So, most of you all know I grow my phals indoors, under lights in my hydro hut deluxe. But, summer is pretty hot here in Charlotte, NC and my collection goes outdoors for the summer. This weekend, I finished taking the entire collection outdoors and hope to grow outside for about 4 months or so. This is the 3rd or 4th year i've done this and in general they respond very well and enjoy all the outdoor elements. Huge upside for me is they are much easier to care for outdoors and this is certainly less stressful. Temperatures in my hydro hut stay way too high is peak summer, where some of my plants do well with this and some do not.

Last year I helped a friend of mine build this giant, custom grow bench on wheels. This lays on my back patio under my screened in gazebo. This last winter I added a lexan panel underneath the top shelf, to collect water and run down to one end and drain. This keeps the plants on top from dripping and soaking the plants on the bottom shelf. This bench is super heavy duty, wheels equipped with brakes and it won't budge. Luckily a few days ago we had the most severe thunderstorm/microburst i've seen in several years. It did a number on my yard and in the neighborhood, my plants got soaked but no damage. This is good to see the cart/bench did not budge as i'm pretty confidant we won't have another storm quite this strong this year. (Just jinxed myself).

Many of my plants have been outside for over a month now and are doing great things. Cannot believe how many "summer spikes" i'm seeing on plants that flowered late winter into spring.

Would love to hear and see how other growers are growing their phals outside in summer.

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Celebrate diversity, love your friends & family, and grow great orchids!

Mike - this is fantastic ! I know your phalaenopsis will enjoy the fresh air and maybe brighter light outdoor. I would love to have a setup similar to this if my outdoor is not so dry most of the time. I have fair success growing orchids outdoor when I also have misting system that comes on continuously. Edward is looking to build something similar - but he is in Houston so moisture is not much of a problem.

The leaves on most of these plants are spotless. One that stands out for me is Phal Mok Choi Yew. Large, round silver/green leaves.

I would suggest that you consider building an exterior screen/shade just so that bugs don't get to your pretty plants. It would be devasting to find these pretty leaves getting chewed up by bugs/insects. The other day we find caterpillar eating our vegetables - and wasp or grasshopper usually takes chucks of leaves. These are the things I would be concerned about when leaving a phalaenopsis outdoor. On the otherhand, orchids like Cattleya or Vanda with thicker leaves - I would leave them outdoor because bugs don't seem to like to chew on them. And if they do, well, I wont' be as bothered.

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Peter Lin, Admin
Big Leaf Orchids

I've seen this and its very convenient. Mine are now in my carport where they get enough light to grow, but not enough to grow as good as Mike's will and be super vigorous. My plants love it outside as long as it is not too hot and dry like it was last July and August. They suffered then and will be going back before then if it gets dry.

Peter, you can't see but these are in one of those tent/gazebo things with netting all around. The way Mike hovers over his plants, a bug won't last long anyway

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Carpe Diem

Thanks Peter! I'm envious of your new state of the art GH, but I do what I can and try to make the most of my space and keep my plants growing year round. Man, you sure can spot an MCY/Gigabell a mile away can't you? Think you posted gigabell 'Big Leaf Orchids #3 or #5', '#18' is in the pic top right somewhere.

Shade cloth....well, hard to see from the picture here but this giant cart/bench has shade built on to it. I tacked on a nice shade cloth material to all sides, just not the top. Also, this unit is on my back patio under my big gazebo which is also screened in. Bugs are not a problem at all, on occasion a small bird will get stuck inside and i'll get it out. The only time i've ever had bugs eating/chewing on foliage is years ago when I grew under trees, on the back deck without cover, etc. You are correct, the bugs will find the plants. But, this bench is elevated off the ground and screened in for protection. At the face of this bench, their is shade clth that is rolled up to the top and clipped. I usually have this rolled up and don't use it. If we are having a rain storm or something, i'll unroll it down to the ground to add a layer of protection.

