Growing Catts Outdoors??

[PhalPal]

I am working on an orchid tree and plan to grow mounted Laelias and Catt hybrids on cork bark. I hit a 'Hawaiian Grower Fire Sale' on Catts, SLC's, BLC's and Lc's in the last few hours of the Fascination of Orchids Show and bought eight. I know the Laelias will do great, but what about the others????
Our winter temps can get down to the low thirties overnight a handful of nights per year, and the same with temps above 95 degrees. Humidity is always low, especially in summer, maybe 20-40% consistently and as low as 10% when really hot.
In your opinions, how dominant will the Laelia influence be? Impossible question, I know. Have any of you (especially in California or Australia) grown Catt hybrids outdoors year round??

[exasperatus2002]

With the lower humidity you may just have to water them frequently. I envy you. I'd love to start an orchid tree but in PA, it wouldnt last long.

[patlee]

What a wonderful idea. I envy you the warm growing conditions. I'd be afraid to leave some of those out on cold nights. Yet the cattleya alliance is not my thing. Wait for someone else to jump in with better advice and gooooood luck!! Post pics when you get it going!

[kmarch]

The orchid log is a fantastic idea. Choosing orchids to put on it should be really easy. Simply ask other orchid growers and orchid nurseries in your area what orchids they grow outside. Whatever species and hybrids folks in your area successfully grow outside are good candidates for your log. This will take some research but the more forethought you put into it, the more successful youwill be. I can recommend a few:

Dendrobium kingianum and kingianum hybrids
Miniature Cymbidiums
Dockrillia species and hybrids

Keep us posted on your progress!

[Hummer344]

I have always brought my cats in for the winter. I think the cold temps would stunt their growth and colder temps might cause damage. The Laelia I have stays outdoors year around but I do protect it if temps are going to be below 35. IMHO, I would leave the Catts off the tree. You can always set up a misting system for humditiy for those days when it is low.

[epiphyte]

Thinking of all the hybrid cats I've killed by keeping them outdoors during winter...I'd say a pessimistic estimate would be around a 10% survival rate. The survival rate bumps up to around 25% - 50% depending on how much laelia the parents have in them.

Here's a couple of websites that might be helpful...

Outdoor Growing List for Manly Warringah area of Sydney (occasionally down to 32F)
Outdoor Cattleya List for Kerang, Australia (occasionally down to 23F)

I suggest going for it... remember what Harry Phillips said? Something like, the more orchids you kill the better you'll be at growing orchids. Hmmm, or perhaps it was more along the lines of, the difference between a novice orchid grower and an experienced orchid grower is that a novice has killed dozens of orchids while an experienced grower has killed thousands. Or something like that.

Finally finished completing my new shade shelter and setting up the misting system. I'm pretty happy with the misting system and plan on putting up some photos when I get back from Texas. Let me know if you want to come over to see the misting system in action.

[jerrymeola]

I grow thousands of Cattleya Alliance outdoors year round and drops to the low thirties will sometimes damage leaves dead plants are few and far between. I usually have a couple of nights in the high 20s and if the temperature drop is less than 4 hours in duration, the lower temperature is not a problem.

A variation to mounting in trees is to mount on wood (I use grapevine) and hang the plants from the tree branches. It is being done so that the plants can be brought closer or even into the house when in flower and returned to the tree after the flowers die.

You could then bring them inside if you were worried about extreme temperatures.

You will find that a full tree will raise the temperature around the branches by several degrees. You should take some readings to get a feel for your property.

The tree canopy creates a pocket of air around the plants. Wind becomes a worry as it will lower the temperature, but even here the branches are a wind break and much more protection than an exposed plant. During the summer it acts as a heat shield lowering the temperature.

You can also protect the orchids by running water over them by using a sprinkler all night. It works well here in Florida.

All the hybrids you chose will do well outside. I find BLC's are the easiest with LC's next and SLC's a little more temperamental but SLC's have the best reds. Hybrids do better than species but I find they are also easier in pots.

The more logical reason for losing orchids in trees is the need for regular consistent water. Watering every day is desirable. Evaporation of the water from the exposed roots increases the need for water. Death is a long slow deterioration so the reason is not obvious.

[BlakeeBoo]

You also may want to ask your local growers about orchids native to your area.

[PhalPal]

Thanks for all your input everyone! I asked around at my local orchid club meeting and quite a few members grow Catts and hybrids outdoors. I have seven palm trees and one eucalyptus tree in my back yard. All the maples with leaves/shelter are in the front.

I think I will but them on bark and loosly attached then to the palms that provide the most protection from sun. I can then remove them if it were to get too hot or cold for an extended period of time.

Traveling concerns me as well, but that is where sprinkler systems come in.

I didn't pay a lot for these so I'm going to give it a shot. I'll keep everyone posted to successes and failures.

PS - YES epiphyte I would love to come visit your orchid collection and misting system! LOTS of new snow in the mountains; if we decide to venture out with chains this weekend I'll give you a call and we can introduce Malea to falling SNOW!!

[PhalPal]

I realized I never posted a picture of my mounted Catts so I thought I would bump this thread.

This is a large piece of cork bark with three Catts mounted with spraghum and fishing line, one Lc and two Blc's. It will get quite a bit of filtered sun and the air circ in that corner of the patio is very good. Instead of putting the cork directly onto the palm tree, I attached it to a little trellis that I can easily pull up out of the ground for temperature extremes. I do have some new growth but nothing in the way of new roots yet.

I am keeping a little 'sun' diary today and checking the light every hour. We have a heat wave coming later this week and I want to be sure it's not too much. I know my chances are probably slim, but I would really love it to work. I'll post more when they BLOOM - the power of positive thinking!

[Vivienne]

Connie - that is outstanding!! LOVE IT!!!!!