Outside for the summer??

[BobInBonita]

There is not enough light for most species if your hostas have trouble - unless you prune and open it up.

[tolumnia]

Oh my! Thank you for the plentiful and quick responses!

My question, I suppose, is actually this: if my plants are growing happily where they are and being outside can not offer them more light do the benefits of fresh air and (city) rain water outweigh the risks from pests and diseases?

I'm sorry I didn't include my list, I have no idea how I missed that. Many of them are NOIDs here is the best list I can come up with. I know my capitalization is wrong and some of the names have changed. The names are from the tags or lack there of. And the capitalization is just a little too much for my brain at the moment, as you can see I've jumped into this habit.... I mean hobby.... with both feet.

Multiple Phals and mini Phals
2 phal type dendrobiums
Angreacum dideri (soon to be mounted)
Tolumnia popki “mitzi” X sniffen “Jennifer Dauro” (mounted)
Tolumnia seagrove vip (mounted)
Dendrobium aggregeacum (mounted)
Rhyncholaelia glauca (mounted)
Encyclia cordgera 'chocolate X cordigea'
2 Cattleyas

I know this group has very different growing needs but that is what I wanted and lets me take full advantage of my growing area. So far all but one seems to be thriving. It only took one with bad root rot to form a rule about repotting every orchid that comes to me in moss. Ugh makes me sick to think about it.

I wish I could prune the trees, I am worried about several of them, but we rent and the landlord refuses to dish out the $ for the hollow tree leaning over the house let alone trimming up some slightly unwieldy oaks. On the bright side those oaks do provide some nice mounting materials.

Someday I'll live in a house with sun somewhere and my power bill with be cut in half! ROFL

Thanks again for the responses. I love this place!

[BobInBonita]

Your collection does indeed vary quite a bit in terms of light requirements for blooming.

Since you can't trim up the trees, I think you probably won't have enough light. Most hostas do well in pretty low light areas, and many of your species like pretty bright light. Do you have the common variegated or a light green variety - they seem to need more light. The bluer hostas tend to take less light.

If you want to give it a try, the phals are probably your most shade tolerant species. I'd try one of them and watch it for a few weeks. The leaf color will tell you what's happening.
Dark green - not enough light
Medium green - better but not enough light
Olive green - enough light
Olive with reddish tint around edges and underside - high metabolism max
Yellow to reddish and leathery - almost sunburn
Yellow to white bleached out - sunburned and dead

When increasing the light, always give the plants a week or two to adjust before judging (unless sunburned - then move back immediately)

Best of luck and let us know if you decide to go with it and how it works. My gut feeling is that it might not be worth the trouble if they're doing well indoors. Many folks like the outdoors for a little more light and the natural rainwater, but if they aren't getting more light, there isn't a lot of upside - you can try catching rainwater in a barrel.

[silken]

My thought is that you might as well leave them where they are if they are thriving and you have such low light in your yard. You could collect rain water and give them that little treat from the outdoors. I started using rain water last year and really do think I am seeing improvement with my orchids. And you will not have the bug problems to deal with. I know lots of people's orchids thrive spending summer outdoors, but it doesn't sound like a reasonable option in your case.

[camille1585]

Seeing what orchids you have and your outdoor light problem, it's probably better for them to stay inside where you know they'll get the light they need and will grow well. I don't think that I would put the mounts oustide anyway, they're going to dry out extremely fast (which is why mine stay indoors all year)

[Paul Mc]

To be honest, the only reason I take mine outside is to give them a higher humidity level from spring until fall, and increased natural air flow and higher temperatures. That being said, not all of mine go outside because not all of them can handle the high temperatures we tend to get in the middle of summer.

It really doesn't sound like the cost to benefit analysis for you is very good for your particular situation. I would keep looking for options and alternatives, and perhaps do a test like Bob suggested or get a light meter so you can learn exactly how much light different areas of your yard get.

Best of luck to you!

[tolumnia]

Well I used to have variegated hostas... They died. The dark green ones are doing "alright" but not what they do in my neighbors yard (which has 1/4 of the trees). And my garden is in the brightest spot in the yard that won't get peed on by passing pooches.
Considering everyones opinion and my own gut feeling I'll keep them inside. If they start not to thrive I can always give the sad ones to my brother. He has sun.

One more question since Bob mentioned leaf color. How quickly should the red start to show up? I've got a few showing a rosey hue and I've only had them maybe 2 weeks? If I need to move them I'd like to before I manage to hurt them.

Thank you all so much for your input!

[BobInBonita]

You always want to increase light slowly - the color changes can take some time. If you increase too quickly they are more sensitive. By going slowly they seem to adapt. I generally use about two weeks as a time for each "step" in increasing light. Shorter doesn't give them enough time to adapt, longer doesn't hurt.

On the contrary - if you ever feel they're getting too much light - i.e. sunburn - don't worry about changing gradually. Drop the light level right away, because sunburn is permanent.

If you're getting a slight red color, just watch them closely. You are approaching the upper limit where they metabolize at the max without sunburn. As days get longer, the same position that they've been adapting to well can give a problem. Pruning trees and bushes has the same effect as longer days - I've sunburned a few because I didn't judge the effect of pruning through the entire day. It was fine when it was done, but not later in the day when sun hit the orchids directly.

Light can also go the other way. Even though days are getting longer, shade trees can grow and provide more shade than they have been. Even though this isn't dangerous, it can lead to slower growth and fewer spikes.

[tolumnia]

Thank you Bob. Since these are new plants I placed them where (about) the culture info I found said they wanted to be. But they are all new so I have no idea what they have had before, so I was worried they were changing too fast. I've read so many times people talking about orchids trying your patience, but I see changes in mine every day, sometimes even throughout the day! Thank you for putting my mind at ease a bit. I am keeping a very close eye on them. If they aren't at risk I will leave them until they look unhappy. Luckily this light is very easy to move.

[BobInBonita]

We all try to help each other, but always think about the advice you get - even mine - to make sure it fits your situation.

Everybody adapts their growing style to their own set of conditions - medium, light, humidity, watering habits, etc. What has really worked for any one of us is a good starting point, but probably not the ideal end-point.

With new plants, where to put them is always a good first question.

The second question is frequently - what happened to my plant? The answer many times has to do with the root condition and overwatering. Now, before something happens, is a good time to start reading posts about roots and watering and media. Preventing a problem is always better than treating it later.

Best of luck with you collection.