Minimum Temperature Errors on Resource Page

[epiphyte]

There are three resources...Cool/Intermediate/Warm Growing Orchids For The Beginner...that incorrectly state minimum temperatures for many of the listed orchids. The resources can be found on the Orchid Resources Page under the Culture Specific section.

In my post Miltonia flavescens in Snow I wrote..."Many epiphytic orchids are considerably more eurythermal than most orchid hobbyists realize." Perhaps part of the reason that most orchid hobbyists are unaware of actual temperature ranges is due to misinformation from the AOS.

In addition to being wildly inaccurate...it's detrimental to our hobby if orchids are maligned as being less hardy than they actually are. Doing so narrows the pool of possible growers. The more hardy that orchids are...the greater the amount of people that can grow them without having to adjust their existing conditions. Having to artificially control temperature is a significant barrier of entry for our hobby.

I'm guessing that the AOS just based the minimum temperatures on popular literature which was written by greenhouse growers who either wrote their literature with other greenhouse growers in mind... or really have no clue as to the actual temperature ranges that orchids are capable of tolerating. My recommendation is to base the minimum temperatures on a survey of growers (Paul Gripp, Andy Phillips, Don Brown, etc.) who do have a good idea of the minimum temperatures that the listed orchids are capable of tolerating.

I only have a few years of outdoor growing experience but the following orchids that are listed in the AOS resources had no problem with this past winter's low of 33F.

On the Cool Page (listed as 50°F Minimum Temperature)

Coleogyne cristata
Coelogyne mooreana
Cymbidium
Prosthechea cochleata
Laelia anceps
Laelia autumnalis
Rhynchostele bictoniensis
Oncidium tigrinum

On the Intermediate Page (listed as 55F Minimum Temperature)

Cattleya loddigesii
Cattleya purpurata
Dendrobium chrysotoxum
Dendrobium moschatum
Dendrobium nobile
Myrmecophila tibicinis

On the Warm Page (listed as 65F Minimum Temperature)

Vanda coerulea
Vanda tricolor

It would probably be helpful to include a sentence or two mentioning that epiphytic orchids generally prefer being drier at the lower end of their temperature range and moister at the upper end of their temperature range.

On a side note...might want to consider the possibility of creating a database of orchid name pronunciation audio files. That way a "listen" icon can be placed next to each orchid name...which when clicked will play the audio file for that orchid.