It's always sad when something so sudden, unexpected and devastating like this happens. Bright side, I think this is a great video for those of us who feel "orchid challenged" because it shows that no one has to be absolutely perfect to successfully keep beautiful and healthy orchids. Thank you, Dani!
Hi Danny! I know this happened a few years ago, but I'm still going to comment. I live in South Florida. I started collecting orchids last year from a gift orchid. I made all the mistakes until I found your channel. I saved that orchid and it gave back lot's of love. I've added 12 more to my collection. LOL..I have a "collection" now. I have them all on my shaded patio with LOTS of ventilation. Mostly Phals and Dendrobiums. It's now August and super hot! I brought them inside last week, but now I hope they acclimate to indoors? IDK. BUT, with all of your advice, I feel confidant that I can spot any signs of what they may need. Please know, your videos are the best on the internet! You make me strive to be the best Orchid Mom that I can be. Please don't ever stop. I watch all of your old and newest posts!
Hi Danny!! I love your show. I live in central Florida and I grow my orchids outside. YES I have burned up some, but I just buy one more. I have around 130 orchids and a garden. Do not let it get you down. I have been doing this for over 3 years and YOU are the first one I started to listen to. Have a wonderful life!! 🌸
I had a store paph given to me while in hospital. The leaves have been hanging down the pot like wet paper since I've been home, about two months now. No pests, good bark, etc. I tried the only (NZ) sphagnum moss idea you talked about a few posts back and within one week the leaves are up and healthy. Thank you, Danny, for saving my precious paph!
Dear Danny I am so sorry for the loss of your tolumnias. I learn a lot with you and hopefully some good will come of this horrible situation. II send you wishes of get better soon and a big hug.
Ur Vanda that u showed sun burnt at 13:15 & later will survive. Just give it daily regular long bath. Dehydrate it well. One of my vanda got a lot more burnt than urs. But after good hydration it started producing 2 babies. So good luck for urs 😊
Monika K. I strongly agree. Knowing what doesn’t work is every bit as important as knowing what does. Both are useful information for other growers and, to me, showing her failures makes Dani’s videos all the more believable, if you know what I mean.
Sending you a big hug Danni, that was a hard lesson to learn but I know you will just pick yourself up and dust yourself off and come back fighting. Starting earlier in the year sounds like a very good idea, hope you get some tips from other growers in similar climates.
Thank you Dani for sharing your experience with us . I'm so sorry for your loss and sorry to see those orchids die. I feel encourage for the few that I lost because I'm still new to orchids. I learn so so much from you.Keep up the good work and get well soon.
Sending hugs to you Danni. I feel your pain in losing so many orchids by sunburn. On another note glad you are feeling better and take care of yourself.
Wow just from listening to your voice I can feel that you are really really sick. Hoping for a fast recovery for you and your damaged orchids. Stay strong! I am just really lucky I live in a tropical country, Philippines, where high-light orchids can be placed in full sun anytime of the year. If only I can send you some of our native orchids just to say thank you for all the useful vids you create. I don't really acclimate orchids for that long. The longest I acclimated an orchid was for a month and that orchid wasn't really in the best shape. It was a Brassocattleya hybrid that had zero roots that I mounted on a piece of driftwood and gradually increasing light intensity in the course of one month. Now its in full sun and very happy.
Sad to hear that you lost your tolumnias. But I appreciate that you share things! I can't keep my orchids outdoors, it is too cold for most of the year. It is currently heatweave here and I have been keeping close eye of my orchids, they live in southern window. But one thing I have noticed, I lose flowers way faster than normally because this heat.
Hi Danny! I have had a mini tolumnia collection for a year after now after I saw this video for the first time. What I learned is that they are SO similar to vandas in terms of watering. However, I find that my tolumnias in my grow space do better in light levels of a oncidium/higher light phal and thrive in this setup. Also I found that they do not have to be potted in sphag moss to do well because the roots HAVE to dry out just like a vanda. I would recommend putting them in medium orchiata bark mixed with medium perlite. Hope this helps!
Hi Danny, This is the first time i am commenting publicly on any forum but i have to thank you for all your wonderful videos that have helped me so much in my orchid growing hobby. I appreciate your logical approach to growing them and your scientific explanations. It is also so courageous of you to use this video to teach other orchid growers. I live in india and i grow my Vandas outside tied to a sparsely branched tree. Initially i tried to grow them traditionally in hanging baskets under a shade house with dunking of the roots in water but they would get dehydrated inspite of my best efforts. Since then i have started growing them tied to the tree and wrap the roots around the tree trunk with a single layer of jute. This has worked out very well, as the roots are protected from dehydration but still seem to be able to air out. In the heat of summer (it gets to more than 32C here in summer) i just drape a shade cloth around the tree branches to protect my vandas from sun hitting them directly. Don"t think i can enclose a picture in you tube comments section. I know this does not quite address your concerns about acclimatising them but was just curious on how the vanda roots coped with the heat on your terrace. I grow my rhyncostylis this way too but have found a shadier location to grow them on.
So sorry to see your tolumnias and hear how sick you are. If it makes you feel any better I have a similar situation with my phals. I live in s.e. FL USA. I have found that my phals are happiest on a north facing window indoors year-round. They prefer the a/c to our heat and humidity outdoors. I almost lost them recently because I decided to mount them and put them outside in the shade (watering daily). Noticed after a short time that they were becoming terribly dehydrated. So, I took them off the mounts and put them back in clay pots with leca indoors. Now they are "happy campers". Thanks for taking the time to make this video. I, too, grow tolumnias and an interested in hearing other growers' experiences with growing them. For the vandas check out Motes Orchids. They have very good info on growing them.
Pat Sfreund I live in Los Angeles & I keep my Phals on a NW-facing window too. I actually had to get a sheer curtain cuz my darker-leaved Phals were turning red 💀
Dani; so sorry to hear about your Tolumnias. Last year I decided to put my Stanhopeas outside. I prepared what I thought was the perfect spot...right light, lots of breeze, in a spot I could water frequently. I spent a couple of weeks acclimating them, then put them in my 'perfect' spot. Well, they HATED it. They didn't burn, they just quickly declined. I lost half of them, and the rest are really mad at me and sulking. Lesson learned...my plants (except cymbidiums) stay in the grow room!
I live in Cyprus too. I just choose a shady location and put my cattleyas, cymbidiums, nobile out there. Everything is ok. I grow them outdoor year-round.
