Hiya fellow orchid watchers!
I found it interesting to see how certain orchids reacted while outside
this summer. The guinea pigs are, one each, B. nodosa, Laelia
fidelensis, Bc Nok Noi (C. Sophia Martin x B. nodosa), Encyclia
cochleatus and Enc. tampensis. There is a Tillandsia in with B.
nodosa.
Enc. cochleatus lost most of it's existing leaves to sunburn rather
quickly, and started three new ps'bulbs as well as two keikeis and a
flower spike which is still going strong.
Bc Nok Noi got a small burn on one leaf, the rest are unaffected and
it's been flowering for almost a month with two new ps'bulbs coming up.
B. nodosa and L. fidelensis showed no sign of burning. B. nodosa threw
up two spikes with four and five flowers respectively, almost a month
ago and just starting to fade. L. fidelensis threw up three new
growths and each is significantly larger than previous inside growths
and each has a sheath - the last time it flowered it was mid-winter, so
I'm hoping for a nice show this winter.
Enc. tampensis didn't burn but the leaf color got yellowish (something
I also expected from the previous two plants but it never happened).
This plant had just finished flowering inside.
They all went out to mingle with the Bonsai under lathe. I took no
other precautions, partly to see what would happen and partly because I
needed room inside.
The Tillandsia is doing well also ... sorry but I forget it's name and
the tag is long gone.
I wish I had the space to bring more of the orchids outside. I knew
from more experienced members both here and at OGD, that my plants
would benefit from a summer outside. It was neat to see it for myself.
Have a great day!
Bob Campoli - Philadelphia, Pa - USDA zone 6/7

On 29 Aug 2006 18:23:31 -0700, "bobc" wrote:

Hiya fellow orchid watchers!
-------------------
the tag is long gone.
I wish I had the space to bring more of the orchids outside. I knew
from more experienced members both here and at OGD, that my plants
would benefit from a summer outside. It was neat to see it for myself.
Have a great day!
Bob Campoli - Philadelphia, Pa - USDA zone 6/7

We used to hang them in the lower branches of a tree that partially
shaded the patio. Hose them down on extra hot days and it cooled the
patio. The only problem was when a family of squirles moved in one
year. They thought the orchids were great.
SuE
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/orchids

I move my orchids outside every summer. As the plants mature and
become accumstomed to the sun, sunburn becomes more rare. The old
leaves will suffer most unless they received natural light in the past.
The photo cells in the leaves develop for the brightest light levels
they receive, they can then adjust more easily for the dimmer light
than to brighter light. It is much easier for me to start with smaller
plants and give them an opportunity to grow under tougher conditions,
than get a more mature plant to adjust. The change can set a crotchety
old plant back a couple of years until the new tougher growth is the
only growth.

I have one Catt that has a bikini burn on a leaf. I made the mistake
of moving the plant next to it. A leaf on the moved Catt was shading a
leaf on the Catt that burned. Looks strange, a burn about 2 1/2' wide
in the center of the leaf. Either side of the burn had received the
light at the unshaded intensity until about noon to 1 pm.

T. helps with the orchid migration in the spring (grunt work) and fall.
I supervise the orientation of the tables and trays. I help carry
them in and out, but if he gets ahead of me, I turn all the plants to
match the orientation to the sun to how they were situated to the
windows in the room. He dogs me and humors me, but after 8 years I
have a pretty good idea of where the plants should be for the best
reaction to the light.

He's so funny. He's been hounding me about the number of plants I
have. I finally listed one on e bay. He more or less ignores the
orchids unless they're in bloom, but when I brought the division to
list, he's asking me if I want to sell "Pothead" (his shortened name).
I really have to pay attention to what he calls the individual plants
to tell which one he's talking about, the name is shortened to what he
can remember easily, either from the name on the tag or a dynamic
feature such as fragrance or flower.

