Orchids suited for South Texas

[MateoinLosAngeles]

Hey Everyone!

My friend lives in the Rio Grande/Brownsville area of Texas, about 20 miles from the coast, and asked me for low-upkeep orchid recommendations to keep outside.

I suggested mounting something like a Brassavola on a well-lit tree, ensuring it doesn't get direct afternoon sun, especially in the summer. Brassavola nodosa is found as a lithophyte growing on beach cliffs in Mexico, and they apparently get sprayed by sea salt and seem to be the least fussy about TDS in the water. I figured with their high humidity and four to seven days of rain a month, the plant could grow without even watering. But being mounted would be an insurance policy if they decide to hose it down frequently.

I wonder if anyone has any other recommendations for this environment. We're talking humidity that stays in the high 80s year-round and temperatures that fluctuate between 50 and 100ºF with potential for heat waves. They don't experience snow, but they did see some during the infamous Texas winter storm in 2021 (if that were to happen, I would recommend they sprinkle the plant so it freezes as it snows). As for water, they have hard to very hard water, around 180 ppm.

My two main concerns when finding an orchid for a place like this are those hot, humid summer days and having hard water, which rules out other Cattleyas and Oncidiums. Having rainfall during winter also might rule out most, if not all, Catasetinae.

Any other recommendations?

[Jmoney]

laelia anceps?

[Dimples]

Reed stem epidendrum? They grow like gangbusters in coastal SD with lower humidity but similar conditions. They’re terrestrial here but I’ve seen some amazing potted colonies.

[Louis_W]

Doesn't sound to me like cattleyas are excluded. Bifoliates and Cattleya purpurata seem like they would work

Definitely anceps

[Roberta]

The water isn't a concern... 180 ppm isn't particularly hard, southern California water is a lot harder.

I agree, L. anceps should be able to tolerate all of the conditions. Most Catts should be fine, protected from direct sun. In case of that rare snow, I'd suggest just covering the plants with a tarp. A string of those "old fashioned" incandescent Christmas tree lights can also give a bit of warmth. Some of the temperature -tolerant Vandas may be OK too in those lows which are rare. They'll love the humidity and the heat, put up with the occasional cold.

In case of freeze, liquid water must be continuously added to maintain temps of 32 deg F/0 deg. C. See Ice . But I would not recommend most Cymbidiums for that climate - they need cooler nights to bloom. Some of the so-called "warmth tolerant" hybrids might work., They can certainly handle the temperatures in both directions.

[greyblackfish]

From what I know of the valley area, it’s more temperate (edit: I meant MILD) than the rest of Texas which makes it more desirable for orchid growing. I don’t know about water hardness there but I used to live in San Antonio and the water is very hard as the area is mainly limestone. I used tap water a lot of times if I couldn’t collect rain water for my orchids. It wasn’t ideal but my orchids did not seem to mind much.

I recommend dendrobiums. They can pretty much stay outside all year under the right amount of light. I do keep mine under the shade of the house on the north west side. It’s ample light for me since the sun here is so bright. There’s no need to protect it from rain if the medium is fast draining. Mine have been blooming very well like this. I live in Houston currently and the cold snaps need to be watched for as they may be harmful. When the nights get below freezing I bring them inside. But the valley area seems to not get that cold. Nor does it get that hot down there. I’ve personally coveted the more ideal conditions down there.

I still keep my cattleya inside but I imagine the ones that are brassavola types may thrive even better there outside.

Long story short, I imagine success is highly likely.

[Roberta]

Much of the Cattleya habitat in Brazil experiences temperature extremes. I have found that most of the Catt species (except for lueddemanniana and dowiana, violacea, and a few others) can tolerate cold down to freezing, at least for a few hours, though they would much rather be warm. Mine would grow better if they were warmer and had more humidity. . I suspect they'd be happy in south Texas even with the occasional chill.

[estación seca]

What are summer nights like there? Hot summer nights are great for some orchids and terrible for others.

[greyblackfish]

Summers are hot and humid. There truly are so many things to consider. I did put my more mature cattleyas outside this year. The Walkeriana hybrids are liking it but some of the others dropped some older leaves. It has been a very hot summer.