Temporary shade

[jackb]

I wanted to place my heat and light loving orchids in the greenhouse along with the tomatoes and peppers for the summer, however, the light levels were too high for Cattleyas, even with the 45% poly shade cloth on the greenhouse. After giving the problem some thought I came up with a workable solution, a temporary shade.
Placing cup hooks into the wood plant supports on each side of the green house I made a tent of shade material that came with a blow-away greenhouse some years ago.
Now, under the temporary cover, the light level during mid-day is about 3,000 foot-candles, which is ideal for Cattleyas. On cloudy days the shade can easily be removed.

 

[ducks4you]

Wow, that's not very warm. "ducks is shivering" We were balmy here by mid afternoon yesterday. Btw, I really love that you have copywritten your photos. I tire of all of the "Getty Images", and they sue if you misuse. We had to defend a business friend a few years ago from Getty trying to extract money. Happy to keep Getty from claiming ANY images!!!!!!!
ANYWAY, wouldn't your orchids do okay on an inside window ledge? Do they really need a lot of light? We are keeping a gift orchid alive on our atty associate's desk, in a suite with south facing windows and only flourescent light 5 days/week. I measured out the "3 ice cubes" worth of water and I use a small cup of that amount once a week and it's doing great.

 

[jackb]

Ducks,
Over the years I have found several times that my images have been "borrowed" and used for commercial purposes without my permission.
The orchids in the greenhouse are Cattleyas and hybrids that need 3,000 to 4,000 foot-candles of light and a big fluctuation in day/night temperature reach their full potential, fifteen to twenty degrees. Also, they can not tolerate direct light, plus we do not have any large window ledges. Then, there is the issue of drainage and simply the number of plants I have. They are grown in an indoor greenhouse under large LED growlights during the winter, as I have well over a hundred orchids under cultivation and adding all the time.

I suspect your orchid is a Phalaenopsis that loves shade, some, such as Cymbidium, need almost as much light as you can give them.

I am a member of the Northeast Orchid Society and over the years many expert guest speakers have addressed using ice to water your plant. You might check this link:

http://www.orchidsmadeeasy.com/ask/watering-orchids-with-ice/

Our society has an excellent resource page where you can find care and culture information on the variety of orchid you are growing.

http://www.nenyos.com/orchid-care--culture.html

Jack

 

[ducks4you]

I didn't have to read it, I KNOW that a tropical plant won't like ice!!! I figured out on my own that it is "3 ice cubes WORTH of water," and that people lose them through over watering. I COUNT on the advice from Mid American Gardener, a program from the University of Illinois Ag Dept, and they get calls about this, so their advice is to not overwater. Of COURSE most people keep the grocery store orchid, which is probably a generic orchid and not the ones that YOU keep.
I keep 4 plants in our office:
yellow tuberous begonia
palm
orchid
boston fern
Every one of them has to live with low light. The begonia flowers most of the year and reaches for the south facing window. (I killed a red tuberous begonia on my east facing porch a few years ago. ) The palm was a clearance plant from Lowe's and it recovered and all leaves that were closed when I purchased it have opened up. I am using it in the door of Suite B, which is mostly a window, to cover where the blinds used to be. The boston fern is on the Suite A side, as a hanging plant and, again, reaches for the light.
Interesting about your orchids!!