Never. Too many spores in the air to land on your plant and cause imediate death. We don't live in the orchids natural enviorment.

Always. Every year, outdoors, as soon as it's warm enough. But I only have a few, and they are all hybrids.

It will do better outside than in the house. Also, the drop in temperature at the end of the season will help initiate a spike.

At our other house, I grew my Phalaenopsis outside on my porch! I watered every day w/ a water hose. They grew and were beautiful by fall. When the weather began to get chilly at night (60ish)I would bring them in, return them to their winter spots---With in a few weeks, they would send up flower spikes.. It works so well-- I had a dozen or more that flourished this way..

My local florist, who has a few orchids, told me yesterday that he always keeps his Phalaenopsis orchis outside during the summer. I just put my 4 out this morning. I have them on my east facing front porch. They only get a little direct, morning sun first thing and then shade the rest of the day. I'll have to really increase their watering schedule, it has been in the 80's during the day and mid 60's at night and high humidity. My florist said his orchids do great with this kind of weather. We'll see what happens...

Q: When I mist my Phalaenopsis orchids, should I use plain water or water with fertilizer in it?

Matthew
Indiana.Matt

The recommended upper limit is about 90F, so last year when i put them "outside" they went to the coolest place i could find in a glasshouse.

Depends a lot on where you are in the world whether you put them out, when you put them out. etc. etc.

Generally not recommended that you put them out in places where you can get searing heat and low humidity in summer.

We have two growers in the local orchid society who specialise in Phal. orchids. They have glasshouses set up for Phalaenopsis conditions.

As for the misting, might be OK if you exercise restraint, but in my opinion it is part of the overwatering syndrome that leads to problems.

PS. Phalaenopsis are not beginners orchids here in a place where Cymbidiums grow like weeds. Most members of the local OS think they are difficult.

They think they are difficult to grow? I think they're about the easiest --- as long as you don't overwater, they seem to do well in average household conditions. They are a cheap, mass market product here in the U.S. -- I can buy a blooming plant with 1 or 2 spikes of flowers in a decorative container for $10 to $15 most any day, and have seen them sold as a "loss leader" at grocery and "big box" stores for as cheap as $5 at times. They are promoted by the nursery trade as being easy to grow.

I used to have 3 large cymbidiums for a number of years, and found those very easy, but they ultimately got very large and I gave them away to someone with a heated, enclosed porch that seemed a good home for them.

Hi Jay. In your part of SC, what spores kill orchids right away?

Hi Denninmi. In the past, my Phal species and hybrids went outside in 50% dappled & direct E/SE light. Some days, temps hit 100+, but the air movement kept them safe. Also, they had protection from rain plus the squirrels, rabbits, & slugs here.

Before bringing everything back in, I sprayed them with 1600 X-clude, a timed-release Pyrethrum. No pest problems over the winter. WhiteCat8

All my orchids are outside under a large tree. The temperature here is 80-90 in day time and upper 40 -50 at night which is not a problem with any of my orchids. They are well ajdusted to temp. changes. Outside weather make them grow healthy and strong.
I found orchids are one of easiest plants one can grow. They adapt to wide range of temp. like high humidity but will not die because they don't get what they want. You don't have to worry too much of root damage when you repot them. Their roots aren't designed like other plants. you can touch the root, handle the root, as long as gently, they don't mind. They adjust to lower light in the house , although they love the sun outside, morning and afternoon sun, and filtered during strong sunray hours. They reward you with beautuful, exotic and fragrant flowers.

Put something on top to keep them from rain is a good idea for they don't swim. They like to be misted with very diluted amount of orchids fertilizer every day... leave feed, like we eat every day to keep up the energy. Don't foget mist the underside of leave because the underside of leave can take in the nutrient much better than upperside. water them only when they needed.

Sit back and enjoy.

denninmi,

I probably live 200 miles south of you (west central OH) and I started putting my non-blooming phals outside within the last week. I've been putting them out for the last 3 years or so and I definitely see a big improvement in how they fare the rest of the year. East facing area is best, but there are a couple of rules:

1. Slowly acclimate them to any direct sun, they take a week or three to adjust to much brighter outside conditions.
2. Never allow them to get direct sun from 11-4. Just too brutal for a phal.
3. Probably will need to water a little more than when inside, but that's not really a set rule.

Good luck,

Bob

I've never put my phals outside in the summer because I'm not sure how to protect them from rain sitting in it and causing rot. How do you guys protect them from that? I don't have a covered porch to set them in. Also how do you keep the squirrels from eating the roots. I always set out all my other orchids and they seem to get flipped over and then chewed on by squirrels quite regularly.

Cathy

Cathy,

They are tree rats around here.
I have my phals either mounted (3-4) or sitting on untility racks under the house eaves(30), away from both tree rats and heavy rains. Truthfully, IMO as long as the plant/crown dries before nightfall, you're OK. I've never really worried about that issue in my setup.

Bob

I am in texas and have several phals, oncidiums, and dendrobs out side. i hit them right when i turn on the hose to water so the water is not cold and give them a mist everyother day. they love it! i bring most of my tropicals out under a big tree that is shaded all day and cover with a clear tarp when it rains to add a greenhouse effect.....

mine are under a south east tree as well. the temp drops at night are good for the orchids to re bloom and it is hard to achieve that indoors all year long. I would try if you are weary putting one outside to see how it acts before putting them all outside.

