I need acclimation tips for the Heatwave

[Leafmite]

It leaves rust stains on pavement.

There are other ways to give an iron boost. There are liquid iron additive that work very well. An example:

Chelated Liquid Iron

I've known people that buy steel nails and soak them in bleach to get them rusting, rinse them off, then put them in their pots. No idea if it works but many seem pretty sold on it. Any idea?

[Roberta]

If you have it, just throw some shade cloth over the plants... temperatures aren't the problem, but you need to get them used to the light intensity. You don't have to mount the shade cloth, just use it as a "blanket" until either you have a cloudy few days or a couple of weeks have passed and they don't show signs of sunburn. If you can start with a double layer, you can then remove one later at a time.

[Dollythehun]

They're out. The sun that hits them us morning sun. I felt the leaves, they weren't warm and I misted them. I've got pillowcases attached to their cabana top. I'm going to check the trash for screen tomorrow. But today and tomorrow are cloudy so, we may be ok barring a storm.

[Leafmite]

They should be fine. If you have a breeze, usually, the plants will adjust pretty well. I confess that, this year, I put the Brassavola nodosa and two other small Cattleyas directly in a spot that gets morning sun. They had been shaded by Passiflora and the Allspice and the lights are at the end of a two year run. They did just fine. I have had problems in the past with other tropical plants (not orchids) and I do usually prefer to be cautious. I knew the Nodosa could take it (past experience) and the other two were not doing too well (no healthy roots upon purchase and had to suffer through the winter).

My weather app on my phone says we are to get storms starting tomorrow morning and until Friday. I am NOT looking forward to the heat/high humidity combo. I must remind myself that my beloved plants will love the combination of heat, high humidity, and rain. Grrr.

[isurus79]

I grow outdoors in Texas where temperatures regularly hit 105 and light is much stronger than northern Indiana. I used to grow outdoors in Hawaii where temperatures are lower but light intensity is MUCH higher than Texas. Don't worry about either of those factors where you're at. Also, no one here (or Hawaii, that I know of) uses iron on their orchids. Save your money and spend it on more plants!

[Dollythehun]

I don't use iron on my orchids. I used it on my nursery stock and have it leftover.

Everybody's out, my least favorite Dendrobium being the only sunburn casualty. Now we're migrating to full sun, step by step.