Starting 2016 with weather like we have been having, unseasonably warm and very wet, may seem to be rather good. There are, however, consequences if this carries on until Spring. As you can see in the pictures, growth may have slowed down, but it has not stopped.
What seems to be happening, both in pots and in the ground is that the orchids are producing shoots as they would later, but not opening up the leaves as the days are too short to stimulate it. This will happen later on, and it may be that there is a bumper years growth. What concerns me is that these elongating shoots may be hit hard by any prolonged frost that we have over the next three months. While we can protect the plants in pots it is not so easy in the meadow where we do not known plant positions until the leaves break out.
All this is both interesting and important to orchid growers, but the weather could be of even greater significance to fruit growers that need a minimum number of low temperature days to set the fruit. Without this drop in temperature we could all be facing a poor fruit harvest this year.
In the meantime a very Happy New Year and we are on track to have a splendid collection of new species on our list in the near future.
All this is both interesting and important to orchid growers, but the weather could be of even greater significance to fruit growers that need a minimum number of low temperature days to set the fruit. Without this drop in temperature we could all be facing a poor fruit harvest this year.
In the meantime a very Happy New Year and we are on track to have a splendid collection of new species on our list in the near future.
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