Hi Danny, I'm so sorry for your losses!! I actually just had a very similar thing happen to me just last week. I got a new air conditioning unit (the kind that has an exhaust hose that needs to be mounted to a window) and I went on vacation only to come back home to a 102°F apartment at 10pm. The mounting bracket for the AC exhaust had fallen out of the window and was blowing into the apartment heating it up like an oven! It most likely got to at least 110°F or more during the day, and I'm not sure how many days this happened for. I lost ALL of my masdevallias and miltoniopsis, 1 tolumnia and damaged about 20 more plants. I cried when I came home to it all too, and funny enough I was also sick! I know how you feel, but I think you did a really good job of still having a positive attitude about the entire situation, and I'm trying to take a page from your book! Thank you for all of your videos and I hope you feel better soon!
Dani! I managed to stop black stem rot on store bought Phal. Yeah I lost 80% of the plant (I was lazy tbh) but I already have one orchid which recovered from "two leaves and a nub" situation so I'm glad that I didn't lost it completely. So the thing is - I cut into the stem and tried to scrape as much of the rot as a could. I cleaned my knife with alcohol frequently and managed to leave mostly clean tissue. Capped it with cinnamon and hoped for the best. After week without watering I started to spray the leaves and as for now (1,5 months after) they seem not to shrivel and the black rot is gone. In the autumn when humidity will drop I'll try to "pot" it in stable conditions so it can grow new roots. Idk if this comment will be relevant to someone but I guess - don't be afraid to cut into your Phals if you have to.
I'm so sorry for your lost! It's hard to loose orchids. My orchids are outside but under the roof and even cattleyas and tolumnias are protected by shade cloth with 50% and up.
Dear Dany. Sorry for the loss of your Tolumnias. I live in Venezuela and here the majority of growers grow their orchids outside, not using a tent but an estructure with the ceiling covered with shade cloth nets. These structures, not having walls or may be just one, allow the air to flow freely through the orchids keeping them constantly fresh. I live in an apartment and I grow part of my orchids outside in a balcony. As I can't install any kind of structure there what I do is to use other plants, kind of garden bushes, as a shade and place my orchids behind. I think this method could work for you as well. Hope you get better soon.
I live in the USVI, 18/64 degrees. My vandas new and old are outside in my pergola. They are getting a lot more light since the hurricanes and yet are doing fantastic. I now soak them twice a day for 15 minutes each time.
Hi there. I grow my orchids outside during spring and summer in Australia. My top temp is 41 celsius. I use the double shade cloth method, but I don't drape the second layer directly over the top of the first layer, I have a gap of about a foot between the two layers which helps to not make it too dark/shaded with the double layer. And I only use a 70% strength when doing the double layer I wouldn't use 95% with 2 layers even with the gap. My orchids also got burnt when using single layer 90% shade cloth
Hi Danny, sorry to hear about your tolumnias. I live in curacao and here it gets very hot (30°) we have little rainfall for most of the year. I grow my orchids in a greenhouse with a plastic cover that diffuses the light(like on a lightly cloudy day) and half of it is covered with a 90% shade cloth. Even like that I have had sunburns but not a lot. Some people do grow their orchids outside but indeed you can see signs of stress on their plants. My plants get 4 hours of morning sun and then bright shade, I do live next to a mountain though. I hope this was helpful
oh sorry for the sad news Danni, :( but I am sure you'll find new replacement for them and also we learn with each mistake. However i feel ya, the disappointment... I had one of my vandas outside last year, she only received a few hours of morning sun here in France, but she got yellowish too, so took her inside, she got all her green back during the winter. So maybe not all is lost with the ones that did not get very severe damage. And get well soon :)
I feel your pain, Danny! I lost over 35 orchids mainly due to a move but others as you I placed outside when the weather was mild and I manage to destroy them. Now they reside indoors with ac on all the time. They do get filtered light but I HAVE to close blinds by 3p.. as of late they have been doing well. My conclusion when temps,are in the 100's or even upper 80s, they need to be kept inside, not worth taking the risk. My aunts were orchid growers in Puerto Rico and all they did was attach to tree trunk or hang them on a tree branch and that was that, so why it works for some and not for others I'm still out on.
Hi Dani! I live in the Philippines.I grow my orchids outdoors. I had the same thing happen to my orchids. Every year after the rainy months my orchids tend get sunburns on one up to three leaves until they adapt to the sunny months. I can really relate to sunbuns.huhu
Hi Danny, I live in Singapore and we have weather that is hot (36 deg cel), humid or rainy year round. My orchids do well on my sheltered balcony which gets direct morning sun from 7am till 1pm for half a year. During this period, I do not put on shade cloths but I’ll put my fan on a timer so that the air is constantly moving till 1pm. It has served me well for a couple of years. I do acclimatised my new orchids to gradual sun for 2 weeks before moving them to their final spot next to the balcony ledge. Hope this will be helpful to you. :)
Hi Dani....let me start with how much I enjoy your videos and I'm sorry about your heat damage and losses.....I live in deep south Texas and boy does it ever get hot here and stays relativley hot/warm here most of the year.....I have lots of different types of orchids outside (even the ones they say can't take high heat at all). Your problem was heat build up and not enough air movement.....I've never acclimated my orchids by moving them in and out everyday.....I pull them out of the greenhouse all at once and place them in an area all together in a group where they get more sun at times than they do shade.....for about a month I water them generously and have just a regular fan blowing on them at the same time all day long to keep the leaves and roots from getting too hot....after doin this for about 4 weeks They acclimate beautifully and I can then place them just about anywhere (within reason lol) I want with no problems....I don't pamper them much at all outside....they get watered and fed on the same schedule as my rare tropical plant collection....there are times I've not watered them for two weeks and have not had them dehydrate horribly......I'm about an hour from the gulf coast and yes it can get pretty humid here but the intense sun can and does counter act the humidity at times or makes it feel WAY hotter than it really is and still my orchids are in near perfect shape and litterally grow like weeds.....hope this helps 😃
I live in a tropical country and my orchids are mounted on trees. A few of them face the noon/afternoon sun daily. There’s a regular breeze that goes through them. I suspect your issue is that the shade cloth cut off the air circulation of the orchids.
😥, sorry to hear about your tolu. My tolum also suffered recently, it rained and they were left in water for 8 hrs. One of them lost all of it's new growth. I leave my plants outside all summer in shaded area. Feel better.
This just shows you that you shouldn't do an experiment on all of your orchids at the same time. Just pick 1 or 2. Honestly it's just bizarre that the shade cloth didn't protect them enough. I think the main situation here is that the orchids need to be acclimated to the conditions of their environment since flask state. It makes sense that plants can't easily adapt, because they don't usually travel such large distances in a single lifetime :D
LinardBraslin I agree with you and another factor that it’s important to consider is humidity and air movement. If there isn’t enough humidity and air movement the heat even under shade will do great damage to our plants.
Danny said that there was good air movement, but I donno about the humidity situation. But I know that in higher sun exposure plant transpirate faster, witch makes them drink more water and helps them cool off a bit more.
