Orchids in TX

[catlove08]

Hi. I've recently become pretty obsessed with orchids and am rapidly accumulating them. I've successfully rebloomed phals but have recently acquired a couple of vandas and like 6 cattleyas of varying size. I live in Dallas and it is either really hot or really cold. In the few months that we have mild weather in spring and autumn I was thinking of moving my orchids outside and then move them back in when the weather is extreme. Not sure if this shocks them or is totally ok. Thanks!

[MrHappyRotter]

I feel like the phals will handle it fine, as long as you acclimate them to their outdoor light and don't over do it. Not sure about the vandas, but they'll probably be fine, too. All the in and out is a recipe for bringing critters indoors, so bear that in mind.

I've read that many angraecoids come from tropical areas that have 4 seasons, a mild wet season, a warm dry season, another mild wet season, and then a dry cool season. It wouldn't surprise me if this pattern is fairly common, and that many genera can handle these kinds of changes just fine.

[estación seca]

I know Vandas don't mind temperatures into the 90s if they are very well-watered and not in direct sunlight. When it's that hot they probably need watering twice per day if they're hanging in baskets. As for Vandas into the 100s F - I don't know. You're getting more humidity than I normally get, which is good for all your orchids.

Most hybrid Cattleyas tolerate fairly warm days if they have cool nights and don't get direct sunlight. I just looked up Dallas on weather.gov. Your nights cool into the 70s now. My Cattleyas are tolerating days in the 90s and nights in the 70s or 80s. The Vandas love it.

Anybody in Dallas who could contribute to this discussion? I don't know how different the weather is in Houston - probably not quite so hot and more humid? Any Houstonians here?