{"id":22673,"date":"2016-06-17T21:12:12","date_gmt":"2016-06-18T05:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/?p=22673"},"modified":"2016-07-31T09:31:28","modified_gmt":"2016-07-31T17:31:28","slug":"orchids-love-fog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/2016\/06\/17\/orchids-love-fog\/","title":{"rendered":"Orchids Love Fog"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Orchids love fog. That&#8217;s one reason why the Northern California coast is a great place <a href=\"http:\/\/aboutorchids.com\/care\/details\/outdoor.html\">to grow orchids outdoors<\/a>. Frequent fog, especially in areas closest to the ocean, creates a perfect <a href=\"http:\/\/aboutorchids.com\/care\/details\/humidity.html\">humid climate<\/a> for cool growers.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Fog_in_Pacifica_800px.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-25313 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Fog_in_Pacifica_800px-128x96.jpg\" alt=\"Fog in Pacifica California, fog moving in from ocean, Highway 1 at bottom right of photo, part of Montara Mountain in the distance\" width=\"128\" height=\"96\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Fog_in_Pacifica_800px-128x96.jpg 128w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Fog_in_Pacifica_800px-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Fog_in_Pacifica_800px-768x576.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Fog_in_Pacifica_800px.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 128px) 100vw, 128px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Transamerica_Pyramid_and_fog_800px.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-25318 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Transamerica_Pyramid_and_fog_800px-96x128.jpg\" alt=\"Fog coming in above the Transamerica Pyramid, looking up to the top of the pyramid from ground level with trees in foreground, San Francisco, California\" width=\"96\" height=\"128\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Transamerica_Pyramid_and_fog_800px-96x128.jpg 96w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Transamerica_Pyramid_and_fog_800px-225x300.jpg 225w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Transamerica_Pyramid_and_fog_800px.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 96px) 100vw, 96px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Tilden_Park_fog_and_trees_800px.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-25317 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Tilden_Park_fog_and_trees_800px-128x85.jpg\" alt=\"Fog and trees in Tilden Park, Oakland, California\" width=\"128\" height=\"85\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Tilden_Park_fog_and_trees_800px-128x85.jpg 128w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Tilden_Park_fog_and_trees_800px-300x200.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Tilden_Park_fog_and_trees_800px-768x512.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Tilden_Park_fog_and_trees_800px.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 128px) 100vw, 128px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Orchids want at least 50% humidity. Fog occurs when levels reach 100%, and the air is saturated with enough water to see visible drops. Here on the coast, cool ocean water evaporates, and winds carry the moisture inland. The gentle breezes and strong winds which blow the fog onshore minimize <a href=\"http:\/\/aboutorchids.com\/problems\/index.html\">fungal and bacterial problems<\/a> with the plants. In fact, the fog perfectly mimics the cool, breezy, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cloud_forest\" target=\"_blank\">cloud forest<\/a> homes of many orchids native to high elevations in the Andes and the Himalayas.<\/p>\n<p>The next two rows of photos show orchids I have grown outdoors for years in our Pacifica garden, and previously, in our San Francisco garden. These cool growing <a href=\"http:\/\/aboutorchids.com\/identify\/orchids\/cymbidium.html\">Cymbidiums<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/aboutorchids.com\/identify\/orchids\/epidendrum.html\">Epidendrums<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/2014\/01\/14\/odonts-hardy-cool-growing-orchids\/\">Odonts<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/2011\/07\/23\/coelogyne\/\">Coelogynes<\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/2013\/09\/17\/pleurothallids\/\">Pleurothallids<\/a> are all very happy when the fog creeps in.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Cyrtochilum_macranthum_800px.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-25310 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Cyrtochilum_macranthum_800px-128x128.jpg\" alt=\"Cyrtochilum macranthum, aka Oncidium macranthum, orchid species flower, grown outdoors in San Francisco, California\" width=\"128\" height=\"128\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Cyrtochilum_macranthum_800px-128x128.jpg 128w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Cyrtochilum_macranthum_800px-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Cyrtochilum_macranthum_800px-768x768.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Cyrtochilum_macranthum_800px.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 128px) 100vw, 128px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Epidendrum_x_obrienianum_800px.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-25312 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Epidendrum_x_obrienianum_800px-128x96.jpg\" alt=\"Epidendrum x obrienianum, orchid hybrid flowers with water drops, grown outdoors in San Francisco, California\" width=\"128\" height=\"96\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Epidendrum_x_obrienianum_800px-128x96.jpg 128w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Epidendrum_x_obrienianum_800px-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Epidendrum_x_obrienianum_800px-768x576.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Epidendrum_x_obrienianum_800px.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 128px) 100vw, 128px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Cymbidium_hybrid_800px.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-25309 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Cymbidium_hybrid_800px-96x128.jpg\" alt=\"Cymbidium hybrid flowers, grown outdoors in Pacifica, California\" width=\"96\" height=\"128\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Cymbidium_hybrid_800px-96x128.jpg 96w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Cymbidium_hybrid_800px-225x300.jpg 225w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Cymbidium_hybrid_800px.