Does anyone here grow Dends. outdoors?
 

I have one Dend. Norma Jackson x that I was thinking might like being outdoors this summer. Is this a good idea or will the plant just srivel under the hot Colorado sun and dry conditions?

well i grow em outdoors in north carolina....mind you the humidity here can be rather hi....but the sun is just as strong and will crisp em if you put em out and leave em at first....you have to move em out to shade, then gradually to sunny spots....i have had one all summer on a brick patio last year and it bloomed like mad...the leaves didnt look so hot, but it sure loved being there...strong new growth too....mind you watering is an issue...i watered it every day in the mornings....

Hi Chas -
Tough question for someone from the humid/warm side of paradise...I think most orchids appreciate time outside in temperate weather.
What do you do indoors? Isn't your RH usually in the teens?
A typical sign of plants grown in fairly low humidity is a kind of alligatoring of the foliage. Which may not harm the plant, but might cause your buds to abort.
Is there a way to raise outdoor humidity?
Regards - Nancy in the 95% range

hi Chas i grow mine outdoors in full southern facing sunlicht.a kingianum, nobile and some den phals noids. btw all in sh.

I grow Dendrobium kingianum outdoors all year round here in Los Angeles County.

I just recently put Dendrobium atavus and Den harveyanum outdoors during the warm weather, but may leave them out there during winter as well...We'll see how things go with these.

I also know that Norman's Orchids grows Den. loddigessii outdoors all year round.

When I had Den unicum, I grew it outdoors all year round too. No problems. Bloomed for me too.

The humidity here in Colorado is actually higher in the summer than the winter. This past winter the RH dropped one day to a whopping 6%. Right now it's around 30ish%. Still dry compaired to where most of you live. The only person who responded here with simular conditions is Snow in Winnipeg. Not sure what the humidity is like up there in the Great White North but I bet it's somewhat simular. Maybe I'll try slowly putting it out side on the North side of my house at first. Right now it sits in an Eastern window in direct morning sun. Outside will be differnet though.

I have some "dens" that are grown indoors here in Massachusetts and are then gradually let to acclimate themselves oudoors under dappled sunlight where they spend the summer until the first frost. They love it.

I put mine outside in the spring, I bring them in after a few weeks of cool fall temps. The get a few hours of early morning Sun.

California is relatively dry, unless you're in one of the unique microclimates spotted along the coast. RH ranges between 40%-70% in the day for me in Monterey and at night between 80%-100%. I grow many Dendrobiums outdoor all year, including nobile types, speciosums, kingianums including the hybrids of these species. They love it! I also use potting mediums ranging from medium sized gravel to fine grade bark/charcoal mix; depending on it's location (ie: air movement, sun exposure, ratio of size of pot/root mass)

What??!! "relatively dry" You don't know dry untill you come to the High Plains Desert that is Denver, CO. I'd be happy with your low RH of 40%. :(:(