I'm in FL and I've had my Vandas, as well as a couple Cattleyas, Epidendrums, Spathoglottis, Encyclias, Dendrobiums, and Oncidiums outside since probably February or March. The Vandas are grown hanging in plastic baskets with coco husk fiber, underneath on the bars of a 9 ft (2.7 m) pale yellow patio umbrella. The other orchids are potted in various combos of bark and sphagnum under the umbrella but sitting on a patio table. I know others in FL who grow all of their orchids outside since spring potted but sitting under trees or potted then put in a basket that is hanging up against the roof and also shielded with some trees. I don't have as many trees or places to shield my orchids so the other 50 are grown inside near a Southern Window with no curtain at the moment. I know you don't have sun from directly above though or tree coverage like this. I hope you feel better and I'm sorry about your Tolumnias and Vanda.
I was taking to a grower in S.Florida on eBay. He said he couldn’t sell the V coeruleas because the hurricane a month or two ago destroyed the shade cloth. He could get another for a month . But even a month in S Florida sun they got burned but it wasn’t fatal , not so much for Della le condition but I guess it might depend on wind speed , humidity , and when direct sun hits to determine the severity of a burn
I live in Costa Rica, and I have to say we grow orchids outside mostly, it's much more common than growing them inside the house. Most people choose shady locations or even build shade houses with 70% shade cloth and up. Personally I chose a spot in my garden that gets morning sun until around 9 or 10 depending on the time of the year and is shaded the rest of the day. I think key is not to expose them to afternoon sun, I've found it's the most damaging sun to be had in the garden. Also, note I live in a relatively cool mountain region at 1700 meters above sea level, so my climate is pretty humid and cloudy most of the year, and I pretty much only grow native orchids, since they are very hardy here and are adapted to this place. I've had no luck growing cattleyas here, vandas just the tricolor suavís, others i've tried seem to find it too cold up here to properly grow. Any way, it's really sad you lost the tolumnias, but I'm happy you got fresh new ones to re start the collection.
Howdy.. from south Fla . That doesn't look like sun burn to me ... that looks more like rot ..also, to take into consideration, is that these are hybrids and each one can vary a bit on the conditions that they like. I've got some that even receive full afternoon sun for a few hours a day however, morning full blast is typically the standard for these. I still fail every once in while with these but for the greater part I have to say they like pretty bright conditions otherwise they'll never flower.
I feel sorry for your Tolumnia, but I am glad at least it helps to be a learning experience. I live in Thailand and I usually grow Dendrobium Vanda and Cattleya outside. I place them on the eastern side of a tree first and move them west after some time if I see they are doing good, I do not have a specific time, just see how they are doing and proceed if they look ok. I also have another area in the back of the house where we installed a 50% shade cloth, I moved 2 vandas and 1 Cattleya there and they seem fine, previously they have been living next to a west facing frosted window for about half a year or so. I also grow my Tolumnia on a slab in the same area, but I wonder if I should move inside, because it becomes super dry with the heat and I have to water too often.
Oh no.... so sorry that happened to you. I found that though leaves grown inside can adapt to outside sunlight to a certain extent, they will never be as resilient to sun light as leaves that have developed under that exposure. I also cannot put any orchids outside without good protection and my location is probably on same the latitude as Athens, so slightly north in comparison to yours. Fingers crossed at least the less severely damaged ones will make a speedy recovery!
Happened to my dendrobium phalenopsis and oncidiums too. I would see my neighbours having these outside under the scorching heat but after 2 hours, 90% gone. Major setback. I feel for you. Best focus on your health for now though.
omg this is what my tolumnia is experiencing too. I live in Bankok where the sunlight is very strong. I lost all of the my tolumnia in a day. but i'm still trying to recuperate my plants and hopefully i can save some. i was thinking if it was because of mold or bacteria but it's actually the sun. Thank you for your infomation. And if you have any advice how to save them pls lemme know.
I live in Los Angeles, and I saw epidendrums at a garden store that were producing anthocyanins even under a shade cloth! The sun does not play at these latitudes lol
I know this comment is three years too late, but I am so sorry!! What a hard lesson learned 😣 who would have known?! thank you for sharing your experience tho!
Feel better Danny. Sorry to see you struggle and losing so many of your babies. You will get over your cold soon and another orchid unboxing we will see, from Swarters ? 😬. You’re doing a Bonnie Tyler (total eclipse of the heart ) very sexy 🙈.
I had a burn case with an Ascocentrum but it was not the sunlight, it was the sudden heat. She was in the direct sun all through winter until 1 pm. However she burnt outside when I placed them together with the Cattlyeas under bright light, not sun. BUT as I said I beleive it was the heat that cooked the leaves, not the light.
Im sorry to hear about your loses. Rhynchostylis tolerates way less light than vandas, so I would not try shadecloth with them :) You had to try tho, orchid growing is all about seeing what works, so don't get discouraged. You actually showed us that orchids neet to be acclimated for long periods to build up resistance. On that note, I have a cloud forest species growing on 50% RH. At first leaves where very thin and they would curl. But now they grow a lot more thicker and they dont curl as much so I guess orchids can also acclimate to lower humidity bit by bit ^ ^
I live in south east Queensland, Australia and tried growing quite a few vandas (about 20 or so) outside because I saw them in Malaysia growing in an outdoor garden and thought they’d be ok. I eventually lost the lot after some time trying various aspects and under 50% shade cloth. Actually, I just remembered I have one left which is hanging bare rooted in a frangipani tree and has not flowered for at least 12 years. It still gets lots of light but obviously not happy. How do I get it flowering again, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Sorry to see this but we are human and make mistakes. I am really surprised at the sunburn even with 0% shade. I use 70% and sometimes think it is too dark. I wish you luck with all your patients.
I burned phalaenopsis on the eastern window in april, even another phals was ok there , but they was used to be there and was not so sensitive for sun, but this one , that was burned ,it was all time in the shade and i put it to window too and it burned from one side and then lost all leaves and died ( even from beginin it was perfect big and health plant), it was awful.
Sorry to see this, Danny, especially with both Vandas.. but in my opinion they may not be lost plants since you can sever the base and continue to maintain them where your indoor Vandas are and they might sprout keikis if the base of the stem if kept moist. My South Florida climate is somewhat as yours and, as you know, I grow my Vandas outdoors, but only under two conditions of which neither involves shadecloth no matter what the level of protection of the mesh is since the exposure of sunlight is mostly constant without any daytime break along with heat buildup... and one of the conditions for my Vandas has been Eastern exposure without any protection, whatsoever, which is on the east side of the house (approx 4 hours if low sun) which means once the sun passes overhead and moves west the plants do not see any direct sunlight at all though they are showered twice to help prevent the leaves getting too warm due to daytime heat. My other area for Vandas is under shade lath in full southern exposure at a protection level of 50% which means that the direct full rays of the sun is hitting the leaves as much as full shade is hitting the leaves at the same time because my lath is spaced the exact distance apart as the lath is wide and that lath is running north to south which means that since the sun travels from east to west it is constantly moving over lath and the open and unprotected space and then lath again and doing this all day long so that no portion of the plant leaves is exposed to the sun for any amount of damaging time because the sun is constantly moving and the stationary plants are receiving that little bit of shade and sun at the same exact rate. Now I know you're not going to go and build a shadehouse.. 😀 but I do know that you will study the effect (good effect) as what is known as dappled sunlight.😀 As always; best of luck and enjoy. I have a video showing and explaining this process of lath and sun travel/protection.
