How to Protect Your Plants and Help Them Recover From Hurricanes

A few days ago I came across an article on “Hurricane Preparation” but related to orchids. Reading it I realized it applies very well to bromeliads. Martin, from Motes Orchids, who publishes a newsletter on orchids has kindly authorized us to reprint it. Being a long and detailed article we will reprint it in three parts. Here is the first installment.

“ South Florida is the most hurricane prone place on earth. Situated as it is between the tropical trade winds and the temperate westerlies, either of the Florida Coasts can be affected by hurricanes traveling from the east or the west. With so much time, money and emotion involved in our precious orchids a clear path for protecting them is essential.

If they are few enough and space is available the obvious solution is to bring them all in. Water the plants thoroughly and allow enough time for them to drip dry before bringing them into the house or garage. Larger collections that cannot be all moved inside present other problems. First, though it may seem counterintuitive in face of the heavy rains that typically accompany a hurricane, the plants should be watered to the point of saturation. This will make them much heavier and less likely to be blown about or away. Electric power is frequently cut for days following a storm ( after Andrew, outlying areas were without power for two months ) and one may not be able to water the plants for an extended period. Hurricanes are sometimes “dry” with little rain but filled with wind borne salt spray that can be particularly damaging to plants that are not fully hydrated. Following this saturating watering, if time allows the foliage to dry, the plants can be sprayed with a general fungicide like

Thiophanate methyl ( ie: Clarey’s 3336, a spreader sticker is especially valuable here) to protect them from the diseases that will be blowing in and taking the plants when they are  most vulnerable, over wet, as well as, nicked and gouged by the battering of the wind.” JP.               (To be continued)