In the Garden Articles

Growing Orchids Outdoors

by Joan S. Bolton

Are all orchids temperamental hothouse beauties?

Certainly some of the exotic plants will perish if not kept in perfect greenhouse conditions. But a handful of types are completely content to grow outdoors on the Central Coast. Give them the right setting and attention, and they'll reward you with years of exquisite blooms.

Cymbidiums are great starter plants, as they're nearly bulletproof in our climate. Once you've grown a few, you'll find that their tongue-twisting companions -- Dendrobiums, Cattleya hybrids, Laelias and Stanhopeas -- thrive with similar care.

Cymbidium

These bulbous plants bear stiff, sword-like leaves and tall, thick stalks of long-lasting, globe-shaped flowers. Traditional varieties grow 3 to 4 feet tall and bloom in pastel shades of pink, yellow and white. But newer breeding has resulted in flowers in deeper tones of red, bronze and burgundy, and sizes ranging from dainty "teacup" plants only 12 inches tall, spike included, all the way up to 5 feet tall.

Breeders are also extending the bloom season.

"They start as early as September with the fragrant, fall-blooming varieties. They end as late as June with the madidum varieties from Australia," said Wayne Ferrell, general manager of Santa Barbara Orchid Estate, which specializes in outdoor orchids. "There's quite a long season for Cymbidiums."

In the garden, the best spot is one that receives bright, filtered light most of the day, or early morning light or late afternoon light, along with filtered light mid-day.

Also, keep the plants in pots, which should contain bark, cocoa fiber or some other fast-draining mix.

"In their native habitat, they're terrestrial, so they prefer an open mix," Ferrell said, adding that if you plant them in the ground, you risk rotting out their thick, crusty pseudobulbs.

Gene Baum of Lompoc has grown orchids in Santa Barbara County since the 1950s. Also the outgoing president of the Coastal Valley Orchid Society, he grows his Cymbidiums beneath a translucent fiberglass roof, which he has painted with special greenhouse paint to reduce all-day sunshine to 50 percent.

"The main mistake people make is not giving them enough light," said Baum. "In a house, even a south-facing window is not bright, compared to the outdoors... If they say they can't get them to bloom, it's because they put them on the north side of their house, or under a real dense tree."

It's fine to bring your plants indoors while they're in bloom. But put them back outside afterwards.

"Cymbidiums initiate their flower spikes in late summer, early fall, ideally when it drops into the 50(s at night," Baum said. "You have to have that differential, between day and night. It's perfect here, unless you keep them in the house."

Baum waters his Cymbidiums about every 10 days during winter and twice a week during summer.

In warm, windy summertime, it's almost impossible to overwater unless the medium is peat moss," he added.

Dendrobium

Two species of Dendrobiums from Australia bloom magnificently here.

Dendrobium speciosum bears pale yellow, fragrant flowers in such abundance that a cluster of flower spikes looks much like a feathery boa. But the plant takes 10 to 12 years to reach blooming size, so single, first-bloom plants may cost over $100 apiece, Baum said. Or you can buy a younger plant and wait it out.

Or look for Dendrobium kingianum and its many permutations, most all of which bear fragrant lavender flowers and bloom fast.

"Divide them and immediately they bloom every year. They're cheap, $10 and up," said Baum. "They're a great outdoors plant. Speciosum and kingianum are probably even hardier than Cymbidiums. They're evergreen. They grow in the same conditions."

"Really, we kind of joke that we give plants boarding house care. They're going to get watered along the same lines as the Cymbidiums," Ferrell said.

Likewise, it's best to keep your Dendrobiums in pots. Ferrell said that in nature, Dendrobiums are lithophytes, which means they grow on rocks. Impeccable drainage is key.

Cattleya Hybrids

Depending on the hybrid, these plump, luscious corsage orchids may or may not be outdoor growers. Before you fall in love with a particular plant, confirm its temperature tolerance to make sure it's adapted to the outdoors.

A good clue is whether the plant is from Brazil or has "intermedia" in its breeding background, Ferrell said.

