Almost August! - Orchid Board

Roberta · #1 07-28-2023, 08:15 PM

Summer has finally hit... July was a fantastic month in southern California! Check out Southern California Orchid Species for August

JScott · #2 07-29-2023, 06:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roberta

Summer has finally hit... July was a fantastic month in southern California! Check out Southern California Orchid Species for August

I think August means something very different for you than it does for me hahaha. Here, August is the hottest month of the yeah with temperatures well over 100. I compensate for this by reducing light and increasing water, and that mostly works.

Cattleyas and Phals don't seem to mind. I have one Vanda and it almost seems to enjoy the heat, but to keep it from dehydrating, I place it in a bucked of water every night, and then hang it back on it's hook early every morning. Oncidium intergenerics are a problem tho. I really like them, especially the ones with Miltoniopsis and Odontoglossum in their background, but those are a no go. It's way too hot outside, and if I try to grow them inside, they just languish and eventually die.

Anyway, I'm glad August is a great month for you, but for me, it is an eternal struggle lol.

rbarata · #3 07-29-2023, 07:27 AM

I'm with JScott...although this year has been an exception so far ("cooler" than usual) summer here means to me an increase in "work" regarding plants, in general. Too hot and dry to leave most of them without any attention for more than 2 days.
And tomorrow I'm leaving on holidays for two weeks.

Roberta · #4 07-29-2023, 10:19 AM

August will be pretty unpleasantly warm and humid, even along the coast (if history is any indication, which it may or may not be) Along the coast, it has still been pretty mild, but there are hints of what is to come by mid-day. Actually, we can have some of the highest temps in September into October, with dry winds. But for most of July, inland areas here have been pretty hot. (By "inland", meaning 6 miles/10 km from the ocean)