This is going to be a basic question, for a beginner(please bear with me...), -do those of you that have phrags move them outside at all in the summer, maybe on a tray in a partly shaded area?

I'm trying to integrate my newfound orchid habit with my other plants, most of my house plants are going outside for the summer-I live near Mt. Vernon, VA-zone 7a or b, my backyard is primarily west , w/ n & s short ends, shaded by maples, pines , beech, & oak-I moved out my banana (gonna put it in the ground), cardamom, calamondin orange, 4 figs (still trying to figure out what I would like to plant in the ground), lots of other miscellaneous plants. I have 2 'phalaenopsis' type dendrobiums (I looked at the wrappers & said 'phalaenopsis'?-I'm a sucker for grocery store orchids...), but I hesitate about putting any of my newly acquired paphs or phrags outside-I could put them in partial shade, under a maple, up on a table, but is it worth it ?

Currently, they're growing in a sunroom, same mostly west, s/n exposure, with a ceiling fan for air movement & no add. heating-it will be pretty hot in the summer, unless I can work out shading-I also decided to jump in & get a flask from Chuck Acker of 'Lynn Evans-Goldner' phrags-I've split them up & I hope that most of them will survive....I love pink phrags....what are your thoughts? -Linda/Thistle

I grow my slippers outdoors in the summer, the rare and expensive ones in the sunroom only. Mine get direct morning or late afternoon sun. Hope this helps!

Hi Linda,
I'd just caution you to be sure to acclimate anything that goes outside carefully and slowly so that the plants can adjust. I only put plants I don't care so much about outside last year. The few slippers I put out, my phrag did pretty well, but my St. Swithin got the living $#*! burnt out of it in a really short amount of time, so now, none of my rare or special plants are going out.

Alright, one more question, I've notice we have a lot of bees-yellowjackets, honeybees, this is good, right? for pollination?--I just need to be careful about letting them in the house, I've already trapped about 5 bees, in the house, & put them outside...Linda


Heather,

Yes, I'm worried about acclimating them to the outdoors, it feels a bit silly to trot trays in & out in the afternoon, (my neighbors already know I'm nuts), but I am careful about acclimating them (I'm thinking about moving some of the s/h (lava rock) phrags back to bark, I'm just a little nervous...I just want everything to grow...Linda

Linda, I have no idea about your bee question, sorry!

Regarding the acclimation, I just know that I put my St. outside, hanging in a partially shaded spot but literally the same exposure it gets indoors, and I had three leaf tips burn, BADLY in mid-morning (10-11am) southern light in about an hour.

I sure know about looking weird to the neighbors (I live in a townhouse community, and I am sure I am known to all as the weird orchid lady - I am also at the P.O. and the convenience store. I am planning on an orchids 101 TV show on Public Access TV too!! When the HID light goes in I'll probably be certifiable!) :roll:

Anyway, I digress. Lately, I pull my blind down in my big window so that the plants on the right side are getting slightly less light (w/ 2 of the 3 strings down all the way, because they get more sun longer than the left side. The left string though is left up so the plants that get less sun get it full strength. So I have my blinds down at about a 45° angle! LOL!! Heck, I think it looks weird, but anything for my kids! :D

thanks, I'm looking into muslin blinds at IKEA to shade the sunroom, I'd just like to move anything that's reasonable outside-tomorrow, I'm going to do a half-circle mulched bed against the west side of my garage-most of it will be 'dead' shade, but I'd like to fit in a potting bench & a grill, & do the outside edges with coleus & grasses-we moved here less than a year ago & I'm still trying to get some things in....it's easier to fit things in where you can water them...of course, I'm still thinking about the orchids & I hope to make a trip to Al's tomorrow....Linda , who is in the midst of spring fever...

You know, Linda, I talked to another grower of non-slippers this evening who SWORE by putting them outside during the summer. Her exact words were that they were "SO fat and happy" when she brought them in the fall, and I know what she means. The only reason I think I bloomed my Bc. hybrid (which is again in sheath), my Max. tenuofolia, and my Sharry Baby, is that I threw them outside and neglected them last summer, and yes, they're going out again. I'm just, personally, not willing to try to do that w/ my most cherished slippers, where I can control the variables much better indoors. Who knows, perhaps I have one or two I could experiment with this summer, but none of the mature, expensive ones. Just not willing to risk it!

FWIW, she puts them under her deck where she get's early morning and/or (??) late afternoon sun, nothing midday. She has a pretty straightforward eastern exposure under the deck I saw. She does NOT grow slippers, but does grow (and bloom) Cymbs, Phals, Dends, and Catts. Has around 300 and has been growing for many years. I got the feeling she built her house in 1990 in this location because of the fine exposure. Unbelievable house for growing.

I have NO CLUE how she deals w/ humidity though! No trays, no equipment, no fans, no hygrometers (!) and the entire area is very open. It has got to be dry in there! :confused:
Maybe it is the fact she grows Catts and other things that like to dry out a little, but still, I wonder....

Anyway, maybe try a few to start and see how they do, and proceed from there?

I think I'm going to be very conservative & leave most of the paphs in the house, might move out a few phrags, but that's another question, I like to move things around, is this good? I'm constantly flipping things around, trying to get a bit of mid-morning sun-my plants are probably schizophrenic-what is the result of moving things around? Is it better to just let them be..?

While I put out all my paphs (except for the smallest seedlings) and most of my phrags, I am reluctant to move caudatum, wallisii, and their immediate hybrids outdoors. I find that they are very prone to a tannish yellow rot, moving up from the base of the leaves. While they sometimes get it indoors during the summer, they are far more likely to get it outdoors. Some hybrids, Schroderae for example, are cast iron and very resistant, so they always go out. Take care, Eric

I put all of my plants outside in the summer, from May to Oct. They are up against my house on the North side where they get only very early sun and very late evening sun exposure. My plants seem to be fat and happy as well. I have more plants this year so I will need to add on to my plant stand. My phrags never have any problems but I make sure I watch the paphs. I usually put them close to the house where they are not as exposed to direct sunlight.

The first time I was growing Orchids I lived in apartments in Toronto and was afraid of winds etc so i never put them out.
I do have to say though after growing up in a very plant oriented family I've never seen a house plant that didn't benefit from being outside during the summer months.
I'm still thinkning about where and how to put my Phrags out since I am in a house now with a yard but I am afraid of burning etc.
I don't have alot of room since 7/8ths of the yard is already covered in perenial beds but I'll figure out something

I put out the catts and some of the other genera. Some of the cooler growing Paphs go out onto a north facing unheated porch. They get their winter temps (night time 40's F) there during the summer and early fall.

Has anyone had problems with deer predation? A friend once told me he had a large roth chewed right to the base of the plant. He thought it was deer, but it also could have been rabbits.