I didn’t notice this while watching on my phone, but on my TV it looks like there are bright sunny spots coming through the shade cloth gaps; in other words, the shade doesn’t look uniform. I can’t help but wonder if using two 40% shade cloths would work better than a single 90%. Or perhaps using white canvas instead of shade cloth? What I am trying to say is that something can block 97%, but I would think for an orchid in your dry climate it would need to be uniform - not 0% in spots and 100% in most to average to 97%. The 0% spots would get cooked with noon/afternoon sun. Where I am there is so much humidity in the air (70% +) that the water molecules acts as a light diffuser. If the ventilation is an issue, perhaps a yurt like structure that is open at the bottom and top which would funnel air in a chimney style. That is after all why the Mongols use yurts in warm climates. I know from camping in yurts that the sun makes it through since I always end up getting a wicked tan after two weeks in a canvas covered yurt.
Thanks for sharing your experience!!! But in order to observe interference or defraction max/min for light waves slits must be comparable with the length of the light waves. It is not the case.
Ohhh.... so sad. I did the same with my cymbidium. I guess SE Texas weather is much like yours. We’re cooking! And, this was after It was recovering from last Augusts hurricane Harvey when half of it drowned. :(
Living close to Gibraltar right by The Med, I wonder if it’s a combination of warm / hot wind / breeze that actually created the burn as opposed to just the light behind shade cloth? When I see my weather prognosis I always check wind velocity / direction and if I leave my home I bring my Vandas and tolumnias inside while I’m not home to make sure the warm ‘air circulation’ does not get out of hand ... my Vandas are only exposed to direct sun for the last 2 hrs of the day ... tolumnias dangling in their baskets in mottled sun / shade all day ... it’s the hot wind that makes me bring all inside even though no direct sun would hit them ... long story short ... sorry ... I know it doesn’t solve the current effect of what has happened but maybe another observation that could trigger something ... other orchids still outside? If easterly wind gets hot ... move the cattleyas etc ... August will be worse as you already know ... I hope you’ll feel better soon ... summer colds in our climate are tough ones to get rid of ... a/c to outside back to a/c ... be careful xx thank you for making a vid today ... much appreciated xx
was it the sun or heat? my little guy has been doing wonderful all winter, even putting on a new fan, but he will go outdoors in a few weeks, now I'm not sure where to place it! or should I keep it indoors when the heat gets 90 or more
Hi Danny, It is currently winter here so all my orchids are ready in my bedroom(which is crazy) and I’m trying to prepare for summer. Do you think I should use something to block out a bit of sunlight for my Vandas since the sun is very intense in Australia?
Hey Danny, sorry for your loss :( But I was wondering, how do I know when it is time to trigger my Phal into blooming. I live in a tropical climate and I have to trigger them and I have no idea when the new leaf will stop growing and it's time for flowering. How do I tell when the new leaf has fully grown before forming a new leaf?
I grow my orchids outside in my patio, as I've mentioned before. It is a large patio surrounded on the South and West sides with the same shade cloth you showed in this video. I live in Southern California, and it is hot and humid, not far from the beach. The temps can range from 45F (or less occasionally) in Winter to 110F (about a couple weeks ago and didn't lose even one) in Summer. If you want to see pics of the patio there are some on my twitter: @katsleon1 . I have orchids in convenient pot stands in clay pots with broken chopsticks keeping the clay off the bottom of the stands as they mold if left wet. I also have hanging half pots. I water my half pots in Summer twice a week or every other day if in the high 90sF. My other orchids I water once a week or twice week if high 90sF. The stands hold two rows of pots, so the Paphs I keep on the inside row. The plants in half pots are protected from the sun by the board they are mounted on, and they hang along the shade cloth. I also have miniature orchids on the patio table (supposed to be for eating on, but that didn't last long when I started collecting miniatures) which only get the earliest morning sun as in when the sun first comes up. I don't baby them or do anything special. I fertilize every two to three weeks with a fraction of the recommended Miracle Grow Orchid Fertilizer. They just like it out there. Oh, and my Vandas hang from the rafters along the shade cloth. I have posted a short video update on my patio. Anyway, hope that is what you were asking for Danny.
Sorry to hear about the tolumnia losses; truly. You said it was 95% shade cloth and this happened? That doesn't seem right. I've' seen people grow with 60% shade cloth in Alabama and other parts of the US, with 100F° temps and moderate humidity, and the orchids were fine. I know these guys like a good watering, but they like to dry quickly. Perhaps the water was trapped and it stayed soggy or cooked. Live an learn I alwys say...
I think your shade cloth is not actually cutting out 95% of the sunlight. I'm not sure what % it is cutting out (it looks similar to my 70% shade cloth) but you could test it with a light meter or free phone apps that measure LUX. Hope you feel better soon.
It's always sad when something so sudden, unexpected and devastating like this happens. Bright side, I think this is a great video for those of us who feel "orchid challenged" because it shows that no one has to be absolutely perfect to successfully keep beautiful and healthy orchids. Thank you, Dani!
Hi Danny! I know this happened a few years ago, but I'm still going to comment. I live in South Florida. I started collecting orchids last year from a gift orchid. I made all the mistakes until I found your channel. I saved that orchid and it gave back lot's of love. I've added 12 more to my collection. LOL..I have a "collection" now. I have them all on my shaded patio with LOTS of ventilation. Mostly Phals and Dendrobiums. It's now August and super hot! I brought them inside last week, but now I hope they acclimate to indoors? IDK. BUT, with all of your advice, I feel confidant that I can spot any signs of what they may need. Please know, your videos are the best on the internet! You make me strive to be the best Orchid Mom that I can be. Please don't ever stop. I watch all of your old and newest posts!
Hi Danny!! I love your show. I live in central Florida and I grow my orchids outside. YES I have burned up some, but I just buy one more. I have around 130 orchids and a garden. Do not let it get you down. I have been doing this for over 3 years and YOU are the first one I started to listen to. Have a wonderful life!! 🌸
I had a store paph given to me while in hospital. The leaves have been hanging down the pot like wet paper since I've been home, about two months now. No pests, good bark, etc. I tried the only (NZ) sphagnum moss idea you talked about a few posts back and within one week the leaves are up and healthy. Thank you, Danny, for saving my precious paph!