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 96px) 100vw, 96px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Odontoglossum_Bic_ross_800px.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-25315 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Odontoglossum_Bic_ross_800px-96x128.jpg\" alt=\"Odontoglossum Bic-ross, orchid hybrid flowers, grown outdoors in San Francisco, California\" width=\"96\" height=\"128\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Odontoglossum_Bic_ross_800px-96x128.jpg 96w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Odontoglossum_Bic_ross_800px-225x300.jpg 225w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Odontoglossum_Bic_ross_800px.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 96px) 100vw, 96px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Coelogyne_mooreana_800px.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-25308 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Coelogyne_mooreana_800px-128x96.jpg\" alt=\"Coelogyne mooreana, orchid species flower, grown outdoors in San Francisco, California\" width=\"128\" height=\"96\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Coelogyne_mooreana_800px-128x96.jpg 128w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Coelogyne_mooreana_800px-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Coelogyne_mooreana_800px-768x576.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Coelogyne_mooreana_800px.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 128px) 100vw, 128px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Brassia_aurantiaca_800px.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-25307 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Brassia_aurantiaca_800px-128x96.jpg\" alt=\"Brassia aurantiaca, aka Ada aurantiaca, orchid species with orange flowers, grown outdoors in San Francisco, California\" width=\"128\" height=\"96\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Brassia_aurantiaca_800px-128x96.jpg 128w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Brassia_aurantiaca_800px-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Brassia_aurantiaca_800px-768x576.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Brassia_aurantiaca_800px.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 128px) 100vw, 128px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s not just water vapor in that fog, either. Fog is actually a good source of <a href=\"http:\/\/aboutorchids.com\/care\/details\/fertilizer.html\">fertilizer<\/a>, since <a href=\"http:\/\/discovermagazine.com\/2009\/apr\/30-strange-forests-that-drink-eat-fog\" target=\"_blank\">it can carry essential plant nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, and sulfur<\/a>. It&#8217;s just another great reason why orchids are a perfect match for gardeners who live in foggy areas.<\/p>\n<p>The final row of photos show a few more of the huge number of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/category\/cool-growers\/\">cool growing fog lovers<\/a>. These three shots come from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/2015\/03\/04\/more-photos-from-the-pacific-orchid-expo\/\">2015&#8217;s Pacific Orchid Expo<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Masdevallia_Zieglers_Love_800px.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-25314 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Masdevallia_Zieglers_Love_800px-96x128.jpg\" alt=\"Masdevallia Zieglers Love, orchid hybrid, Pacific Orchid Expo 2015, San Francisco, California\" width=\"96\" height=\"128\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Masdevallia_Zieglers_Love_800px-96x128.jpg 96w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Masdevallia_Zieglers_Love_800px-225x300.jpg 225w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Masdevallia_Zieglers_Love_800px.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 96px) 100vw, 96px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Restrepia_antennifera_Cow_Hollow_800px.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-25316 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Restrepia_antennifera_Cow_Hollow_800px-128x128.jpg\" alt=\"Restrepia antennifera 'Cow Hollow', orchid species, Pacific Orchid Expo 2015, San Francisco, California\" width=\"128\" height=\"128\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Restrepia_antennifera_Cow_Hollow_800px-128x128.jpg 128w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Restrepia_antennifera_Cow_Hollow_800px-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Restrepia_antennifera_Cow_Hollow_800px-768x768.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Restrepia_antennifera_Cow_Hollow_800px.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 128px) 100vw, 128px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Dendrobium_kingianum_800px.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-25311 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Dendrobium_kingianum_800px-128x96.jpg\" alt=\"Dendrobium kingianum, orchid species, Pacific Orchid Expo 2015, San Francisco, California\" width=\"128\" height=\"96\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Dendrobium_kingianum_800px-128x96.jpg 128w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Dendrobium_kingianum_800px-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Dendrobium_kingianum_800px-768x576.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Dendrobium_kingianum_800px.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 128px) 100vw, 128px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Orchids love fog. That&#8217;s one reason why the Northern California coast is a great place to grow orchids outdoors. Frequent fog, especially in areas closest to the ocean, creates a perfect humid climate for cool growers. Orchids want at least 50% humidity. Fog occurs when levels reach 100%, and the air is saturated with enough [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,5,3,27,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cool-growers","category-fertilizing","category-growing","category-growing-orchids-in-san-francisco","category-photos"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22673"}],"version-history":[{"count":41,"href":"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22673\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25357,"href":"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22673\/revisions\/25357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}