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Epiphytes and the Summer Garden
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Tom Velardi
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 10:20 pm Posts: 4337 Location: Kyushu, Southern Japan (33.607N latitude)
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Re: Epiphytes and the Summer Garden
Go Carlos, Go! You certainly are the cheerleader for epiphytic plant gardening.
I would like to try Vanda coerulea one day - it is both cold hardy and more shade tolerant. Certainly many Japanese natives can endure freezing or near freezing temperatures, provided they get a nice, long, hot summer afterwards. I grow D. nobile hybrids easily in my area, but they are a bit reluctant to flower - I think they need more sun and perhaps drier conditions in winter. The other issue about growing cold hardy orchids is flowering season. For me, spring to early fall flowering is fine, but winter flowering plants are more problematic. For instance, Isabella virginalis grows great and even flowers every year, but always around Christmas - the time when frost is likely to hit, so flowers last just a few days on average. Ditto with Leptotes unicolor - grows great, but flowers a bit too late, just before the frosts.
So, there are many things to consider when choosing appropriate plants for you given climate.
Having said all that, please keep us interested...
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Wed Aug 29, 2012 10:49 am |
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Epiphyte
Joined: Thu Dec 23, 2010 11:41 pm Posts: 134 Location: Glendale, CA, USA
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Re: Epiphytes and the Summer Garden
Tom...hehe. *waves pom poms*
You bring up some good points. There are certainly quite a few factors to consider. One thing that I've been experimenting with is how much direct sun an epiphyte...primarily orchids...can take. For example...I divided an Encyclia tampensis and kept half in my shade shelter area and put the other half on the sunny side of my tree. The division on my tree bloomed considerably earlier than the division in my shade shelter.
So generally...the more sun you give an orchid the earlier it will bloom. Not sure if it's because of more photosynthesis or because it's warmer in the sun.
Here in my area Dendrobium nobile can be grown in full direct sun. It's fairly easy to tell if it's getting enough light because the canes will be shorter, fatter, yellower and grow nearly straight up.
So an orchid will bloom earlier if given more direct sun. But some orchids will complete their growth cycle (put out a new growth and bloom) earlier in the year than others. For example...the very first orchid to complete its growth cycle for me is Barkeria spectabilis. It does so around late spring and then it just grows roots for the rest of the year. During winter it goes deciduous.
Deciduous orchids are pretty good to experiment with in colder areas. Active and new growth is the most susceptible to cold damage...and since deciduous orchids don't have any active growth during winter....they are less susceptible to cold damage.
Another factor I've probably already mentioned...but certainly bears repeating...is drainage. An orchid in a pot will be more susceptible to cold damage than a mounted orchid. Likewise, an orchid mounted with more moss will be more susceptible to cold damage than an orchid mounted with less moss. Mounted with less moss is safer during winter but it means more watering during summer.
Vanda coerulea is certainly a good orchid to try in your conditions...but I wonder if is more eurythermal. One exception to the general rule of higher elevations/latitudes...is . Even though it's from Java/Laos...several people have reported that it tolerated being completely frozen. For other monopodials that you might consider...check out . Neofinetia falcata is the most highly rated on that list...but then again...it's the most widely grown.
_________________ Carlos -
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Thu Aug 30, 2012 1:05 am |
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Pierre
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 8:11 pm Posts: 287 Location: Perpignan, Southern France
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Re: Epiphytes and the Summer Garden
Thanks a lot to share all this knowledge. I would never have guessed Vanda coerulea could grow outside in a temperate climate ! I know Tom the difficulty with plants flowering during the cold season. It's the same with some Aloe or bulbs from the southern hemisphere : Aloe arborescens wiithstands some cold but not the flowers, some Kniphofia ou Chasmanthus aren't interesting for us when flowers occur during cold months. There is an other point : how long the flowers last. Unfortunatly in Europe, there are a lot of people involved in tropical orchids, but few in triing to grow them outside.
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Thu Aug 30, 2012 7:44 am |
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