Toni -- when we lived in Boynton Beach I did the same -- in the ground I had
Phaius, epidendrum radicans, cymbidiums, and vanda terrete. Then I put some
Cattleya into the crotches of shade trees, and they did well. As I
experimented, I planted an Australian tree fern, then tied Cattleya to the
trunk. They liked that and gave me good blooms at least twice a year.
Abell's nursery in Palm Beach County has usually been a good source for
epidendrum radicans, and they gave me the initial idea to install that plant
near the lake shoreline.
As the quality of life in South Florida went downhill, we sold the house and
moved to Highlands County (central Florida) and had to leave most of the
orchids behind. We did take some of the epidendrum radicans, which have
also flourished here. I tried naturalizing cattleyas in our live oak trees,
but they didn't survive a hard winter and a few hurricanes. I do, however,
have a good stand of epidendrum radicans, and my vanda terrete have grown to
be six feet tall climbing up our royal poinciana trees or in our bamboo
grove. The vandas are getting ready to bloom and I'll have a picture on
alt.binaries.pictures.orchids in a few weeks. I've also replanted an
Australian tree fern and tied on a couple of cattleya -- one more try, and
not with expensive plants -- and I have a really nice hanging planter with
an oncidium that's about to bloom with multiple stalks about 4' long.
In general, the plants that I've naturalized here have done better than
those I've kept in pots, although the spathoglottis haven't flourished.
Coincidently, Mounts Botanical Garden (West Palm Beach) is having its spring
plant sale on Sat-Sun, Apr 23-24. This is a big event and there are a
couple of vendors who can give you more advice. One in particular who is
always at the corner of the sidewalk near the pavilion (sorry -- the name
escapes me) has vandas, cattleyas, vanilla orchids and other material and a
lot of advice on orchid care. Go early -- this is always a big event.
It's "neat" being able to live in a place where you can just grow orchids in
a natural setting without devoting a lot of care to them, and those that do
well do as well or better than those in a greenhouse setting. Good luck
with your orchids -- Regards --
"Toni" wrote in message
. ..
Hi all- I am new to the group.
I am wondering if any/many in this group grow all of their orchids
outdoors
in a naturalized setting?
I bought several species many years ago, had rotten luck with them, got
angry and tied them into trees with a "sink or swim" attitude. Wouldn't
you
know it they have done better for me this way than when I kept them babied
in baskets.
Over the years I have collected many more and primarily keep Dendrobiums,
Vandas, a few Cats, Oncydiums, and some Phals- a couple of other odds and
ends but mostly those.
I do feed- when I feed the rest of the garden I slop some
onto the orchids g, but I don't do much more. Mother Nature seems to be
doing pretty well on her own. If it gets cold it gets cold, and if a storm
comes through they just have to hold on- I never detatch any to bring
inside.
In trying to get a feel for this group in the last few days I don't
believe
I have run into anyone else who keeps all their plants exclusively in
trees
and I just have to wonder how well my stories and problems will fit in
here?
Do folks struggling with indoor humidity problems really want to hear
about
my "mount 'em and forget about 'em" plants?
I'm not much of a joiner so don't do clubs, and rarely have the time to
get
to a show- but gardening is my passion and I sure do enjoy sitting outside
gazing up into a tree and seeing fabulous color.
And is there a FAQ available?
Toni
South Florida USA
Zone 10
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