If you havent lived in the northern US you wouldnt know how easily all 500
of your orchids could be turned to ice with only 5 or 6 living thru it. You
live in south florida. I lived in Lakeland in central Florida for 3 years so
I have a good idea of what your winters are like. I grew up in Indiana and
have seen temperatures go from just above freezing to -20 while I slept.
Combined with some 50 mph winds that will turn a poorly heated green house
into a plant graveyard. Thats not all that common in central Indiana but
farther north in Michigan it is normal winter weather. So I think the
overkill may be more like insurance. And there might be a different survival
rate for plants that were exposed overnite like yours and plants exposed to
cold temps for weeks at a time

Roger In Indy
"Kenni Judd" wrote in message
...
At the risk of getting into all kinds of trouble ...

It sounds to me like lots of you are wasting a lot of $$ on excess heat.
I know many of you have longer, colder winters than we do. But
even here in South Florida, we _do_ get some cold nights. As a business,
we heat to 55F (lots of reasons, most of which wouldn't apply to a hobby
grower)..

But most of our hobby-grower customers don't worry about heating above
40F, nor did we in our backyard days. Now, it does pay to keep in mind
that
weather prediction is at best an inexact science -- I will never forget
the night I went to bed after an 11 pm prediction of a 49F low, only to
wake up and find
it 37F on my partially-enclosed porch the next morning. No thermometer in
the detached shadehouse, but undoubtedly some degrees colder. Everything
was set back for a full year, a few things took 2 years to get back on
track, and I
totally lost 5-6 plants (out of about 500). So if you need to turn
something on, or if your heating method is to bring your plants inside
your home, you need to act if the low is predicted to be 55F -- that
prediction could be off by 12 or more degrees.

Certainly, there are a few plants which are inherently "extra-sensitive"
to cold, along with those in spike/bud/bloom. But you don't have to heat
your whole growing area to accommodate those few, if you have them. If
bringing them inside with you is not a good option, then create one small
"extra-warm" zone for those few, and then lower your general thermostat to
something like 45F.

And then next spring, come spend your utility savings with us G.

--
Kenni Judd
Juno Beach Orchids