Many of the orchids that I have are considered cool growing. But as the hottest days of summer approach, I always worry a little that the heat will be too much for the cool growers. But in the end, I don't do anything special other than to spray down the orc
hids more often. I'm planning to install automated sprinklers to help me with the hot weather, but since I'm by the beach, it's not as hot as it gets more inland. A typical summer day will be in the low 80's. But there are the odd days when the temperatu
re will rise above 90 when we have the Santa Ana winds from inland. Fortunately, cool growing orchids are able to withstand short periods of hot weather. Here are couple photos of some Masdevallias that I have been growing for few years. These photos were taken last year. The photo on the left is of Masdevallia veitchiana "Prince de Gaulle" AM/AOS. The photo on the right is of Masdevallia coccinea "Violacea". Unfortunately, most of my orchids did not flower very well this year since many of them are still recovering from the salt damage. Masdevallias normally flower in the spring time. Hopefully, they will bloom better next year.
hids more often. I'm planning to install automated sprinklers to help me with the hot weather, but since I'm by the beach, it's not as hot as it gets more inland. A typical summer day will be in the low 80's. But there are the odd days when the temperatu
re will rise above 90 when we have the Santa Ana winds from inland. Fortunately, cool growing orchids are able to withstand short periods of hot weather. Here are couple photos of some Masdevallias that I have been growing for few years. These photos were taken last year. The photo on the left is of Masdevallia veitchiana "Prince de Gaulle" AM/AOS. The photo on the right is of Masdevallia coccinea "Violacea". Unfortunately, most of my orchids did not flower very well this year since many of them are still recovering from the salt damage. Masdevallias normally flower in the spring time. Hopefully, they will bloom better next year.
Not only are your flowers beautiful, but you pictures of them are too! Those colors are really something! Not like my crispy brown and dead orchids. Well, not all of them are dead, but none bloom like yours.
ReplyDeleteI bet you can grow your orchids well too. It's just a matter of finding the right combination of growing conditions. I'll post something about that soon.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos and explanations. I would like to know a bit more about what specific problems we have with our local water, besides salt and the obvious fact that we just don't get enough water! Short of using bottled water are there any options?
ReplyDeleteAnd hey, bought that shade cloth yet?
Poor water quality is difficult to fix since you get what you get from the tap. I have considered installing a reverse osmosis water filter to remove the dissolved solids, but it is really an expensive and inefficient solution when I have to water so much. I have experimented with mixing vinegar into the tap water. Since vinegar is an acid, it tends to dissolve the salt build-up in the pots. I don't know if this worked since I didn't see any positive results. But I'm a little suspicious that using the vinegar might have aggravated my later problems with so many orchids dying simultaneously. Maybe it was a coincidence, but I haven't tried it again. The only thing that seems to work is watering often. Really, that might be my only option.
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