Can I put my orchids outside in summer?

[Deby53]

Hi, I have 3 phals and was wondering if I could put them out on a covered southeast facing porch? I live in the midwest. They would get early morning sun and be out of the wind. The smallest one is growing a new leaf! Yea!
Thanks. Deby

[jerrymeola]

Phals can be summered outside with a few limitations.

Phals in pots need low light levels. Try to avoid any direct sun but they can summer well if not overheated (under 85) and not directly in high sun. On your porch near the house is usually a good spot. Higher light level plants like Dens and Cattleyas would go closest to the edge of the porch for more sun.

Phals want a 20 degree temperature drop for a month to set flower buds so leave it out until the night temperatures are dipping under 50. I leave mine down to under 40 but many people recommend against this.

In Ill this will probably give you new flowers around Christmas or early spring.

One other suggestion. Keep them off the ground to prevent creepy crawlies from sneaking in at the bottom of the pot.

[Deby53]

Thanks! I'll be keeping them on a shelf so they'll be off the ground. I live in the country & have lots of critters running around. I don't like too much heat either so when it gets over 85 degrees & I stay inside, I'll take my plants in too! Thanks again! Deby

I don't take my plants inside when it gets that hot, but I do mist them or give them an extra drink of water. Here on the east coast we often get temps in the high 90's, and it hasn't bothered the plants. Remember that you have zones around your house where the temperature varies. Near the walls of your house will be a bit cooler than out in the open sun. They will also be under the cover, which will also be a couple of degrees cooler.

[taradale]

Hi Deby,
I'm a newbie too. I have all my orchids outside and included some pictures of my set up (below my essay ). Most are in hanging plants except for Paphs Freddy & Wardii (I name mine - I know it's silly). Here's their set-up from a previous post: Freddy & Wardii

A few things I do and observations:
- Each basket has it own humidity tray. Just plastic plates with aquarium rock in it.
- I hose down the deck every morning and if it's been particular dry, I'll hose it down again during the afternoon and evening.
- Sometimes I take them out of their baskets and hose the baskets.
- I also have not come across two spiders that are same. I'm still trying to figure out which are good spiders and which are bad. Some are just as colorful as the flowers.
- Today I dusted all of my Orchids with DE and I think this will be a monthly ritual. Unfortunately I discovered that one of my Vuyls was riddled with tiny snails in and out of the shell. Not sure if she came that way or if they made their way into her home. Altho, none of my other orchids seem to be suffering from them.
- I checked their medium daily. For some reason Paph Tallulah is a lush and I have to water her almost every other day, while Paph Claire De 'loon' never seems to need watering. Haven't figured it out yet, especially since Claire is in a little 2" pot and Tallulah is in a 4" pot and it should be the opposite.
- Also, I recently read that the metal on the hanging baskets may be toxic to the plants. Since I buy the cheapies from Walmart, I try not to let any part of the plant touch the actual metal. Not sure if it's true or not, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.
- I have an area set up inside for emergencies. I recently remembered that last year we had a slew of katydids come thru.
- Also against everyone's advice not to move them too much - I've been known to go running out in my jammies if it gets below 50 or in the middle in of pouring rain storms to retrieve Freddy & Wardii. Short spring showers are fine, but other times they've been swimming in the glass vases. Freddy & Wardii are the only ones that don't have a overhead cover of some type.
- When I'm walking the dogs, I'll look for ladybugs and bring them back. So far none have stuck around tho.

Sorry for the long post and if you're still with me, here's the panoramic view of the various orchid areas:

Phals - Gets about 1/2hr of sun prior to 9:00 am:


Another Phal and Other Paphs - Gets filtered sun during the morning:


Oncidiums and Vuyls - still determining this area - gets about 45min of full sun around 3:00pm:

[taradale]

And if you can stand some more pictures (which I'm not good at taking - always shakey)- here's some close ups of the Paphs:

Paph Tallulah (proper name Petula's Dream):


Paphs Bertha & Bertha aka the Berthas (blooming) sharing the basket with Claire de 'loon':


Paph Deperle:

[taradale]

And now for the Phals (which I haven't named yet - none came with tags):

Front door Phals:


Unknown Phal by the kitchen sink window:

[Deby53]

Wow! Thanks for sharing the great photos. I like the idea of hanging baskets. I noticed my largest phal has a new side shoot sprouting. I'm so excited that I'll be getting flowers again (hopefully). The plant is also growing roots like crazy. It must like what I'm doing.

beautiful shots!

anymore shots?