Hmm Bill, I would think leaving your Colmanara out for the Winter should provide you with lots of space for smaller type of Orchids - permanently....
Clementine, that must have been one tough Oncidium!
Schomburgkia superbiens is a tough plant, but prolonged freeze will surely kill it too.
I remember that thread where Ed M mentioned this. I will see if I can find the conversation on OSF discussing exactly this issue, growing tropical orchids in our climate outside.

Ursula,here is the link to Ed M.'s comment on Laelia superbiens:

http://forum.theorchidsource.c...

Hi Bill,

I will gladly post a pic of my first bloom Lady Isabel as well as the no-name, feisty Oncidium! lol... it turns out my son will be home this w/e with his camera...

Cool story there about Ed M's orchid, I now know what to do if I ever have any real stubborn bloomers

thanks Clementine!
In the meanwhile - the piece of this plant I mentioned in that thread, actually spiked for me last Fall and then the spikes stopped progressing at about 10 inches, it is a tough one to bloom.
But, leaving it outside here in NJ all Winter will surely kill it. I will simply leave it again longer out in the Fall and scare it a bit.

"I will simply leave it again longer out in the Fall and scare it a bit."

LOL... sounds like a good plan to me... a very nice orchid friend sent me a generous division of Schomburgkia superbiens recently, I adore it and guard it like a hawk every day... I took your advice and mount it in a large size clay pot with no medium... we'll see what it will do for me, but I have all intention to leave it out with the Cym, Den,. Lycaste, etc... until December... when they stay out this late, they are placed against the wall of the house, in a corner where they get protection from strong wind...

I tend to keep most of my orchids outside as long as I can, most of them will stay out until mid Oct., except for Vandas and the warm growers... you can see they are clearly a lot happier and grow much more vigorously during late Spring to Fall...

Great discussion and food for thought!

My Schomburgkia superbiens ( not the alba form, mentioned in the link) blooms without problem, it always spikes at the end of Summer after being outside since May and doesn't have to be chilled like that. It will be able to take cold temps but they are not necessary for it to bloom. Keeping it in FULL SUN is the key for this one.

Same here.

Mine is the alba form Ursula, it seems that it can take colder weather a bit better than the pink form I suppose... my orchid friend, who lives in southern CA, leaves it outside all year round...

Ahh I see. Then it will be fun to compare notes on this!

Can Phalaenopsis lueddemanniana be grown itermediate or cool like hybrid phals? Or does it need warm humid conditions? I just ordered one but now wondering if I should have researched more first.

This one says it is a warm grower.
http://www.orchidspecies.com/p...

I grow it warm and humid with some morning light.

UGH, maybe I should take it off my list then Warm and humid isn't something I can provide easily at this point. My growing area is on the cool side....if I grew it cooler and kept the medium drier is there much of a chance it might do ok?

Orchid Wiki says wither warm or cool, but is wiki reliable? Another site said intermediate.....
Suggestions? I'd hate to order it if its going to croak but if theres a chance it might do ok....

It's hardy here. It is outside in the 40s in fall. My intermediates have a large range (cool to warm) and I usually grow them warm in winter. I'll look on OrchidWiz. It says they grow in the Philippines and the low in Manila is 58 degrees F. I am pushing it lower in fall but it tolerates that.

This is great, it won't go below 58 in the winter so looks like it will do well after all! If it doesn't like it for some reason I can put it on the lightstand where its warmer! I feel like doing the happy dance

I figured you could grow it!

Thanks Kathy, to both you and your enabling!