How to grow on west facing balcony 29th floor in zone 10b ( Aventura).

[Native]

Hi. I am fairly new to orchid growing, but have kept Phals alive in my apartment and reblooming, doing nothing. The A/C is always between 71-73 F. I have exterior wall that are all glass, so it is very bright. At this time I have 8 plants on my kitchen table. I would like 1-2 inside and would like to put the others and more outside.
What can I do to keep them alive and blooming out on the balcony in the summer heat and sun? Even the balcony railing is glass.
I really would love to grow oncidiums and I've been told they will take full sun. Is that true?
I really appreciate having this board to participate in. Thanks.

[Shadeflower]

Hi Native,
so Florida eh. Sounds nice, I've heard people can grow orchids in Florida all year round but there are only a handfu of select orchids that can truly handle full sun.

Most are sort of semi shaded - what you would expect to find under a tree full of leaves. So I think I have seen someone on youtube stick her orchid onto palm trees where they were shaded a bit but that was the sun tolerating orchids like Vanda's.

An Oncidium is a great species but I would consider most of them best suited for a mid european climate- one that experiences a bit of a cooler winter. This might be perfectly possible in Florida outdoors even so anything can be done, what outdoors temps do you experience in Winter?

I would generally class Oncidiums as a lower light orchid, roughly what a phalaenopsis likes, possibly a bit more for some varieties, there are too many oncidiums to give exact care, some come from the tropics, others grow much cooler but I aim for less light than a Cattleya.

This can be achieved with shade cloth, I don't know much about shade cloth but it comes in different percentages so let a differnt amount of light through if you want to get really precise about it which is not a bad thing at all since it will affect your results for years to come.

How much light in foot candles can be found out online. Maybe someone knows what kind of shade cloth you would need exactly for a Florida climate but that is not possible for me.

The only issue you have to consider is heat. Glass retains heat like a greenhouse so if your balcony is like an enclosed greenhouse it might get too hot there for oncidiums. Vanda's might love it there.

Reasearch the plants needs first, there are lots of care guides for each specific variety so pick something you lke the look of and type it into google, see what the care requirements are and if you can roughly provide those conditions either keeping it indoors, outdoors or a combination of the 2.

Ps: the orientation of the balcony will play a big role in how hot it gets there during the day.

[Native]

Shadeflower, thank you for the information.

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

Consider going to a meeting of a local orchid society. The people will be friendly, and eager to help you. They have knowledge of your local conditions. If you go to the Web site of the American Orchid Society you can look up local affiliates. The AOS has a lot of information available to non-members; even more to members.

There are orchids from all ranges of temperature and light. If you do some reading you can find ones that do well for your very different growing areas.

Many hybrids are easier to grow than species, but this is not always the case.

Phals are shade plants. If you could provide bright shade outdoors your Phals would be a lot happier. They prefer warm to hot temperatures, but many hybrids can be grow in a cooler space. If you're reblooming them indoors you have mastered that issue. And they will sunburn in Florida afternoon sun.

There are plants that should grow on your sunny balcony, but they will need frequent watering. Look up quarter-terete Vandas, large landscaping Renantheras with red flowers, Australian Dendrobium species such as Den. speciosum, and species and hybrids in genus Grammatophyllum. Many people in Florida grow these in full sun in the landscape. Some of the Cymbidium species from warmer areas like Australia, and their hybrids, might succeed for you. There are a few Oncidium species that might do well on your balcony. Look up the large Oncidium sphacelatum and the small to medium-sized Miltonia spectabilis, an Oncidium relative.

Would you be able to put up a shade screen along at least part of the inside of the glass wall of your balcony? If so, you could grow a lot more plants in the shaded area. Many Cattleya alliance, Dendrobium, Oncidium and Vanda species and hybrids should do well with a little shade.

Oncidium is a large genus. There are species and hybrids that prefer temperatures in all ranges. Some of the intermediate growers should do well for you indoors near a window. This includes almost all the complex intergeneric hybrids, like the ones you might see at Trader Joe's or supermarkets. They have hybrid genus names like Oncidium, Oncidesa, Miltassia, Vuylstekeara, Wilsonara, Odontocidium and many more.

Many Paphiopedilum and Phragmipiedium species and hybrids should do well inside your house. Their watering is different from some other orchids, but most are not hard to grow.

There are a lot of other orchids that would do well inside your apartment at 71-73 F / 21.5-23C. Look for cool and intermediate growing plants.

[Native]

Hi estacion seca, Your suggestions were very helpful. I have a lot of research to do. There is an orchid club nearby but I don't know if they are meeting during Covid. I will reach out to them.

[estación seca]

Originally Posted by Native

Hi estacion seca, Your suggestions were very helpful. I have a lot of research to do. There is an orchid club nearby but I don't know if they are meeting during Covid. I will reach out to them.

A lot of societies, including ours, had Zoom meetings. We've resumed meeting in person for those who wish to attend, but are also putting them on Zoom.

[DirtyCoconuts]

Are you using the outdoor balcony or just inside?

There are a lot of concerns about being outside that high with wind and sun

You could make a small shelter but I don’t know how handy you are

Indoors you have a lot of choices but will either have to stick with some lower light need ( I would also include Oncidium in that group but closer to the window)

If you have a tiered shelf you can put higher light plants closer to the window and lower ones lower