Well I'd better go for now, I'm about 3 beers into a 6 pack and
rambling. Next I'll be reciting limericks or telling you T's name for
Brassovola nodosa. I think when he first smelled one it gave him
flashbacks to shore leave while he was still in the service.

Nancy

Good for you Bob, someone posted a list of orchids that would grow outside in our climate but I didn't
save it?
Just remember that you will have to check each one for critters before bringing them in for the winter.
If you could post a pic of the Tillandsia I could maybe help with a name.....maybe? Post to
alt.binaries.pictures.orchids or one on a url here.
--
Cheers Wendy

No Spam Email Address Invalid
"bobc" wrote in message oups.com...
Hiya fellow orchid watchers!
I found it interesting to see how certain orchids reacted while outside
this summer. The guinea pigs are, one each, B. nodosa, Laelia
fidelensis, Bc Nok Noi (C. Sophia Martin x B. nodosa), Encyclia
cochleatus and Enc. tampensis. There is a Tillandsia in with B.
nodosa.
Enc. cochleatus lost most of it's existing leaves to sunburn rather
quickly, and started three new ps'bulbs as well as two keikeis and a
flower spike which is still going strong.
Bc Nok Noi got a small burn on one leaf, the rest are unaffected and
it's been flowering for almost a month with two new ps'bulbs coming up.
B. nodosa and L. fidelensis showed no sign of burning. B. nodosa threw
up two spikes with four and five flowers respectively, almost a month
ago and just starting to fade. L. fidelensis threw up three new
growths and each is significantly larger than previous inside growths
and each has a sheath - the last time it flowered it was mid-winter, so
I'm hoping for a nice show this winter.
Enc. tampensis didn't burn but the leaf color got yellowish (something
I also expected from the previous two plants but it never happened).
This plant had just finished flowering inside.
They all went out to mingle with the Bonsai under lathe. I took no
other precautions, partly to see what would happen and partly because I
needed room inside.
The Tillandsia is doing well also ... sorry but I forget it's name and
the tag is long gone.
I wish I had the space to bring more of the orchids outside. I knew
from more experienced members both here and at OGD, that my plants
would benefit from a summer outside. It was neat to see it for myself.
Have a great day!
Bob Campoli - Philadelphia, Pa - USDA zone 6/7

Nancy, very good post.
Joe T
Nancy G. wrote:
I move my orchids outside every summer. As the plants mature and
become accumstomed to the sun, sunburn becomes more rare. The old
leaves will suffer most unless they received natural light in the past.
The photo cells in the leaves develop for the brightest light levels
they receive, they can then adjust more easily for the dimmer light
than to brighter light. It is much easier for me to start with smaller
plants and give them an opportunity to grow under tougher conditions,
than get a more mature plant to adjust. The change can set a crotchety
old plant back a couple of years until the new tougher growth is the
only growth.

I have one Catt that has a bikini burn on a leaf. I made the mistake
of moving the plant next to it. A leaf on the moved Catt was shading a
leaf on the Catt that burned. Looks strange, a burn about 2 1/2' wide
in the center of the leaf. Either side of the burn had received the
light at the unshaded intensity until about noon to 1 pm.

T. helps with the orchid migration in the spring (grunt work) and fall.
I supervise the orientation of the tables and trays. I help carry
them in and out, but if he gets ahead of me, I turn all the plants to
match the orientation to the sun to how they were situated to the
windows in the room. He dogs me and humors me, but after 8 years I
have a pretty good idea of where the plants should be for the best
reaction to the light.

He's so funny. He's been hounding me about the number of plants I
have. I finally listed one on e bay. He more or less ignores the
orchids unless they're in bloom, but when I brought the division to
list, he's asking me if I want to sell "Pothead" (his shortened name).
I really have to pay attention to what he calls the individual plants
to tell which one he's talking about, the name is shortened to what he
can remember easily, either from the name on the tag or a dynamic
feature such as fragrance or flower.

Well I'd better go for now, I'm about 3 beers into a 6 pack and
rambling. Next I'll be reciting limericks or telling you T's name for
Brassovola nodosa. I think when he first smelled one it gave him
flashbacks to shore leave while he was still in the service.

