you.......

[joan gero]

Hi Stragged, I have a friend who grows lovely vandas in Chicago... just opened a skylight and hangs baskets beneath it. Good luck, don't leave your babies behind. There's life outside Florida!

[pikevi]

PhalPal: That is one of the ideas that was floated around a couple of years ago to tide over possible future drought! It could create other problems to the planet.

m3phist023: No CA had lots of rain this year , I gather. A friend of mine said they had 4 days of continuous rain in Lafayette,in the latter part of July, I believe.

May be it is time we seriously consider reclaiming Mojave,Sahara & Gobi deserts Oh.. and western Australia!

[orchid_girl]

Well I know in Alabama we have been doing without water but they have not put quite as strict regulations on us because we are so close to the river. But during the hotest part they told us if we had to water the yard or plants to do it after the sun went down. We had the longest stretch without rain that had ever been.