To get fine tuned advice you need to put where you are (state) or your climate zone in your id.

Added via edit, some pics that may help (from a place where indoor culture is almost non existant. Note orchids on wire mesh or hanging.

Glasshouse, Shadehouse or just outside.

I am in New York.

Do you have a porch or deck?

I put mine outside every summer. After several years of experimentation, having mine on our 2nd floor balcony works best. We have lots of curious squirrels, raccoons and chipmunks that love to tip over the pots and dig in the media, so I've stopped putting them out on ground level. Having them up on the balcony also minimizes insects, although the worst of that for me has been pill bugs and centipedes.

We have lots of wind, so my plants all occupy the floor of my balcony. No shelves. I have about 100 orchids now, so I don't bring them in for bad weather. I have about a dozen in hanging baskets that hang from the railing of my balcony.

I do have a deck. It may be the best choice for me. It does get very hot on the deck in the summer but it faces east and the western sun will be blocked by the house. Maybe I can hang them from the railing somehow to minimize the insects.

Western Ohio here,

I grow on an east facing patio during the summer. I put my orchids on several tiered racks that sit under the eaves of the house. I have squirrels and such, but don't have many issues with them bothering my 'kids. As far as bugs, do 3 consecutive weekly bug treatments before bringing them indoors next fall and all should be well. As long as they are under the eaves, strong storms don't usually knock them over either. Orchids sitting on tables and such are another story, they have to be moved to protected locations if strong winds are forecasted. The eaves also allow you to get an extra few weeks on the front and back-end of the outdoor season as the temps are usually a bit higher near the house and under the eaves.

Good luck,

Bob

My porch gets hot, full sun from 11am until sunset. My Catts, Oncs, Vandas and Dens do fine over the summer. The Phals and such must go in full shade on the other side of the house.

Mine stay out April through November. Most are "in captivity". Within my pool screen enclosure. With heating spots when needed. Some are in the trees. If they get well established they survive and come back stronger. My heated area is for 50 and above. The end of March I de-winterized. Cool for us for tomorrow morning in the low 50's. Not causing orchid work.

PS I have 50% shade cloth on the south side of the enclosure.

When we did the touristy bit my wife would take photos of the cute Strillils.

The problem here outside is the sun and even at higher latitudes the mid summer sun might be a problem. Shade-cloth of an appropriate density might help.....but I have no idea of the requirements for New York.

When to take the orchids in and out needs local input and and what you are trying to grow.

Here, I've decided Phalaenopsis are indoors all year or in a glass-House set just for them.

Different climate here but I do grow a good number of orchids outside on a covered West-facing balcony in addition to (too many) indoors. Everything's in pots on the ground because the winds can be quite strong. There's no way to rig up shade cloth so the orchids are strategically placed among my other plants (citrus, figs, spice trees, etc) which filter the light and shade them from our harsh sun.

It takes some experimentation to find the spot each one is happiest in, and I do have to keep an eye on bugs trying to munch root tips and flower buds, but regular observation keeps them in check. I keep seedlings and temp sensitive ones like phals indoors where conditions are more easily controlled. Good luck!

I forgot to mention that when I first move my orchids outdoors, I cover the front of my racks with heavy screening for a couple of weeks to allow the orchids to acclimate to the higher light. After 2-4 weeks, I remove the screening and let the 'kids be on their own.

Bob

When I grew in NY I put most of mine on the deck. My deck was very hot as it faced South-West. I only grew the high light orchids there. I grew Plumerias in pots indoors and moved them out on the deck too. I put them around the orchids to provide some shade. I also used old window screens. They work very well to shade. Save any old window screens!

All my lower light orchids went outside on the North side of the house under trees or on plastic tables. You can buy cheap plastic shelving at home depot and use it as tables. Just don't stack them as shelves, use them as tables and pile the plants on them.

I never had any big problems with insects, just ants and occasional slugs. Ants don't really cause any damage and you can easily get rid of them before bringing the plants back inside by drowning them in buckets of water. You can use Sluggo to kill the slugs.

It is so worthwhile putting your plants outside over the summer. They make good growth and love the fresh air and rain. If they get blown over, it doesn't hurt them.

Jane

I am glad you posted this. I was about to post about this myself. I only have Phals, but lots of them :). Last summer, they spent it outside, but initially (I did not cover them enough), a few got sunburned. However, they do like it outside and did quite well. The thing now is that they are almost all in bloom and some are still growing buds. I worry that some of the spectacular blooms will get damaged outside. I was planning to take out the ones that are not in bloom, but that is only two. I am not sure how best to go about this. Any advice?

Laura,

If you want move the bloomers out at the same time, just be sure to protect them from direct sunlight initially. Otherwise, a few more weeks indoors won't hurt too much.

The only orchid I am evening considering putting outside here in Ohio is my Den. 'aggravatum', maybe it will freeze and die :(

Bob

Lol Bob! I ended up moving out about 2/3 of mine outside today bc it was raining and cloudy. I left them to soak up some rain, but as the sun started to peek through, I moved them to a shady location. I will keep the bloomers with full stems inside a bit longer, but I feel bad bc I know how happy they are outside. Like you said, a few more weeks will be fine. Ephemerati, I will do just what you said. I have to be careful in the coming days, but think the area where I put them is shady enough.

I’m in Pennsylvania, the 7a/7b border. Last summer (and hopefully this summer) I had all of mine outside on a gigantic, 6 foot tall, north facing open shelf. Catts and lycastes went on the top shelf (full sun from about 9am to sunset) and everything else went on the middle shelf with the Dens and Onc in the front and Phals in the back. It sat against my privacy fence, so the Phals got dappled sun until about noon or 1pm and the Dens and Onc until maybe 2pm. Plants on the left side of the shelf got more sun than the right so I organized them accordingly. I never brought them in unless we got consistent rain for days, even then I only brought them into my screened in patio. All of them survived and even bloomed

I put all my phals outside every summer. They live in a screened porch with a translucent roof on the east side of my house. It seems ideal for them, light-wise. I leave them out until night temps are too low, but the cool nights of early fall ensure I get a colorful spring. :)

This year I rescued a dendrobium and cymbidium from a clearance rack. I'll have to experiment a bit with where to put them, and especially how to get that cymbidium to re-bloom.

any recommendations for bug killer on outdoor orchids?

Most poisons are contact killers. Meaning you need to get the bug wet when spraying. After it dries the bug will not be affected. After years of trials and tribulations I have eliminated contact poison from my arsenal. Gentle dish soap like dove and ivory will also kill on contact. Will not harm you or your plant. Also if you are chasing the nasty spider mite soap work there too. But if you use contact poison on the mites you need to constantly change poisons because the damn things become immune so you need 3 type of expensive poison. Forget the contact stuff and use the right soap.

When the big guns are needed I use orthene. This is a systemic that gets into the plant. I spray every 2 weeks if there is a problem. Orthene is not for mites. Soap for mites. Orthene also works as a contact killer. But I like to use the poisons as little as possible. I apply the orthene mostly for sucking bugs like mealy bugs, scale and aphid. And if you have the sucking bugs then you probably have ants. Ants are farmers. They bring the sucking bug to the plant and eat the secretions.

Another thing is to know your enemy or bug. Mites are on the underside of the leaf and can be seen by a magnifying glass.

If your landscape is loaded with ants then that needs to be dealt with. They are or will be a problem to your orchids. Soap is not affective on landscape.