I have been putting out orchids for 12 years now. I call it "sending them to summer camp". Gives me a chance to take a kind of break from the more intense care of the orchids. Outside they either get the garden hose or get rained on. When they get rained on I just lean them over on the side of the pot and the water runs out of the crown or leaf axils whichever you might be concerned about. It's like natural rain gutters.My orchids are all over the place outside, hanging in the trees on pot hangers, on the front steps, hanging in bushes, under the trees on little shelves...whatever. They get plenty of good air circulation out there. I might get an occasional whirlybird maple seed but no spores from anything. I do hit everybody with some Bayer Rose systemic spray before they go out.This is the only way I've gotten some of my catts to bloom.That's my past experience.The only ones that I can't put out are pleuros.gb

I've always put all my orchids except my phals outside, but last year the stupid squirrels destroyed several of them by eating all the roots and knocking them off their stands onto the ground and several broke. I had them all up high on stands and even placed large rocks around so they wouldn't tip over. I walked outside once and caught a squirrel having his lunch, eating my dendrobium. I don't know what to do to deter them. We live in the country and there are a ton of squirrels in the area.

Cathy

Cathy, I put together a "lathe house" from Home Depot materials that kept out squirrels and rabbits. The Phals loved being there.

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Bricks held down a Plexiglass sheet on top that kept out the rain. Those "cinch tie" thingies held it together. You can't see the chicken wire that filled in a couple of gaps big enough for a squirrel.

My mistake was not securing one side of it to one of the supports for the deck above. The plants had come back inside, thank goodness, when the wind blew over the whole thing, shattering the Plexiglass.

About 4 years ago, it cost right around $200.

WhiteCat8

Same basic set-up for me but I used wire racks and pet-resistant door screening for shade and critter protection. Again, mine are under the eaves, so in the past when I remove the screening (twist ties) after the initial 3-6 weeks, the tree rats haven't molested things (the potted plants on the patio and the cereus that hung in the tree are another story), about $80-$100 for me.

Bob

Thanks for the ideas, I like the lattice or screen ideas. My husband is pretty handy so now maybe I can get him motivated to make me something.

Cathy

Cathy, I would have used pet screening, too but needed to cut the light by about 50%, and the lattice panels were less expensive than shadecloth.

Please post pix.

Bob, have your wire racks rusted at all? Another time, I'd like to use those.

WC8

WC8,

So far so good. I use the black racks, one is 2 years old another about 3 months. The 2 year one does seem a little less bright and shiny but no rust.
I also line the shelves (cut up clear carpet runners, @ $5) so water doesn't drip down on the lower shelves when watering the upper ones. I used to use old plant trays, but they were 22" and the shelf is 36", so there was always some dripping to the lower shelves.

Bob

Well, I had my Phals outside but when the temps got above 100 degrees fahrenheit in the shade, I brought them back into the house. A few of the leaves started to get wrinkles. They have been in the house for a couple of weeks now and are all growing new leaves and are sending out new roots. I think I might just keep them inside the rest of the summer. I don't want to shock them with such a drastic temp change, now that they have been in the house with the AC running. It's still in the 90's in the shade.

Matthew
Indiana.Matt

Mine seem very happy outside, all are growing new foliage and one has sent up a spike. I don't think the heat seems to bother them, at least I don't notice any changes in the plant after the hot spells -- going to be around 100 again Mon and Tues here, so I hope I'm right.

I keep all my orchids outside all year, but I would like to get one of the shelf systems like whitecat has. My problem is getting protection from too much sun. I have most of them on the NW and SE sides of the house (The house is on a 45 diagonal to true north with NE front), and then I put them under a shelf for protection. I need to build more shade for them, if I want to get any more of them. The perifery of my pergola is filled with cymbidiums and various bromeliads, but the cymbidiums have not been good about blooming. I wonder if they have too much shade or maybe pots that are too big. The leaves are very healthy, and so maybe I just need to be patient.

Phalaenopsis burn very easily from too much sun, and the new growth will rot if water is left on top of it. I think you already know this however. I have two Phals that just finished blooming and one that is about to start again. I have the best luck with oncidiums in my climate, it seems, but I have epidendrums all over my yard like everyone else. They do very well in hanging pots that I hang in my apple tree.

Lars

There are many Cymbidiums that will perform poorly in Zone 11. Nothing to do with your culture, just the climate, lots of lovely green leaves and poor flowering.

denninmi, I leave my phals outside along with all my other assorted orchids/non-orchids. They ALL do well. You'll love it!

Newbie to finally keeping 2 gift-Phals these past 2.5 years & so glad to check in this thread! (Killed many similar Phals gifts over the years)

I succeeded in getting both to rebloom & am hoping they'd do once more this Spring. I experimented by cutting the bloom spike on #1 now is growing 3 new spikes (do'nt look like roots) 1-2.5 inches now, but bottom leaves have turned yellow otherwise look healthy. The other (Phal#2) keeps trying to grow new bud-like bumps on the notches but dries before long (dry indoor conditions in Winter) no yellowing bottom leaves! Never were taken outdoors - perhaps will try this year! BTW H2O daily the amount of 3 ice-cubes as recommended by florist.

Qs do they need repotting?

Do you have any pictures? Its is hard to advise without seeing what you are trying to describe.

No orchid should be watered every day. Bad advice.

Why don't you start a new thread so you'll get more responses.

Jane

I shall try, but first I'll have to relearn how to post photos! I've been absent due to illnesses & couldn't remember how to get photos posted here ~ easier on FB.

Many thanks for your input. I have been able to get these 2 to rebloom after a few months of wait & have been giving the small amount of water daily since I received them as gifts.

Thanks again!