Phals outside in summer
 

I am seeing in some posts that some of you put your phals out in the summer. I am wondering how you can do this. Don't the leaves hold water when it rains? I want to put mine out, if this horrible winter ever ends. I have been thinking I can put them on my deck which has a roof and is facing east. I have a lot of trees so they would get little or no direct sun. It is very humid here in summer. Also trying to figure out a way to water them so that the water can drain through the table I have them on. My husband will build me a table with a screen top for this.
Any better suggestions?
Thanks, Becky

Thanks for reminding us about summer!

My orchids are outside (in Florida) all year long, growing in baskets with bark media out in the bushes. Having been to New Jersey in the summer, it's probably a little warmer there (I'm close enough to get some coastal cooling). Mine get rained on very frequently during summer (almost daily and often in the late afternoon).

They are not planted perfectly upright but at an angle. They are not mounted upside down or sideways.

Growing outdoors removes some control that you would have inside. You can always water more frequently if there is no rain, but you can't easily take rain away and still grow outdoors. That mean you may have to change to a drier medium than you would use indoors.

Unless you are really anxious to do this, why not limit your risk and just try a couple in different mixes. That way you can see what works for you. I lost several my first summer trying to grow them like I did in Minnesota. Since the summer wouldn't adapt, I had to. There is an occasional struggle with mold, but it works.

I put mine outside too, but rain isn't too much of a problem. I put them on a table against the house, and the roof overhang protects them from most of the rain. If there is a really bad storm I cover them with a plastic sheet (only works if there's no spikes!)
But last summer I kept them in the basement, behind the extremely large south facing windows that gets dappled shade from the bushes outside. With the windows open it was almost like they were outside, but I didn't have the rain to deal with!

I put mine outside last year for the first time and had no problems whatsoever, even when it rained. That being said, now that I know they don't grow upright in nature and the risks associated with this - I will be rethinking where I put them this year.

I have my phals outdoors here in Florida but bring them in during our occasional cold nights. I keep them on a covered porch that is also screened. The rain can't get to them. I think an east facing covered porch like you describe would be ideal. Watch them carefully because there are some large insects and especially snails that love to eat the new leaves. Maybe try one or two of them outdoors first and see how it goes before putting your prized orchids out there.

Hi Becky, I'm in lower New York State, so pretty much the same climate. I keep my Phals outside in a semi protected breezeway. I find the air movement outdoors keeps any water from causing problems. You'll probably find that you need to water much more frequently when they are outside for summer vacation. I never realized how drying continual outdoor air movement is and lost a lot of roots the first year I put them out.

Bill

I have to concur with Billc. I was shocked at how much I had to water when it was windy and/or hot. I think some of them were getting watered every 2 or 3 days, but it really depended upon the medium they were in and how quickly that medium dried. Some I watered more like I would inside, maybe once a week.

Sounds like an ideal place for summer vacation, mine are on a covered breezeway outdoors, and love it. I bought a bunch of plasic bowls (clear ones made for plants) and set the pots in these and let them soak up water as they need it. They are in hydroton, so I guess that a kind of s/h way of watering. They bloom and bloom.