Thank you for showing us your failures and disasters. It makes me feel better that I have lost a few orchids and am not alone!
Dear Danny
I am so sorry for the loss of your tolumnias. I learn a lot with you and hopefully some good will come of this horrible situation.
II send you wishes of get better soon and a big hug.
Ur Vanda that u showed sun burnt at 13:15 & later will survive. Just give it daily regular long bath. Dehydrate it well.
One of my vanda got a lot more burnt than urs. But after good hydration it started producing 2 babies.
So good luck for urs 😊
Lesson learned. I’m so sorry but I know you are a loving and caring plant mom. I feel you feeling their pain. ☹️😟
Really appreciate that you are willing to show your failures as well so we can all learn. Thanks so much!
Naaaaw :( poor you...thanks for sharing your "faults" with us. I'm sure somebody will learn from it before something bad could happen 👍
Monika K. I strongly agree. Knowing what doesn’t work is every bit as important as knowing what does. Both are useful information for other growers and, to me, showing her failures makes Dani’s videos all the more believable, if you know what I mean.
Rockdoc2174 Well said! She's my #1 informational source because she seems to be so transparent with the things she does.
Sending you a big hug Danni, that was a hard lesson to learn but I know you will just pick yourself up and dust yourself off and come back fighting. Starting earlier in the year sounds like a very good idea, hope you get some tips from other growers in similar climates.
Thank you Dani for sharing your experience with us . I'm so sorry for your loss and sorry to see those orchids die. I feel encourage for the few that I lost because I'm still new to orchids. I learn so so much from you.Keep up the good work and get well soon.
Sending hugs to you Danni. I feel your pain in losing so many orchids by sunburn.
On another note glad you are feeling better and take care of yourself.
Wow just from listening to your voice I can feel that you are really really sick. Hoping for a fast recovery for you and your damaged orchids. Stay strong!
I am just really lucky I live in a tropical country, Philippines, where high-light orchids can be placed in full sun anytime of the year. If only I can send you some of our native orchids just to say thank you for all the useful vids you create. I don't really acclimate orchids for that long. The longest I acclimated an orchid was for a month and that orchid wasn't really in the best shape. It was a Brassocattleya hybrid that had zero roots that I mounted on a piece of driftwood and gradually increasing light intensity in the course of one month. Now its in full sun and very happy.
Sad to hear that you lost your tolumnias. But I appreciate that you share things! I can't keep my orchids outdoors, it is too cold for most of the year. It is currently heatweave here and I have been keeping close eye of my orchids, they live in southern window. But one thing I have noticed, I lose flowers way faster than normally because this heat.
Sorry for your loss..but we gave all been there
Hi Danny! I have had a mini tolumnia collection for a year after now after I saw this video for the first time. What I learned is that they are SO similar to vandas in terms of watering. However, I find that my tolumnias in my grow space do better in light levels of a oncidium/higher light phal and thrive in this setup. Also I found that they do not have to be potted in sphag moss to do well because the roots HAVE to dry out just like a vanda. I would recommend putting them in medium orchiata bark mixed with medium perlite. Hope this helps!
Hi Danny,
This is the first time i am commenting publicly on any forum but i have to thank you for all your wonderful videos that have helped me so much in my orchid growing hobby. I appreciate your logical approach to growing them and your scientific explanations. It is also so courageous of you to use this video to teach other orchid growers.
I live in india and i grow my Vandas outside tied to a sparsely branched tree. Initially i tried to grow them traditionally in hanging baskets under a shade house with dunking of the roots in water but they would get dehydrated inspite of my best efforts. Since then i have started growing them tied to the tree and wrap the roots around the tree trunk with a single layer of jute. This has worked out very well, as the roots are protected from dehydration but still seem to be able to air out. In the heat of summer (it gets to more than 32C here in summer) i just drape a shade cloth around the tree branches to protect my vandas from sun hitting them directly. Don"t think i can enclose a picture in you tube comments section. I know this does not quite address your concerns about acclimatising them but was just curious on how the vanda roots coped with the heat on your terrace.
I grow my rhyncostylis this way too but have found a shadier location to grow them on.
So sorry to see your tolumnias and hear how sick you are. If it makes you feel any better I have a similar situation with my phals. I live in s.e. FL USA. I have found that my phals are happiest on a north facing window indoors year-round. They prefer the a/c to our heat and humidity outdoors. I almost lost them recently because I decided to mount them and put them outside in the shade (watering daily). Noticed after a short time that they were becoming terribly dehydrated. So, I took them off the mounts and put them back in clay pots with leca indoors. Now they are "happy campers". Thanks for taking the time to make this video. I, too, grow tolumnias and an interested in hearing other growers' experiences with growing them. For the vandas check out Motes Orchids. They have very good info on growing them.
Pat Sfreund
I live in Los Angeles & I keep my Phals on a NW-facing window too. I actually had to get a sheer curtain cuz my darker-leaved Phals were turning red 💀
So sorry this happened to you. Much love Ju xxx
thanks for sharing your loss....that's how us newbies learn....
Dani; so sorry to hear about your Tolumnias. Last year I decided to put my Stanhopeas outside. I prepared what I thought was the perfect spot...right light, lots of breeze, in a spot I could water frequently. I spent a couple of weeks acclimating them, then put them in my 'perfect' spot. Well, they HATED it. They didn't burn, they just quickly declined. I lost half of them, and the rest are really mad at me and sulking. Lesson learned...my plants (except cymbidiums) stay in the grow room!
I live in Cyprus too. I just choose a shady location and put my cattleyas, cymbidiums, nobile out there. Everything is ok. I grow them outdoor year-round.
Oh Danny feel so sorry for you. Being sick, loosing plants, having a bad day. You really need a hug.😘
I live in India currently and my nurseries warned me not to grow anyyy orchid outside in the summer.
I sorry to hear this.
Hi Danny, I'm so sorry for your losses!! I actually just had a very similar thing happen to me just last week. I got a new air conditioning unit (the kind that has an exhaust hose that needs to be mounted to a window) and I went on vacation only to come back home to a 102°F apartment at 10pm. The mounting bracket for the AC exhaust had fallen out of the window and was blowing into the apartment heating it up like an oven! It most likely got to at least 110°F or more during the day, and I'm not sure how many days this happened for. I lost ALL of my masdevallias and miltoniopsis, 1 tolumnia and damaged about 20 more plants. I cried when I came home to it all too, and funny enough I was also sick! I know how you feel, but I think you did a really good job of still having a positive attitude about the entire situation, and I'm trying to take a page from your book! Thank you for all of your videos and I hope you feel better soon!
