Becky, great detail there but to get detailed advice, you need to add similar gibberish to this to your profile "arthurm2015(Micro-Climate, Zone 10b Sydney, Australia)"

In some climates, sunlight through clear glass might be fine. Here it would result in sunburnt orchids.

I knew I forgot something in write-up round two and that was my location. I am in central NH, USA... Zone 5a according to the USDA map. I'll add it to my profile as well.

Your post covers a lot of ground but I will try my best to give my opinion .

First I would be affaid that the temps in the skylight might get much higher than you realize. High light and heat can burn plants quickly. Many plants will be OK with this like the Cattleya, but they will need some time to adjust. Put a thermometer on the shelf during full sun and you might be surprised how hot it gets.

The wood stove will make the air very dry. The day night temp changes shouldn't be a big deal and for some plants is a good thing. The dry air will be the issue which you can compensate for with potting medium and watering schedule.

I do not like sphagnum alone as a potting medium, especially for the renanthera I would use bark or bark mixed with sphagnum.

As for low light plants, I like Phaius, easy going large plant.

We all become experts at growing in our own environment. You will loose some plants while you figure out what works and what doesn't.

One method I used when growing near windows was touching the leaf at particular times of day to see the actual light temp conditions on the plant. A very warm to hot leaf with high light can burn the plant. As James mentions heat build up can be fast in summers near enclosed windowed spaces.

Thank you all for your responses!

I will monitor the plants in the skylights very closely as we approach late spring and summer with my indoor thermometer. Hopefully, in the next month or so I can just leave the skylights wide open all the time so they get plenty of fresh air and air circulation and it will help to keep the day temps down since they open up about a foot. I think I am also going to get some fake plant(s)/tree branches that I can use to diffuse the lighting a bit for them as well while keeping the natural look. Sorry if I seem stubborn on leaving them there- they just look so great! The skylights are also my only natural light source on that side of the building and I need to be surrounded by plants.

I am interested in moving some of my plants outside for the summer. I have plenty of space. I live in an apartment above a garage, so the only other person on the property is my landlord and he loves plants as much as I. My real concern is with wildlife. I live in a very rural area, which means everything from squirrels to black bears, plus the flock of chickens my landlord has. I've seen some posts of squirrels running off with orchids and I am concerned. I am currently at war with two grey squirrels and two red squirrels over my bird feeder (they are winning). How much should I be concerned about this? If I keep the squirrels well fed, do you think they will leave my orchids alone? I think my oncidium would really enjoy being outside and I would like to spur some growth from it. It's endured a lot at my hands and I am amazed it's still alive. I want to try to make amends with it. What would be the "ideal" outside location? Morning sun and bright shade the rest of the day? Would it be okay on the ground or a plant stand or should I try to hang it from a tree?

I agree about the sphag potting. I was actually very disappointed when I opened the shipping box from Norman's. The shipping receipt said not to repot the plants for 30 days as this could "severely damage" them but the plants already looked like they were on the downward slide to me. I repotted them all. The Cattleya and the Ren. are now in a potting mix with bark, a dash of fresh sphagnum and a dash of Black Gold orchid mix. I mounted the Bulbophyllum on cork bard with sphag. I know in the winter I will need to do something about moisture. I am probably going to do a terrarium and artificial lighting for it. The little seedling's main roots probably won't live- it looks like they were rotted at the base of the plant. I left them because they were still firm and plump and I hope I am wrong about the rot. The Cattleya had lost probably over 60% of its roots but still had some healthy ones and the Bulbuphyllum was held in the mix by buried, dead and rotting pseudobulbs. The rest of it looked shriveled. I think I may have lost the seedling if left in that sphag much longer. Needless to say, I don't think I will order from Norman's again between this and what I've read about them. It makes me sad because I got plants from them 8 years ago and they looked phenomenal (they have since passed).

Thanks for the Phaius suggestion, James! I really like the look of it and have put it near the top of my wishlist. My pony-tail palm may be getting evicted from its spot in the not-to-distant future. It looks like its terrestrial. What kind of growing medium do you like to use for it?

Thanks again for all your suggestion. I really appreciate any help and advice I can get.

I picked up a cheap infrared thermometer at a big box hardware store, around $20. I find it helpful to check temps around my grow area. It's surprising how different temps can be around a room.

The window will help a lot, some windows will have a coating to reflect heat so you might not have a problem at all.

As for squirrels, when I lived in an urban area I had more problems than in the suburbs. I think if they have other options they skip the orchids. I wouldn't feed them, more food will just mean more squirrels. They do seem to really enjoy Dendrobium flower buds. They also like to chew on p-bulbs, I think for the water. Another thing they do is dig up the pots to hide food. If you hang the plants they won't go out of their way to get to them.

Phaius does like a terestrial mix, I use a mixture of peat moss, orchid bark and perlite.

Here's a pic of Phaius tankervilleae, or Nun's orchidor Nun's Cap (various names).

It is planted in a mix of small bark and sphag. But this plant does well with about 50% shade cloth on my patio. Very pretty plant even when not blooming.

Jane