Will my outside orchids survive.

[Sea_Sun88]

I have a few orchids outside.
I have 1 laelia cattleya hybrid
2 cattleyas
2 dendrobriums
1 Epidendrium
2 miltonia

Will they all survive temperatures in the 40s
Its getting chilly in San Diego....(Well whats cold for us must be warm to others)

And I am not sure to bring them in.
Only problem is not enough room inside.
Inside I have
1 Ludisia Discolor
1 cattleya Blc Currently in flower
3 phalaenopsis
1 mini phalaenopsis
1 Burr. Nelly Isler ' Swiss Beauty'
1 Sobralia Ecuadoriana

I also have a Epiphyllum Oxypetalum
and a Plumeria and a Epiphyllum Hybrid
and an Aloe Vera Pup which I am sure will handle the cold.


So what do you guys think?
Or should I cover them up with some sort of cloth??

[snowballsarebad]

When I was in Michigan, I left my orchids out a lot at night when it would get quite cool but it depends on what you mean by 40s. If low 40s, then that might be too cool, but my orchids never suffered any ill effects from overnight exposure to 45 or so. Any cooler than that and I was sure to bring them in.

[snowballsarebad]

Oh...and you mentioned covering them with cloth, which might be a good idea if you can't get them in and it's going to be too cold. I guess I would play it safe and make them cozy for the night.

[MSPProductions]

Sea_Sun88, I think your OK when it comes to your laelia cattleya hybrid, cattleyas, Epidendrium and miltonia. If your Dens. are of the soft cane variety I'd say they'll be fine too. I'm up in LA, I was a little worried with the couple of days of rain in a row along with the cold but I think all of my plants look pretty good. I would just be careful of over watering for a little while.

[PhalPal]

I bring mine in when it gets near 50 degrees. Your laelia and plumeria should be fine, but I think it is too cold for the miltonia and non-laelia catts. It helps to group them together with a cover (burlap works well) and keep them out of the wind. It got down to 41 last night per my little handy dandy weather station and I thought it was freezing! Just thinking, do you have a garage space to move them to for the nightime??

[jerrymeola]

I am a commercial grower in SW Florida. Obviously I can not bring thousands inside.

Everything is outdoors under shade cloth exposed to the weather. That said I have left them unprotected into the low 30s every year. Once the weather report said 38 and I woke to 28.

I did not lose any orchids even down to 28 (some leaf damage hurt their looks for a year before they leafed out new)

Dendrobiums, Phalaenopsis, Zygopedilum and Oncidium intergenerics just about anything did fine.

Normally we wrap out shadehouses in plastic for the winter. This will raise the temperature on a cold night about 6-10 degrees. Remember if you plants are close to your house, that the house is the biggest radiator you could find.

In Florida our homes often have a pool and a screen cage around the pool. Temperatures inside the screen cage is usually 10 degrees hotter than the weather reported temp.

If you are really worried, then cover the plants on the coldest days. A simple sheet over the plants will retain a lot of heat. Keep in mind that wind will remove heat rapidly so keep them in a sheltered area.

It is a pain to cover the plants and then remove it each day. You might consider getting PVC pipe and building a frame around the orchids. Keep it fairly close to the orchids. Then you could drape clear plastic over the frame and remove it each day.

[Hummer344]

I am up in San Jose. My cyms, L. anceps and Den Kingianum all stay outside, unprotected, unless it gets very cold, then I cover them. Once the night time temps dip consistantly below 50 I bring the rest of my motely collection in for the winter. Leaving them out below that, I feel, inhibits their growth and blooming patterns. I am fortunate that I have an office that I set up with wire racks & store my plants there. They get a good dose of morning sun and they do well.

[Sea_Sun88]

Thanks for you guys help.
The good news is that I brought in 5 of my frost tender orchids.
Outside I left my Dens and Epidendrum.
Those I am sure would handle the cold.
It never gets below 40 in San Diego so they should be fine.