Orchid Flowers in the Rain.
 

Hello All,

I had a quick question about blooming orchids.

Since I will be taking many of my plants outside for the summer, many will undoubtedly bloom outside.

When in bloom outside, if it rains, will that make the life expectancy of the flowers shorter?

Are the outdoor conditions less hospitable to flowers in terms of making them last for a long time? Am I better off just bringing blooming plants inside for display?

I have also noticed that flowers are not that fragrant is they are not exposed to high light. Is this also true?

I'm not sure about what happens with water hitting flowers all the time. In nature, this definitely happens a lot.

If they dry out relatively quickly, then less chance of molds or spotting etc on the flowers maybe.

As for temperature dependence of fragrance ...... definitely not sure. But I can say that I recently (and still have) this orchid here in flower right now (Click) ----- and it is exposed to high light - quite bright and high light. And whenever a breeze blows over toward me when I'm watering, I get a big hit of the perfume from its flowers. Fortunately it's a nice smelling perfume hahaha. The bright light and temperature didn't affect the performance in the fragrance department for this one.

As for sun hitting the flowers each day ----- I wouldn't be surprised if very high light can do things like make the flowers degrade more quickly then less sun. Maybe similar to sun damage of skin etc ....... that's U.V. damage maybe. Even bleaching of the flower ----- whitening of them over time.

Some blooms definitely don't mind the rain. I have a Phalaenopsis and some Ascocentrums that have bloomed in heavy rain and it didn't seem like the flower lifespan decreased too much. However, I have a Bulbophyllum lepidum with blooms that don't seem to like the rain too much (Blooms normally last around a week, but with the heavy rain, they only lasted for a few days). I suspect that this is because that Bulbophyllum lepidum has thinner flowers. My phalaenopsis and ascocentrum have thicker flowers.

Cold winter rain can damage flowers by encouraging botrytis - unsightly spots. Getting the flowers wet in summer, less of a problem. Still, I suspect that flowers are still better off not getting wet (in nature of course they do, but they can also get rather ratty-looking in nature) A lot of orchids do develop their fragrance in bright light, and the warmth of the day. Some flowers don't even open properly unless they get bright light and warmth. Sun exposure, once the flowers are open, can cause some fading of saturated colors, which might inspire one to move them into a shadier area to improve flower life. Of course there are also the ones like Brassavola nodosa and the various Angraecums that are mostly fragrant at night - their perfume makes sitting on the patio in the evening a delight.

I spend a lot of time at my university greenhouse and the manager has told me he does not baby the orchid blooms when caring for the plants. One thing I can tell you is that water definitely degrades the blooms quicker, especially the larger blooms. Smaller flowers like epidendrums seem fine for the most part, but the catts and other larger flowered plants really take a hit.