Dani! I managed to stop black stem rot on store bought Phal. Yeah I lost 80% of the plant (I was lazy tbh) but I already have one orchid which recovered from "two leaves and a nub" situation so I'm glad that I didn't lost it completely.
So the thing is - I cut into the stem and tried to scrape as much of the rot as a could. I cleaned my knife with alcohol frequently and managed to leave mostly clean tissue. Capped it with cinnamon and hoped for the best. After week without watering I started to spray the leaves and as for now (1,5 months after) they seem not to shrivel and the black rot is gone. In the autumn when humidity will drop I'll try to "pot" it in stable conditions so it can grow new roots.
Idk if this comment will be relevant to someone but I guess - don't be afraid to cut into your Phals if you have to.
I can’t be in heat even in the shade for too long. I turn red. I am a sensitive orchid too. This video made me so sad but it happens.
I'm so sorry for your lost! It's hard to loose orchids. My orchids are outside but under the roof and even cattleyas and tolumnias are protected by shade cloth with 50% and up.
Dear Dany. Sorry for the loss of your Tolumnias. I live in Venezuela and here the majority of growers grow their orchids outside, not using a tent but an estructure with the ceiling covered with shade cloth nets. These structures, not having walls or may be just one, allow the air to flow freely through the orchids keeping them constantly fresh. I live in an apartment and I grow part of my orchids outside in a balcony. As I can't install any kind of structure there what I do is to use other plants, kind of garden bushes, as a shade and place my orchids behind. I think this method could work for you as well. Hope you get better soon.
I live in the USVI, 18/64 degrees. My vandas new and old are outside in my pergola. They are getting a lot more light since the hurricanes and yet are doing fantastic. I now soak them twice a day for 15 minutes each time.
Hi there. I grow my orchids outside during spring and summer in Australia. My top temp is 41 celsius. I use the double shade cloth method, but I don't drape the second layer directly over the top of the first layer, I have a gap of about a foot between the two layers which helps to not make it too dark/shaded with the double layer. And I only use a 70% strength when doing the double layer I wouldn't use 95% with 2 layers even with the gap. My orchids also got burnt when using single layer 90% shade cloth
Don't give up on your Tolumnias. It looks like only two are dead. The rest you can rescue! Good luck 👍!
Hi Danny, sorry to hear about your tolumnias. I live in curacao and here it gets very hot (30°) we have little rainfall for most of the year. I grow my orchids in a greenhouse with a plastic cover that diffuses the light(like on a lightly cloudy day) and half of it is covered with a 90% shade cloth. Even like that I have had sunburns but not a lot. Some people do grow their orchids outside but indeed you can see signs of stress on their plants. My plants get 4 hours of morning sun and then bright shade, I do live next to a mountain though. I hope this was helpful
oh sorry for the sad news Danni, :( but I am sure you'll find new replacement for them and also we learn with each mistake.
However i feel ya, the disappointment...
I had one of my vandas outside last year, she only received a few hours of morning sun here in France, but she got yellowish too, so took her inside, she got all her green back during the winter. So maybe not all is lost with the ones that did not get very severe damage.
And get well soon :)
I feel your pain, Danny! I lost over 35 orchids mainly due to a move but others as you I placed outside when the weather was mild and I manage to destroy them. Now they reside indoors with ac on all the time. They do get filtered light but I HAVE to close blinds by 3p.. as of late they have been doing well. My conclusion when temps,are in the 100's or even upper 80s, they need to be kept inside, not worth taking the risk. My aunts were orchid growers in Puerto Rico and all they did was attach to tree trunk or hang them on a tree branch and that was that, so why it works for some and not for others I'm still out on.
Hi Dani! I live in the Philippines.I grow my orchids outdoors. I had the same thing happen to my orchids. Every year after the rainy months my orchids tend get sunburns on one up to three leaves until they adapt to the sunny months. I can really relate to sunbuns.huhu
Congrats on 90k!!! Love love your channel
Hi Danny,
I live in Singapore and we have weather that is hot (36 deg cel), humid or rainy year round. My orchids do well on my sheltered balcony which gets direct morning sun from 7am till 1pm for half a year. During this period, I do not put on shade cloths but I’ll put my fan on a timer so that the air is constantly moving till 1pm. It has served me well for a couple of years. I do acclimatised my new orchids to gradual sun for 2 weeks before moving them to their final spot next to the balcony ledge. Hope this will be helpful to you. :)
Oh Danny, my heart. So sorry. 😞
Hi Dani....let me start with how much I enjoy your videos and I'm sorry about your heat damage and losses.....I live in deep south Texas and boy does it ever get hot here and stays relativley hot/warm here most of the year.....I have lots of different types of orchids outside (even the ones they say can't take high heat at all). Your problem was heat build up and not enough air movement.....I've never acclimated my orchids by moving them in and out everyday.....I pull them out of the greenhouse all at once and place them in an area all together in a group where they get more sun at times than they do shade.....for about a month I water them generously and have just a regular fan blowing on them at the same time all day long to keep the leaves and roots from getting too hot....after doin this for about 4 weeks They acclimate beautifully and I can then place them just about anywhere (within reason lol) I want with no problems....I don't pamper them much at all outside....they get watered and fed on the same schedule as my rare tropical plant collection....there are times I've not watered them for two weeks and have not had them dehydrate horribly......I'm about an hour from the gulf coast and yes it can get pretty humid here but the intense sun can and does counter act the humidity at times or makes it feel WAY hotter than it really is and still my orchids are in near perfect shape and litterally grow like weeds.....hope this helps 😃
I live in a tropical country and my orchids are mounted on trees. A few of them face the noon/afternoon sun daily. There’s a regular breeze that goes through them. I suspect your issue is that the shade cloth cut off the air circulation of the orchids.
😥, sorry to hear about your tolu. My tolum also suffered recently, it rained and they were left in water for 8 hrs. One of them lost all of it's new growth. I leave my plants outside all summer in shaded area. Feel better.
That's sad. :( Thank you for sharing it anyway.
This just shows you that you shouldn't do an experiment on all of your orchids at the same time. Just pick 1 or 2.
Honestly it's just bizarre that the shade cloth didn't protect them enough.
I think the main situation here is that the orchids need to be acclimated to the conditions of their environment since flask state. It makes sense that plants can't easily adapt, because they don't usually travel such large distances in a single lifetime :D
LinardBraslin I agree with you and another factor that it’s important to consider is humidity and air movement. If there isn’t enough humidity and air movement the heat even under shade will do great damage to our plants.
Danny said that there was good air movement, but I donno about the humidity situation. But I know that in higher sun exposure plant transpirate faster, witch makes them drink more water and helps them cool off a bit more.
Sorry for your losses. I hate these learning experiences.
