I'm in New England, and my orchid society is having a show next week.
They're asking for members to bring plants. I've got some phals and a
cattleya that are showable, but they are all in S/H. Keeping plants
warm in the car is no problem. However, the show location, a large
room, is likely to be cold because the outside doors will be open when
people bring in the staging for the setup and vendors unload their
plants.

So, does anyone have any advice on this? Should I keep the reservoirs
full, or empty them? Is it likely that this experience will negatively
impact my plants--or even kill them?

OrchidKitty wrote:
I'm in New England, and my orchid society is having a show next week.
They're asking for members to bring plants. I've got some phals and a
cattleya that are showable, but they are all in S/H. Keeping plants
warm in the car is no problem. However, the show location, a large
room, is likely to be cold because the outside doors will be open when
people bring in the staging for the setup and vendors unload their
plants.

So, does anyone have any advice on this? Should I keep the reservoirs
full, or empty them? Is it likely that this experience will negatively
impact my plants--or even kill them?


First, I wouldn't worry too much. You have spent considerable time,
money, and emotion on your plants, and you deserve the opportunity to
show them off to other people. Cold and cool are two different things.
The plants you have will tolerate temperatures that feel quite cool to
you. People take orchids to shows all the time, and they wouldn't do it
if they killed their prized plants.

That said, a show is stressful to a plant. Moving a plant from one
window to another is probably a little stressful too. But neither is so
stressful that you need to worry about long term effects. Sometimes
flower life is shortened a bit (I lost some nice phal flowers at the
last show, but that was set up in a blizzard). The plants are fine though.

If you are careful in getting your plants to the car, and from the car
to indoors at the show, that will eliminate most of the problems. I
wouldn't move plants without some sort of covering in low temperatures
(anything below 40 is low to me). Even on very short trips. Lots of
people assume that the distance is short so it won't make a difference.
Maybe that is true most of the time, but I don't take the chance. A
garbage bag over a box works well.

I've seen plants in semi-hydro at shows. Usually the exhibitors take a
bit of tape and close off the drainage holes to prevent leaks. I think
that is probably better than draining all of the liquid out. I'd guess
that plants in this system will tolerate shows a bit better than those
in traditional potting mix, but that is just a guess.

Remember that just because you don't have any unwanted critters on your
plants, it doesn't mean that the rest of the exhibitors are clean. You
will want to isolate your plants when you get them home for a week or
so, and maybe spray them with alcohol or soap solution just in case. If
that sounds like too much bother, then at least keep an eye on them.

--
Rob's Rules: http://www.msu.edu/~halgren
1) There is always room for one more orchid
2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a) See rule 1
3) When one has insufficient credit to obtain more
orchids, obtain more credit

LittlefrogFarm - Growing the plants Rob likes. )

Rob Halgren wrote:
OrchidKitty wrote:
I'm in New England, and my orchid society is having a show next
week.
They're asking for members to bring plants. I've got some phals and
a
cattleya that are showable, but they are all in S/H. Keeping plants
warm in the car is no problem. However, the show location, a large
room, is likely to be cold because the outside doors will be open
when
people bring in the staging for the setup and vendors unload their
plants.

So, does anyone have any advice on this? Should I keep the
reservoirs
full, or empty them? Is it likely that this experience will
negatively
impact my plants--or even kill them?


First, I wouldn't worry too much. You have spent considerable
time,
money, and emotion on your plants, and you deserve the opportunity to

show them off to other people. Cold and cool are two different
things.
The plants you have will tolerate temperatures that feel quite cool
to
you. People take orchids to shows all the time, and they wouldn't do
it
if they killed their prized plants.

That said, a show is stressful to a plant. Moving a plant from one
window to another is probably a little stressful too. But neither is
so
stressful that you need to worry about long term effects. Sometimes
flower life is shortened a bit (I lost some nice phal flowers at the
last show, but that was set up in a blizzard). The plants are fine
though.

If you are careful in getting your plants to the car, and from the
car
to indoors at the show, that will eliminate most of the problems. I
wouldn't move plants without some sort of covering in low
temperatures
(anything below 40 is low to me). Even on very short trips. Lots of

people assume that the distance is short so it won't make a
difference.
Maybe that is true most of the time, but I don't take the chance.
A
garbage bag over a box works well.

I've seen plants in semi-hydro at shows. Usually the exhibitors
take a
bit of tape and close off the drainage holes to prevent leaks. I
think
that is probably better than draining all of the liquid out. I'd
guess
that plants in this system will tolerate shows a bit better than
those
in traditional potting mix, but that is just a guess.

Remember that just because you don't have any unwanted critters on
your
plants, it doesn't mean that the rest of the exhibitors are clean.
You
will want to isolate your plants when you get them home for a week or

so, and maybe spray them with alcohol or soap solution just in case.
If
that sounds like too much bother, then at least keep an eye on them.

Thanks Rob, you've eased my mind. Temps will probably be in the 30s on
the day of the show, and I definitely will keep them covered on the way
there, and probably until they are placed on the display. I hadn't
thought of covering the drain holes with tape--good tip! Keeping the
plants isololated is a bit of a problem, so I'll definitely clean them
up when they get home.

Tilt the pots and drain out as much water as you can. The pellets
won't go dusty dry over that short of period, and if they do the plant
won't notice for at least another week or two.

On 10 Feb 2005 05:10:12 -0800, "OrchidKitty"
wrote:

I'm in New England, and my orchid society is having a show next week.
They're asking for members to bring plants. I've got some phals and a
cattleya that are showable, but they are all in S/H. Keeping plants
warm in the car is no problem. However, the show location, a large
room, is likely to be cold because the outside doors will be open when
people bring in the staging for the setup and vendors unload their
plants.

So, does anyone have any advice on this? Should I keep the reservoirs
full, or empty them? Is it likely that this experience will negatively
impact my plants--or even kill them?

I double the S/H pot to take things to shows. That is I just
drop the pot into another and keep the holes NOT aligned. then
they don't drip on anything and the plant has its home water.
The second pot is a touch of insulation... not that it is needed.
But it is easier than tape and draining is a pain. Something
always drips even after it is drained. This way there is a
catcher and nothing has ever leaked. Pull off the second pot
when I get home and it is ready to go back into the gh.
SuE
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/albums.php

Thanks! Sounds like an easy do.

DD