The Orchid Garden

Orchids damaged by heat.

Question:

First orchid I bought in Florida I  put  in the back of the car, got groceries, and by the time I got home the orchid was cooked.  Summer is not the time to buy, move, or give them an auto vacation.   K – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have done a most embarrassing and disastrous thing – have probably destroyed my small but precious collection – phals, dens, oncidiums and cattleya. I had put them all in the car intending to move them later but got busy doing something else and forgot about them. They were exposed to temperatures in excess of 120F for a couples of hours I bet and looked pretty sorry when I retrieved them. That was 4 days ago and they are looking progressively worse – the oncidiums in particular. The higher leaves died off quickly and this seems to be spreading down the plants into what had appeared to be unaffected areas. I think the roots protected by the medium are still Ok but maybe it just takes them longer to die? What are my chances of saving anything – has anyone else had experience in this field of stupidity? Come on there’s got to be plenty of you who’ve cooked some plants in the greenhouse occasionally or am I the only idiot in Orchid land? And yes I know they don’t like temps above 80F! Brumman —

Response:

Derek: I had a related but similar problem this winter.  Don’t despair, all may not be lost. In my case, I had a furnace blow while I was away on vacation for a week.  I live in New Hampshire and everything got pretty frosty.  Most of my orchids sustained some damage, some I was able to notice right away, some took a while.  Some oncidiums, phals, and dens lost all their leaves and I was going to dump them in the compost heap, but the roots kind of looked ok, so I just let them sit there and watered on my usual schedule.  [aside: I also took this opportunity to try Jerry's Grow for the first time with a little SuperThrive for good luck.]  Lo and behold, every single one of these plants has either keiki’d or put out new growth.  ’Course, it’ll be years before any of these bloom again (if I can keep them alive that long). – Michael – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have done a most embarrassing and disastrous thing – have probably destroyed my small but precious collection – phals, dens, oncidiums and cattleya. I had put them all in the car intending to move them later but got busy doing something else and forgot about them. They were exposed to temperatures in excess of 120F for a couples of hours I bet and looked pretty sorry when I retrieved them. That was 4 days ago and they are looking progressively worse – the oncidiums in particular. The higher leaves died off quickly and this seems to be spreading down the plants into what had appeared to be unaffected areas. I think the roots protected by the medium are still Ok but maybe it just takes them longer to die? What are my chances of saving anything – has anyone else had experience in this field of stupidity? Come on there’s got to be plenty of you who’ve cooked some plants in the greenhouse occasionally or am I the only idiot in Orchid land? And yes I know they don’t like temps above 80F! Brumman —

Response:

Thanks Michael for the information.  Although I have not had this problem (low temp reach 34 degrees a few years ago when my greenhouse flooded), this is inspiration to those who have met a blow due to hot or cold weather. . . . Pam Everything Orchid Management System http://www.pe.net/~profpam/page3.html – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Derek: I had a related but similar problem this winter.  Don’t despair, all may not be lost. In my case, I had a furnace blow while I was away on vacation for a week.  I live in New Hampshire and everything got pretty frosty.  Most of my orchids sustained some damage, some I was able to notice right away, some took a while.  Some oncidiums, phals, and dens lost all their leaves and I was going to dump them in the compost heap, but the roots kind of looked ok, so I just let them sit there and watered on my usual schedule.  [aside: I also took this opportunity to try Jerry's Grow for the first time with a little SuperThrive for good luck.]  Lo and behold, every single one of these plants has either keiki’d or put out new growth.  ’Course, it’ll be years before any of these bloom again (if I can keep them alive that long). – Michael I have done a most embarrassing and disastrous thing – have probably destroyed my small but precious collection – phals, dens, oncidiums and cattleya. I had put them all in the car intending to move them later but got busy doing something else and forgot about them. They were exposed to temperatures in excess of 120F for a couples of hours I bet and looked pretty sorry when I retrieved them. That was 4 days ago and they are looking progressively worse – the oncidiums in particular. The higher leaves died off quickly and this seems to be spreading down the plants into what had appeared to be unaffected areas. I think the roots protected by the medium are still Ok but maybe it just takes them longer to die? What are my chances of saving anything – has anyone else had experience in this field of stupidity? Come on there’s got to be plenty of you who’ve cooked some plants in the greenhouse occasionally or am I the only idiot in Orchid land? And yes I know they don’t like temps above 80F! Brumman —

Response:

Yep, those Orchids are lots tougher than most people give them credit for. Here in New Orleans, heat is a constant problem (too much of a good thing). I have a small window a/c unit that keeps the "cool" part of my greenhouse a pleasant 85 degrees or so during the day. However, there are times when it’s off and temps can easily reach 100. I’ve found that with plenty of watering/misting (not to the point of causing root/crown rot however), my real concern is too much direct sun and burning. I think you probably have a similar problem there by the desert. As long as most plants aren’t severely burnt or dried out by extended exposure to high heat, they usually come back. Also, though there are limits, over time most plants can acclimate to a much wider temperature range than the one found in their normal habitat.                                      Bob C.