But, with the elements and all around I certainly take the opportunity to spray for pests while outdoors, and again in the fall before everything comes back into the hydro hut.

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Celebrate diversity, love your friends & family, and grow great orchids!

Haa ha, note in the background of the pic is my disc golf basket. I did not notice it. This is to tie me over and keep me sane from not being able to get out and play in disc golf tournaments now that i'm about to have a baby at home. Will be nice to work on my putting and keep an eye on my orchids at the same time!

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Celebrate diversity, love your friends & family, and grow great orchids!

When my plants were outside and not under the carport I had squirrels digging in them and birds snatching the sphagnum for nesting material. Bugs are the only problem

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Carpe Diem

love your setup, mike, and your plants look very happy. I am in the process of getting something like this together this year as well, if i can ever get enough time to do it. thanks for posting it, it's always nice to see how others grow their plants. just out of curiosity, do you have to water more than twice weekly? do you mist everyday? and do you have slugs, and if you do, do you have something on the bottom to keep them from climbing up the cart?

for lighting, is everything just natural sunlight, or do you supplement on the cart as well?

Thanks! Well, weather determines my watering schedule. I'd say I water twice per week with a heavy watering/feeding. I am one whom is fond of mistng daily in the am, so if I have time I do it. I NEVER allow anything to get too dry for more than a day or so. I probably get the best vegetative growth in summer when everything gets a lot of water, fertilizer, high heat and air movement. It really is nice to see in the fall after about 3-4 weeks of reduced temperatures, the number of spikes emerging......then it's back to the hydro hut.

No supplemental lighting outdoors, although I wish I could figure that out safely. Light levels are lower outdoors vs. being under my T5's and HID lighting.

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Celebrate diversity, love your friends & family, and grow great orchids!

well, you probably don't ahve anything to worry about, the leaves themselves are saying, "we're doing great!"

i'm experimenting with adding an automatic misting system into this set up, probably on a timer. i'll let you know if i get anywhere with it, if you're interested, especially if it isn't too complicated.

I hope this inspires everyone on the forum to build a bench like this and double the size of thier collection!

There looks to be a whole bunch of fat leaved leaved Phals growing on that bench!!!

you know, the only problem is see with that bench is that it looks too small for all the plants.

Mike I love your set-up--having a bench on wheels would be very convenient. Plus it looks nice. You've got what looks like a perfect combination of light and protection for your plants.
I have a lot of plants outdoors right now too in a partially protected area. Not the most aesthetic option, but I got this stand at a local drug store in the clearance isle for $15.00. It has three shelves and a cover. Right now I'm treating for spider mites an scale. All the plants will be treated and repotted before I bring them indoors. I do think they get a big boost from being outdoors--I've always put cattleyas and vandas out, but the phals seem to appreciate the extra light and humidity too.

Mike,

Last fall I found that my outdoor Phals were infected by millipedes. The buggers stay down in the media where you can't see them. To see if you have a problem, just submerge a couple of test pots in plain water. The buggers will promptly crawl up and out of the media.

I have only 18-20 plants, so I simply submerge each pot and pick the millipedes out using tweezers. Then I pour an Acephate solution through the media to kill the eggs.

Dave

Mike,

This is a followup to my post concerning millipedes.

Two days ago I moved a tray of Phals out to my deck for a breath of fresh air. This morning I started to transplant them -- just to find that each and every one has a millipede either under the pot or, ouch, already in the pot. I know they're new because none of the Phals that I left in my basement have millipedes; the only ones that are infected are the ones left on my deck for two nights.

So, beware the little buggers, hiding as they do in the media. You can always kill them using a solution of Acephate, but I'm astounded at how quickly they showed up!

Love your new shelves. Best of luck!

Dave

8-8-09, plants are growing exceptionally well this year outdoors. I hope to keep everything outdoors until fall.

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Celebrate diversity, love your friends & family, and grow great orchids!