Introduction and Inquiry

Hello Jane,
I'm from Germany, even here these orchids are difficult to grow artificially. When the plant is dormant, it should be kept cool and damp but not wet. It is very warm there. I would recommend a refrigerator with a temperature of 3 ° Celsius. After 3 months of rest, the refrigerator can be set to 5-6 °. As soon as a shoot appears, you can put the pot in a shady, cool place.

 

First, Welcome!
I started watering my terrestrials at the beginning of October this year, because weather was fairly cool (and they received some rain in early October which is quite unusual). In warmer years, I don't even start until toward the end of the month. We have a spell of warm weather right now but not too bad so I think I'm OK... nights are cool. And today I saw a bit of green just starting. If it were hotter I'd worry that I started too soon. But that's the criterion I use in southern California... I really don't want them sprouting and then getting a blast of hot, dry winds that are typical in late September and into October. When in doubt, it is better to wait a bit... they will catch up and be growing well when the weather is optimum. (Long Beach and coastal Orange County are cooler than La Mesa and other inland areas, so all the more reason to not rush to start watering)

I have been growing the European (and some Australian) terrestrials for 4 or 5 years, and success rate has been pretty good. The climate in southern California is near-perfect... the main thing that distinguishes our climate from their natural Mediterranean habitat is that I think we get less rain... that is why we have hoses.

Sabinchen, the more northern species, that grow in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the rest of central Europe are more difficult where I (and Jane) live, since our winters don't get cold enough (and probably they do want more water during dormant periods). But the ones that grow in the Mediterranean region (Greece, Turkey, Italy, southern France, Spain, etc.) feel right at home outdoors, with long, dry, warm spring/summer/fall. After blooming in the spring (February, March, sometimes April) they go dormant (I give no water at all and Mother Nature doesn't either), and don't wake up until close to November (depending on exactly when we start watering them, rain is far too unreliable to depend upon)