"Definitely we have probably 15 to 30 of the large-flower Cattleyas that took all the (recent) cold we had. In our shade house, it was 28 degrees," he said.

Also consider Laeliocattleyas, which are crosses between Laelias and Cattleyas.

"Cold-growing Laelia. That brings the temperature tolerance into the Cattleya cross," Baum said.

Excellent drainage is again important, so don't plant your Cattleyas in the ground. But because they don't have over-sized pseudobulbs like Cymbidiums, Cattleyas can also be mounted on boards or planted in hanging baskets, with their pendulous blossoms dangling over the sides.

Provide the same once or twice a week watering regimen. For show-quality blooms, keep irrigation water and rain off the flowers. Ferrell advises a translucent ceiling, rather than leaving the plants open to the sky.

"The only thing with them is that you don't want to get the flower wet at night. Then they'll spot. They're vulnerable to that," he said. .

Laelia

These orchids are the original tree-huggers: they're epiphytes and literally love to grow on trees.

Laelia anceps bears frilly flowers that are similar to Cattleyas (remember that Laelia-Cattleya connection). It's native to highlands in Mexico and Guatemala.

"That is one that's great for adapting to trees," Ferrell said. "Get a division when it's putting out new roots and mount it with U-shaped nails. The nails won't hurt the tree. Over the next few months, it will root out, then you can take out the nails."

Ferrell said oaks, queen palms, yuccas or any other evergreen tree that provides bright, filtered light will work. Some growers place a clump of sphagnum moss between the Laelia's roots and the tree. But Ferrell advises against it, noting that it promotes rot.

While Laelia anceps blooms in fall, Baum said Laelia purpurata and Laelia tenebrosa bear summer flowers. They're from temperate regions in Brazil.

"They're very hardy. You can buy really fantastic ones. They're very inexpensive," he said. "Purpurata and tenebrosa are just spectacular. They're a bigger flower than an anceps, but on a shorter spike."

Stanhopea

Even compared with other exotic orchids, Stanhopeas rank high on the weirdness scale. Their succulent flowers are splashed, dashed and dotted with contrasting colors. Even more strange: they grow down, rather than up.

We grow them in a wire basket or slatted wood basket and line the basket with green moss," Ferrell said. "In the middle of the summer, these big spikes come out of the bottom... They're very sharp at the tip until they open, so they pierce the moss. They're big bulb things. They open with these incredibly remarkably looking prehistoric flowers that are extremely fragrant. You can smell them from 20 to 30 feet away."

errell describes the fragrance as "very pungent -- not a rotten meat smell."

Stanhopeas typically start at $25; ones already planted in baskets may be $50 and up. Despite those outward peculiarities, their care is just like that of Cymbidiums: bright, filtered light, and watering once or twice a week.

Where to Buy Outdoor Orchids

Buy local, advises Lompoc orchid hobbyist Gene Baum. That way, you're assured that your new beauty will actually grow in your own backyard. Baum suggests the following nurseries:

Cal-Orchid, 1251 Orchid Drive, Santa Barbara, 805/967-1312

Chaotic Exotics Orchids, 5375 Campbell Road, Lompoc, 805/736-0040

Gallup & Stribling Orchids, 3450 Via Real, Carpinteria, 805/684-1998

Orchids of Los Osos, 1614 Sage Avenue, Los Osos, 805/528-0181 or 888/333-0181

Santa Barbara Orchid Estate, 1250 Orchid Drive, Santa Barbara, 805/967-1284 or 800/553-3387

SLO Gardens Orchids, 955 Branch Mill Road, Arroyo Grande, 805/489-3319

Seeds of Wisdom

When it comes to fertilizing your outdoor orchids, Wayne Ferrell, general manager of Santa Barbara Orchid Estate, says to keep it simple. For Cymbidiums and other potted orchids, he recommends a single, annual application of a balanced, slow-release granular fertilizer like Osmocote around the first of the year.

For mounted orchids, he advises spraying the roots with a diluted, water-soluble fertilizer during most waterings. Half a teaspoon of a 7-9-5 or 20-10-20 to a gallon of water will do, he said.