Response:

Thanks for your encouraging message Michael. I guess frost damage in terms of cellular breakdown is similar to being boiled! You are right too about the damage to the Dendrobiums taking longer to show and although everything looks ghastly now I am encouraged by the look of the visible roots and lower level stem tissue – I think they will survive! Why should yours not bloom again soon after all you probably have the root sytems and growing points of mature plants. That’s what I’m banking on.:-) Brumman (Derek A)

Response:

Well, Derek, mine were done in with the full knowledge that I might lose all my collection. I could find no transport for my collection from So. Cal. to Olympia Wa. Everything went into the moving van on probably what was the hottest week I could have moved. I guess the outside temps were in the 90s up thru Eugene Or. And it took eight days! The inside of the van must have reach 110 degrees if not hotter. The result? All Milts died and ten others. Lost two more today. As for the rest which is like your collection, it was unpack as soon as possible, sugar water, then super thrive. I’ve got the Paphs and Phrags in the house giving them special care. Frankly, I’m amazed that any of them came thru, but time will tell. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have done a most embarrassing and disastrous thing – have probably destroyed my small but precious collection – phals, dens, oncidiums and cattleya. I had put them all in the car intending to move them later but got busy doing something else and forgot about them. They were exposed to temperatures in excess of 120F for a couples of hours I bet and looked pretty sorry when I retrieved them. That was 4 days ago and they are looking progressively worse – the oncidiums in particular. The higher leaves died off quickly and this seems to be spreading down the plants into what had appeared to be unaffected areas. I think the roots protected by the medium are still Ok but maybe it just takes them longer to die? What are my chances of saving anything – has anyone else had experience in this field of stupidity? Come on there’s got to be plenty of you who’ve cooked some plants in the greenhouse occasionally or am I the only idiot in Orchid land? And yes I know they don’t like temps above 80F! Brumman —

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Response:

I have done a most embarrassing and disastrous thing – have probably destroyed my small but precious collection – phals, dens, oncidiums and cattleya. I had put them all in the car intending to move them later but got busy doing something else and forgot about them. They were exposed to temperatures in excess of 120F for a couples of hours I bet and looked pretty sorry when I retrieved them. That was 4 days ago and they are looking progressively worse – the oncidiums in particular. The higher leaves died off quickly and this seems to be spreading down the plants into what had appeared to be unaffected areas. I think the roots protected by the medium are still Ok but maybe it just takes them longer to die? What are my chances of saving anything – has anyone else had experience in this field of stupidity? Come on there’s got to be plenty of you who’ve cooked some plants in the greenhouse occasionally or am I the only idiot in Orchid land? And yes I know they don’t like temps above 80F! Brumman —

Response:

Well, I did have a customer who bought a Phal for his wife on Valentines day which she planted outside in her garden the next day so it could grow with her tulips and daffodils…..which means it was exposed to below freezing temperatures and full sun and cold frozen dirt.  She seemed quite upset that I had not warned her husband to tell her it was a house plant.  I now get strange looks from customers when I tell them NOT to plant their Phal orchids outside in their gardens. I guess this doesn’t really help you with your problem though… I think you will lose most of the plants exposed to this high temperature over the next few weeks.  On the other hand some might survive.   I think you will see all leaves drop off, but dormant buds might grow up from the rhizomes which in a few years may produce a blooming size plant again… Al

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have done a most embarrassing and disastrous thing – have probably destroyed my small but precious collection – phals, dens, oncidiums and cattleya. I had put them all in the car intending to move them later but got busy doing something else and forgot about them. They were exposed to temperatures in excess of 120F for a couples of hours I bet and looked pretty sorry when I retrieved them. That was 4 days ago and they are looking progressively worse – the oncidiums in particular. The higher leaves died off quickly and this seems to be spreading down the plants into what had appeared to be unaffected areas. I think the roots protected by the medium are still Ok but maybe it just takes them longer to die? What are my chances of saving anything – has anyone else had experience in this field of stupidity? Come on there’s got to be plenty of you who’ve cooked some plants in the greenhouse occasionally or am I the only idiot in Orchid land? And yes I know they don’t like temps above 80F! Brumman —

Response:

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