How long can orchids tolerate being in postage
 

Hi. I ordered some Oncidium hyrbrids. They were despatched by post last Monday - delivery was scheduled for last Wednesday or Thursday. They’re still not delivered, and the tracing app indicates they are not due any time soon. Apparently these delays are system-wide and Coronavirus related.

Fortunately the weather has been fair - say 15 Celsius at night and 22 Celsius by day.

Given these conditions and assuming they are stored in the shade, how long can orchids tolerate being in transit? Am I going to receive a bunch of dead orchids?

Cheers
Arron

Hi Arron. Not too long ago, due to the post and possibly covid slow-down reasons, one orchid took about 10 days in the post! Surprisingly, no problem. It just depends on whether the packer is experienced or not. We probably don't get the same issues like in some parts of USA etc, where freezing temperatures can lead to disaster. As long as the packer doesn't make the roots or media like super soggy etc, then it should be fine.

Normally, when a seller posts on a Monday, the orchid usually gets to me by at most Friday. But due to covid etc, I have noticed the orchids take longer!

Arron ----- I forgot to mention that - I currently have three orchids coming from different places down south - currently in transit. Two from NSW and one from SA.

They're probably going to be taking more than 7 days to get to my place.

I just received 3 Catasetums from Qld to country town SA via Express post sent Monday arrived Friday. Considering all thats going on and that everything goes to Adelaide first Im happy with that time frame.

Hope your plants arrive soon....and safely.

Ok. So it seems we are all buying orchids to cheer us up during lockdown.

The longest I have ever had incoming plants be in-transit was three weeks. It was an international shipment, so they were bare-root.

The phalaenopsis species were severely desiccated and one succumbed, but anything with pseudobulbs was fine.

Absolutely. We need some cheerfulness in our lives at the moment.
Also I would like to support the orchid nurseries.