Rain on my plants

[DEC]

I have my plants outside on my patio. I have two racks, one is cats and oncidiums and the other holds phals. The rack with the cats gets more sun, untill about 1pm, and has an overhang above. They seem to be doing well but I'm concerned if they will be affected by a driving rain which will surely get them wet. The Rack that holds the phals is pretty well protected.

[Kmac]

Mine don't seem to be bothered by rain. Maybe if it rained for days at a time...

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Hopefully they will dry off pretty quickly outside. Since you are in Florida, I bet it is much warmer there so hopefull all is well.

Cheers,
BD

[Halloamey]

Dave it depends on the growth stage of the Catts and the time of getting wet. If you plants have well grown hardened growths (mature growths) then getting wet will not bother them as they are covered in protective waxes that help dry off the plant and respire. On the other hard, developing new growths will not tolerate getting wet for long time and water staying in the growth tips or crowns of developing catts is a disaster, they will develop rots, so be careful. Secondly rain in the morning or afternoon is not a problem as it will dry off till the evening, but if it rains mostly at night, then it is not a good sign as the plants will stay wet for the whole night making them susceptible to rots.
And lastly I see you come from Florida where I hear you also have monsoon like showers as in India, very strong rain and wind can easily break of new growth on Catts, so just be careful.

[JDT]

Dave, I live in South Florida and my orchids except for my phals are out doors in a green house and the only time I worry about rain is when we get too much. Because our rainy season is now starting I will now start regular spraying for fungus now until the fall, which at times can be a problem if it is raining all the time, I just fit it in when I can if that is the problem.