I'm in FL and I've had my Vandas, as well as a couple Cattleyas, Epidendrums, Spathoglottis, Encyclias, Dendrobiums, and Oncidiums outside since probably February or March. The Vandas are grown hanging in plastic baskets with coco husk fiber, underneath on the bars of a 9 ft (2.7 m) pale yellow patio umbrella. The other orchids are potted in various combos of bark and sphagnum under the umbrella but sitting on a patio table. I know others in FL who grow all of their orchids outside since spring potted but sitting under trees or potted then put in a basket that is hanging up against the roof and also shielded with some trees. I don't have as many trees or places to shield my orchids so the other 50 are grown inside near a Southern Window with no curtain at the moment. I know you don't have sun from directly above though or tree coverage like this. I hope you feel better and I'm sorry about your Tolumnias and Vanda.
I was taking to a grower in S.Florida on eBay. He said he couldn’t sell the V coeruleas because the hurricane a month or two ago destroyed the shade cloth. He could get another for a month . But even a month in S Florida sun they got burned but it wasn’t fatal , not so much for Della le condition but I guess it might depend on wind speed , humidity , and when direct sun hits to determine the severity of a burn
I live in Costa Rica, and I have to say we grow orchids outside mostly, it's much more common than growing them inside the house. Most people choose shady locations or even build shade houses with 70% shade cloth and up. Personally I chose a spot in my garden that gets morning sun until around 9 or 10 depending on the time of the year and is shaded the rest of the day. I think key is not to expose them to afternoon sun, I've found it's the most damaging sun to be had in the garden. Also, note I live in a relatively cool mountain region at 1700 meters above sea level, so my climate is pretty humid and cloudy most of the year, and I pretty much only grow native orchids, since they are very hardy here and are adapted to this place. I've had no luck growing cattleyas here, vandas just the tricolor suavís, others i've tried seem to find it too cold up here to properly grow. Any way, it's really sad you lost the tolumnias, but I'm happy you got fresh new ones to re start the collection.
Howdy.. from south Fla . That doesn't look like sun burn to me ... that looks more like rot ..also, to take into consideration, is that these are hybrids and each one can vary a bit on the conditions that they like. I've got some that even receive full afternoon sun for a few hours a day however, morning full blast is typically the standard for these. I still fail every once in while with these but for the greater part I have to say they like pretty bright conditions otherwise they'll never flower.
I feel sorry for your Tolumnia, but I am glad at least it helps to be a learning experience.
I live in Thailand and I usually grow Dendrobium Vanda and Cattleya outside. I place them on the eastern side of a tree first and move them west after some time if I see they are doing good, I do not have a specific time, just see how they are doing and proceed if they look ok. I also have another area in the back of the house where we installed a 50% shade cloth, I moved 2 vandas and 1 Cattleya there and they seem fine, previously they have been living next to a west facing frosted window for about half a year or so. I also grow my Tolumnia on a slab in the same area, but I wonder if I should move inside, because it becomes super dry with the heat and I have to water too often.
Sad story, sorry to hear it
Oh no.... so sorry that happened to you. I found that though leaves grown inside can adapt to outside sunlight to a certain extent, they will never be as resilient to sun light as leaves that have developed under that exposure. I also cannot put any orchids outside without good protection and my location is probably on same the latitude as Athens, so slightly north in comparison to yours. Fingers crossed at least the less severely damaged ones will make a speedy recovery!
Happened to my dendrobium phalenopsis and oncidiums too. I would see my neighbours having these outside under the scorching heat but after 2 hours, 90% gone. Major setback. I feel for you. Best focus on your health for now though.
Sorry about your Tolumnias :'(
This so sad a story I almost cried
omg this is what my tolumnia is experiencing too. I live in Bankok where the sunlight is very strong. I lost all of the my tolumnia in a day. but i'm still trying to recuperate my plants and hopefully i can save some. i was thinking if it was because of mold or bacteria but it's actually the sun. Thank you for your infomation. And if you have any advice how to save them pls lemme know.
I live in Los Angeles, and I saw epidendrums at a garden store that were producing anthocyanins even under a shade cloth! The sun does not play at these latitudes lol
I know this comment is three years too late, but I am so sorry!! What a hard lesson learned 😣 who would have known?! thank you for sharing your experience tho!
I have south facing window , south of equator, in subtropical area -- and everything grows like crazies with no direct sun
Feel better Danny. Sorry to see you struggle and losing so many of your babies. You will get over your cold soon and another orchid unboxing we will see, from Swarters ?
😬. You’re doing a Bonnie Tyler (total eclipse of the heart ) very sexy 🙈.
I had a burn case with an Ascocentrum but it was not the sunlight, it was the sudden heat.
She was in the direct sun all through winter until 1 pm. However she burnt outside when I placed them together with the Cattlyeas under bright light, not sun. BUT as I said I beleive it was the heat that cooked the leaves, not the light.
Im sorry to hear about your loses. Rhynchostylis tolerates way less light than vandas, so I would not try shadecloth with them :)
You had to try tho, orchid growing is all about seeing what works, so don't get discouraged. You actually showed us that orchids neet to be acclimated for long periods to build up resistance.
On that note, I have a cloud forest species growing on 50% RH. At first leaves where very thin and they would curl. But now they grow a lot more thicker and they dont curl as much so I guess orchids can also acclimate to lower humidity bit by bit ^ ^
NesuChambers b
Oops.... did not mean to post a one letter reply 😅 typo par excellence
I live in south east Queensland, Australia and tried growing quite a few vandas (about 20 or so) outside because I saw them in Malaysia growing in an outdoor garden and thought they’d be ok. I eventually lost the lot after some time trying various aspects and under 50% shade cloth. Actually, I just remembered I have one left which is hanging bare rooted in a frangipani tree and has not flowered for at least 12 years. It still gets lots of light but obviously not happy. How do I get it flowering again, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Sorry to see this but we are human and make mistakes. I am really surprised at the sunburn even with 0% shade. I use 70% and sometimes think it is too dark. I wish you luck with all your patients.
I don’t think only the plain heat of the sun that burns the plant but also the ultraviolet rays.
I burned phalaenopsis on the eastern window in april, even another phals was ok there , but they was used to be there and was not so sensitive for sun, but this one , that was burned ,it was all time in the shade and i put it to window too and it burned from one side and then lost all leaves and died ( even from beginin it was perfect big and health plant), it was awful.
Sorry to see this, Danny, especially with both Vandas.. but in my opinion they may not be lost plants since you can sever the base and continue to maintain them where your indoor Vandas are and they might sprout keikis if the base of the stem if kept moist.
