Advice on which orchids grow best in which window?

[judith_arquette]

Originally Posted by Cntry

Congrats on getting a new house. Hope your move is a pleasant one. List your orchids so others get the idea which places are best for what orchids they also have and what windows they would do best in. This would be great to know for newbies just starting out in growing orchids. Again Judith best of luck in your new place.

Thank you so much! We're excited, just waiting on the seller to do a few things to satisfy the bank appraiser then it's the endless submitting and resubmitting of paperwork Hopefully we should close by the end of next month
The list-
Cattleya Alliance:
Laelia pumila
Leptotes bicolor
Brassavola nodosa 'Mas Major' x 'Remar'
Encyclia mariae
LC. Green Veil 'Dressy'
LC. Dinard 'Blue Heaven'
LC. Mari's Magic 'Dream Girl'
BLC. Chance The Chance 'Kiramaki'
BLC. Susan Harry 'Susan Harry'
SLC. Memoria Alvin Beggman 'Poem'
Pot. Dick Smith 'Paradise'
Eplc. Volcano Trick 'Fireball'
Iwan. Apple Blossom

Oncidium Alliance:
Onc. Sharry Baby ('Velvet Maroon', 'Red Fantasy' & 'Sweet Fragrance')
Onc. Twinkle ('Pink Profusion' & 'Red Fire')
Oncda. Copper Scarab 'Brass Brethren'
Alcra. Pacific Nova 'Okika'
Cptra. Sydney Smith 'Green Monkey'
Mtssa. Estrelita 'Sweet Senorita'
Mtssa. Charles M. Fitch 'Izumi'
Psychopsis Mendenhall 'Hildos'
Brassia (Noid)
Miltoniopsis (Noid)

Dendrobium:
Den. lawesii
Den. Lucky Angel 'Smash'
Den-Phal (Noid)

Vanda:
Vanda ustii
Vanda denisoniana

Other:
Amesiella monticola
Paph (Noid bulldog type)
Paph (Noid maudie type)
Phals (Noid (4))

I will have 2 large bow windows, one East facing and one South facing. The majority of window space is South facing but there is also one fairly good sized West facing window too.

Originally Posted by estación seca

You'll have to learn how the sun moves across the windows, and whether any trees shade you during parts of the day. Even a west or south window with direct sun can be hospitable if you put a sheer curtain between the sun and the plants. And plants can sometimes burn in a north window - the sun rises and sets a lot farther north during the summer, and a north window may not be sun-free. I burned a Paph. Onyx in late October when I moved it to a spot where it got only 20 minutes of direct early morning sun through a southeast window, even though it was sitting behind a taller plant. Fortunately, it wasn't too bad and the plant is still alive.

The temperature in your room will likely never be high enough to burn high-light plants, but the sun can heat the leaves past the burning point. A steady breeze from a fan can carry off the heat and keep the leaves closer to room temperature. This allows you to give more light and not burn the leaves.

Vandas are regarded as high-light plants, so think about those.

This is a great point, one I failed to consider... we looked at the house in December so there were no leaves on the trees but Google Maps shows that the house is engulfed by them. You can't even really see the house from the aerial view because of all the foliage on the trees... Now I'm thinking I'll probably have to look into supplemental lighting. Guess only time will tell...

Thanks so much to everyone! I can't tell you how much I appreciate all the responses!

[estación seca]

Originally Posted by judith_arquette

Thank you so much! We're excited, just waiting on the seller to do a few things to satisfy the bank appraiser then it's the endless submitting and resubmitting of paperwork Hopefully we should close by the end of next month
The list-
Cattleya Alliance:
Laelia pumila
Leptotes bicolor
Brassavola nodosa 'Mas Major' x 'Remar'
Encyclia mariae
LC. Green Veil 'Dressy'
LC. Dinard 'Blue Heaven'
LC. Mari's Magic 'Dream Girl'
BLC. Chance The Chance 'Kiramaki'
BLC. Susan Harry 'Susan Harry'
SLC. Memoria Alvin Beggman 'Poem'
Pot. Dick Smith 'Paradise'
Eplc. Volcano Trick 'Fireball'
Iwan. Apple Blossom

Oncidium Alliance:
Onc. Sharry Baby ('Velvet Maroon', 'Red Fantasy' & 'Sweet Fragrance')
Onc. Twinkle ('Pink Profusion' & 'Red Fire')
Oncda. Copper Scarab 'Brass Brethren'
Alcra. Pacific Nova 'Okika'
Cptra. Sydney Smith 'Green Monkey'
Mtssa. Estrelita 'Sweet Senorita'
Mtssa. Charles M. Fitch 'Izumi'
Psychopsis Mendenhall 'Hildos'
Brassia (Noid)
Miltoniopsis (Noid)

Dendrobium:
Den. lawesii
Den. Lucky Angel 'Smash'
Den-Phal (Noid)

Vanda:
Vanda ustii
Vanda denisoniana

Other:
Amesiella monticola
Paph (Noid bulldog type)
Paph (Noid maudie type)
Phals (Noid (4))

I will have 2 large bow windows, one East facing and one South facing. The majority of window space is South facing but there is also one fairly good sized West facing window too.



This is a great point, one I failed to consider... we looked at the house in December so there were no leaves on the trees but Google Maps shows that the house is engulfed by them. You can't even really see the house from the aerial view because of all the foliage on the trees... Now I'm thinking I'll probably have to look into supplemental lighting. Guess only time will tell...

Thanks so much to everyone! I can't tell you how much I appreciate all the responses!

Won't they do fine outside for the summer? In the screenroom your husband can build for you to protect them from squirrels and birds?

[judith_arquette]

Originally Posted by estación seca

Won't they do fine outside for the summer? In the screenroom your husband can build for you to protect them from squirrels and birds?

I've actually been thinking about that... I'm already planning on building an aviary outside for our birds, I don't see how building something for the orchids would be any more challenging.

In our case though, the extent of his involvement would be purchasing the materials. Anything requiring the use of tools is my department

[Leafmite]

What a great collection!
In the summer, the sun goes overheard and there isn't much light coming through the windows. I keep some shade-loving orchids inside but the rest go outside.
During the winter, in the past, all the orchids went into the South-facing double sliding glass doors but I was very much into the large Cattleyas (although the Phals seemed to enjoy that window, too). I grow the orchids completely with artificial lighting, now, as other plants have the windows.
Good luck with your move!

[rbarata]

I have only north and south faced windows so you have more options than me.

In my house, the rule of thumb is: cool environment orchids => North windows

Warm environment orchids => South windows

So, in the north side I have oncidiums, dendrobiums, cymbs and phaps.

In the south side, phals and catts, so far.

[Becky15349]

Honestly, I'm going to give you a simple answer: Most* common orchids do best when they are given as much light as they can tolerate without burning the leaves. I keep all my orchids in south windows, but I have fans on them at all times to keep the foliage cool. Some people may disagree with this, but honestly, I've been growing for 15 years and this method has worked wonders. Light is the *most critical* component to getting orchids to rebloom, period. I have phals, oncids, neos, cattleyas, dends, everything you can think of, in south windows. Just don't let the foliage burn.