Quote:
Originally Posted by Chemtiger
I was wondering how this particular plant would work in the heat and light that lasts from mid-late May through early October, so I appreciate hearing how you’ve done with it. The light in my yard, even if I put it under a big banana tree, was strong enough to kill a Vanda, despite twice-daily soakings of the entire root system. I guess my dreams of putting my ‘chids outdoors isn’t realistic unless I have a greenhouse with lots of shade cloth!
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So a little update on mine: not dead yet
I didn’t get any leaf growth out of it after my
one leaf that was growing last year finally matured in late winter. I think it’s finally blooming size now, at least. It did however put out a massive amount of roots, so hopefully it has settled in. I kept it outside all year with the exception of the days we had freeze warnings and throughout the summer, I just grew it a bit shadier. We’ll see if it blooms next year...
If you are lacking proper trees (I know a lot of people grow lots of their orchids under the live oaks, cypress, and crepe myrtles), you can always put up any sort of pergola. I rent a tiny little place with no trees, just a banana that I can not kill, so that is what I ended up doing (and Roberta’s shade house is fab!). I’ve never built anything before. I have a 50% shade cloth over top, higher light orchids up high and those shade the lower light ones below. Here are some pics from when I built it last year
New pergola/orchid house 
Then I made a cover for it out of some greenhouse plastic with a zipper door, that went up in November-March and kept my less cold tolerant orchids in there. I used a small electric greenhouse heater, a fan to circulate air, and put some bins of water under the benches to hold some heat. Pics are at the bottom of the post. Or you could just move them inside for a few months if you have a good spot for them.
Come on Spring! (img heavy)
Hybrid Mode