Nancy

wendy7 wrote:
Good for you Bob, someone posted a list of orchids that would grow outside in our climate but I didn't
save it?
Just remember that you will have to check each one for critters before bringing them in for the winter.


Yes, indeed. In September I line up all my orchids, cacti, cycads and
other vegetation I bring indoors and spray them with an all-purpose
critter killer and an IGR I neglected to do that one year and was
plagued with scale and mealy bugs.

My orchids that seem to thrive outdoors in direct sunshine are my
Papilionanthes, Vandas and antelope Dendrobiums. The last group grows
rampantly in the summer ,with lots of sunlight, water and fertilizer.
I also have a --Eulophia petersii-- that loves direct sun. The stiff,
gray-green, sawtoothed leaves on it remind me of an aloe

J. Del Col.

Ok, So how do you move the orchids indoors. Do you just NUKE them in
pesticide, keep them away from the indoor plants untill you can be sure
that they don't have anything catching. Or do you have to harden them
up just like when you move them outside?

Jack

Jack wrote:
Ok, So how do you move the orchids indoors. Do you just NUKE them in
pesticide, keep them away from the indoor plants untill you can be sure
that they don't have anything catching. Or do you have to harden them
up just like when you move them outside?

Jack

Hi jack.

I have a devoted area for my plants. Some stowaways are expected.
It's the quantity and variety that can get interesting. Generally,
aphids, scale, mites, and mealies prefer other plants if available.
Those are rarely the problem with bringing the plants inside. If you
suspect the above, try aspider plant. The nasties seem to prefer it to
orchids and collect on the spider babies. I cut off the spider babies
and bag them to burn or microwave. You may also try a critter magnet
such as a poinsetia and feed it with systemic plant food. It helps.
An infestation of scale and mealies was from new plants, not
quarantined then confining them to the orchid room. I simply got
stupid and in a hurry then.

Don't get me wrong, during the winter I've seen ants, lady bugs,
spiders, preying mantis, and wasps. Ants are the biggest nuisance.
The rest sort of balance out, but then again, only a few are in my main
home.

I pre-treat the area for snails and slugs before taking the plants
outside, repeat during the summer, and again specifically before
bringing them inside for the winter. Now that the weather has
cooled, I turned off the sprinklers (previously set for twice a day)
and water by hand twice a week (an average) or less. The cooler
weather and less water (primarily the catts, cyms, and dendro) helps
signal dormancy or at least a break in cycle. It also prepares them
for the reduced humidity in the average home and if pests like a damp
medium, gives them another excuse to bail.

This is a good time to inventory, inspect and clean the plants. During
the really hot weather, I didn't spray at all. The main orchid zone
has gotten its first spray with Gardensafe Fungicide. It is a
citronene/neem formula. I've had good results with it. It's supposed
to be non-toxic, but the combination will kill and repel insects. I
will repeat that in a week to 10 days.

The day of the move, my plants may be sprayed with pyrethrum or ortho
for roses. Last year I sprayed at the door and moved the plants in
while dripping. (Wear a rain coat and gloves).

If you are averse to harsh or toxic chemicals, try garlic powder or
wintergreen leaves around your orchids. Tell yourself slugs and snails
prefer hosta, aphids prefer roses, and birds and spiders prefer both
pests. After they are inside, observe them carefully and frequently.
Use humidity trays for the orchids' comfort and wash them frequently.
Open windows on pleasant days if you can. Turn the thermostat down at
night. Run a humidifier and a fan. The walls don't have to sweat,
just keep it a little more humid. You will all feel better. If you
rely on a window as your light source, make sure the leaves face the
window or add more light.

It is much easier on the plants to move them inside to a stable
environment than it is to move them outside where the sun is brighter
and the temperatures may still plummet. If the nights are a little
chill, they will appreciate the move.

Best wishes,

Nancy