Winter temperature range?

[sweaver24]

I've been reading through a lot of the posts in this section in an attempt to get an idea of what is an ideal temperature range for such a large genus as paphiopedilum. Is a nighttime winter low of 50 F too low for many or most paphs? I know that for the species I grow (micranthum, delenatii, malapoense and vietnamense) this is fine, but for the multiflorals and complex hybrids, I'm not quite sure. Any feedback regarding minimum winter temperature tolerances will be much appreciated.

Steve

 

[Rick]

I used to let my GH get down to mid 50's but now 60 is my bottom end.

I have some of the South Pacific stuff like sangii, papuanum, mastersianum, that I don't think would appreciate the cooler temps.

That and most of my phalaes.

So maybe some of the parvis would like it better, but they seem fine otherwise. My delenatii do great at the temp regime I offer.

 

[NYEric]

micranthum is OK at cool, delenatii and vietnamense like warmer. Some of the multis and Polys need near steamy conditions.

 

[sweaver24]

Thanks, guys. I've apparently been torturing most of my paphs during the winter months over the past several years. I'll move them (except the micranthums) into the interior of the house at night (and ask them to forgive me for leaving them out with the cymbidiums).

 

[NYEric]

You'll be lucky if they don't attack you while you sleep!

 

[sweaver24]

I have an attack pug to keep me safe. Every time I open the sunroom door he trots out there to see if anything edible has materialized. My heart skipped a beat earlier this morning when I caught him licking the sugary deposits off of the developing Cymbidium tracyanum buds. I imagine that if I left one of the paphs on the floor he would at least attempt to nibble a leaf or two to sample it.

 

[NYEric]

Attack pig!?!?

 

[sweaver24]

Yes, that's probably a fair assessment of him.

 

[NYEric]

We have a feline one of those!

 

[Paphluvr]

Here's a good link that should tell you everything you need to know.

http://www.goreorchids.com/CatalogAndInfo/Cultural-Information.html

 

[Eric Muehlbauer]

50 is fine for most parvi's, most insigne types, some of the multi's (roth, parishii)...but I have found all paphs to be very cold tolerant as long as temperatures are above 39.

 

[Stone]

Lance Birk's book is a good start as it states the summer and winter day and night temps for all the species. Tanaka's website has good info on the temps for the parvis and the brachys. I think delenatii should be warmer than other parvis as it comes from south central Vietnam while all the others are from the north.

 

[sweaver24]

Thank you, everyone! The websites and book you mentioned are where I'll do some research.

 

[Tom499]

I've found they'll be do okay at those cooler temps, as long as you keep them a tad dryer. Of course, they don't have much in the way of moisture storage, so you have to be careful.

 

[Chicago Chad]

Steve- concerning your night time low temps:

In one room/ one terrarium I have an array of paphs that are going as low as 50F. There are MFs like gigantifolium, Johannna Burkhardt, others like sangii, barbigerum, a flask I compotted on Sunday of helenae and another of Wossner Black Wings. Plus I have a few phrags in there too along with hangianums, micranthums, thaianum and armeniacums.

I would imagine, under ideal culture these would be separated by temperature needs. In real life this is not feasible for me. My results are of zero loss and ample growth. Even the hangianums are growing rapidly, much faster than advertised.

In the summer temps get up over 70F at night and gradually swing down to what they are now. As long as it is a smooth transition I haven't had any issues with any of them.

 

[sweaver24]

Thank you, Tom and Chad. I think I'm going to leave them out in the sunroom at night--which beats shuttling them into the pantry off the kitchen every night and then back out to the sunroom during the day. Good to know that they're more adaptable than maybe the literature gives them credit for being.

 

[Chicago Chad]

No problem Steve. I have done the daily shuffle back and forth before with about 100 paphs. It's a nightmare. I did it for watering, light or temps. I found that they were much happier not be jostled around so much. Especially with the seedlings that may not have established themselves.

It's pretty frustrating knocking over a newly made compot with 1" seedlings or breaking a spike. If your temps drop more or if they show signs of slowing down too much, I would try a heat mat. Hydroponic growers and reptile guys do it all the time with good results.

 

[sweaver24]

Yeah, I would have some few choice words for myself if I knocked over a flat or compot of seedlings. A heat mat is a good idea. Fortunately it's a four-season sunroom, so I can control the heat. But I have too many orchids that prefer (or require) cool winter nights to be raising the temps for half a dozen plants. I'll just sneak them into the pantry when my partner's not paying attention to avoid another what-in-god's-name-are-you-doing-now look.

 

[Eric Muehlbauer]

In terms of delanatii...while it is a warm grower in general, cold temps help them set buds...so even though I grow mine at room temperature, I leave them out until the temps drop below 50. I would think they would do well enough with a longer cool period.