My South Florida climate is somewhat as yours and, as you know, I grow my Vandas outdoors, but only under two conditions of which neither involves shadecloth no matter what the level of protection of the mesh is since the exposure of sunlight is mostly constant without any daytime break along with heat buildup... and one of the conditions for my Vandas has been Eastern exposure without any protection, whatsoever, which is on the east side of the house (approx 4 hours if low sun) which means once the sun passes overhead and moves west the plants do not see any direct sunlight at all though they are showered twice to help prevent the leaves getting too warm due to daytime heat. My other area for Vandas is under shade lath in full southern exposure at a protection level of 50% which means that the direct full rays of the sun is hitting the leaves as much as full shade is hitting the leaves at the same time because my lath is spaced the exact distance apart as the lath is wide and that lath is running north to south which means that since the sun travels from east to west it is constantly moving over lath and the open and unprotected space and then lath again and doing this all day long so that no portion of the plant leaves is exposed to the sun for any amount of damaging time because the sun is constantly moving and the stationary plants are receiving that little bit of shade and sun at the same exact rate. Now I know you're not going to go and build a shadehouse.. 😀 but I do know that you will study the effect (good effect) as what is known as dappled sunlight.😀 As always; best of luck and enjoy.
I have a video showing and explaining this process of lath and sun travel/protection.
I didn’t notice this while watching on my phone, but on my TV it looks like there are bright sunny spots coming through the shade cloth gaps; in other words, the shade doesn’t look uniform. I can’t help but wonder if using two 40% shade cloths would work better than a single 90%. Or perhaps using white canvas instead of shade cloth? What I am trying to say is that something can block 97%, but I would think for an orchid in your dry climate it would need to be uniform - not 0% in spots and 100% in most to average to 97%. The 0% spots would get cooked with noon/afternoon sun. Where I am there is so much humidity in the air (70% +) that the water molecules acts as a light diffuser. If the ventilation is an issue, perhaps a yurt like structure that is open at the bottom and top which would funnel air in a chimney style. That is after all why the Mongols use yurts in warm climates. I know from camping in yurts that the sun makes it through since I always end up getting a wicked tan after two weeks in a canvas covered yurt.
Thanks for sharing your experience!!! But in order to observe interference or defraction max/min for light waves slits must be comparable with the length of the light waves. It is not the case.
I'll make sure to make a visual demonstration in my next video on the matter.
Isn't it for a single slit interference?
Винка Форестер The single slit experiment illustrates diffraction pattern. The double-slit - interference pattern.
Oh, my. I would test and soak tolumnia and vanda in a weak solution of calcium every time they need watering. It might work??
I'm living in tropical country at the center of equator, and ppl still growing tolumnia as well.
Ohhh.... so sad. I did the same with my cymbidium. I guess SE Texas weather is much like yours. We’re cooking! And, this was after It was recovering from last Augusts hurricane Harvey when half of it drowned. :(
Living close to Gibraltar right by The Med, I wonder if it’s a combination of warm / hot wind / breeze that actually created the burn as opposed to just the light behind shade cloth? When I see my weather prognosis I always check wind velocity / direction and if I leave my home I bring my Vandas and tolumnias inside while I’m not home to make sure the warm ‘air circulation’ does not get out of hand ... my Vandas are only exposed to direct sun for the last 2 hrs of the day ... tolumnias dangling in their baskets in mottled sun / shade all day ... it’s the hot wind that makes me bring all inside even though no direct sun would hit them ... long story short ... sorry ... I know it doesn’t solve the current effect of what has happened but maybe another observation that could trigger something ... other orchids still outside? If easterly wind gets hot ... move the cattleyas etc ... August will be worse as you already know ... I hope you’ll feel better soon ... summer colds in our climate are tough ones to get rid of ... a/c to outside back to a/c ... be careful xx thank you for making a vid today ... much appreciated xx
Ugh I’m so sorry!!! ((Hugs)) frustrating but thank you for doing the video anyway.
was it the sun or heat? my little guy has been doing wonderful all winter, even putting on a new fan, but he will go outdoors in a few weeks, now I'm not sure where to place it! or should I keep it indoors when the heat gets 90 or more
Hi, it was the combination of the 2 actually.
Hi Danny,
It is currently winter here so all my orchids are ready in my bedroom(which is crazy) and I’m trying to prepare for summer. Do you think I should use something to block out a bit of sunlight for my Vandas since the sun is very intense in Australia?
Where do you get your Tolumnia's in the U.S.? I have no trouble with them and am surprised that you had difficulties. Sorry for your loss.
Hi, I don't live in the US :)
Hey Danny, sorry for your loss :(
But I was wondering, how do I know when it is time to trigger my Phal into blooming. I live in a tropical climate and I have to trigger them and I have no idea when the new leaf will stop growing and it's time for flowering. How do I tell when the new leaf has fully grown before forming a new leaf?
I grow my orchids outside in my patio, as I've mentioned before. It is a large patio surrounded on the South and West sides with the same shade cloth you showed in this video. I live in Southern California, and it is hot and humid, not far from the beach. The temps can range from 45F (or less occasionally) in Winter to 110F (about a couple weeks ago and didn't lose even one) in Summer. If you want to see pics of the patio there are some on my twitter: @katsleon1 . I have orchids in convenient pot stands in clay pots with broken chopsticks keeping the clay off the bottom of the stands as they mold if left wet. I also have hanging half pots. I water my half pots in Summer twice a week or every other day if in the high 90sF. My other orchids I water once a week or twice week if high 90sF. The stands hold two rows of pots, so the Paphs I keep on the inside row. The plants in half pots are protected from the sun by the board they are mounted on, and they hang along the shade cloth. I also have miniature orchids on the patio table (supposed to be for eating on, but that didn't last long when I started collecting miniatures) which only get the earliest morning sun as in when the sun first comes up. I don't baby them or do anything special. I fertilize every two to three weeks with a fraction of the recommended Miracle Grow Orchid Fertilizer. They just like it out there. Oh, and my Vandas hang from the rafters along the shade cloth. I have posted a short video update on my patio. Anyway, hope that is what you were asking for Danny.
Sorry to hear about the tolumnia losses; truly. You said it was 95% shade cloth and this happened? That doesn't seem right. I've' seen people grow with 60% shade cloth in Alabama and other parts of the US, with 100F° temps and moderate humidity, and the orchids were fine. I know these guys like a good watering, but they like to dry quickly. Perhaps the water was trapped and it stayed soggy or cooked. Live an learn I alwys say...
Hi danny, finally i repot my phal in semi hydro, its been 3 days but why her leaf getting droopy? Is it ok?
I'm thinking that maybe what was wrong in the equation was: did they had enough air movement??? I hope you get well 👍
D: please rest
I think u have the strap vanda types...
These days even Holland seems to be a lot closer to the equator I wouldn't dare putting them outside right now ;-)
😭so sorry! Maybe more water?
I burned a very nice vanda... it'll be ok, but sad at the setback... :'-(
👍😊
I’ve never done well with tolumnias and that is why I don’t keep them.
Sad... 😥😭
I think your shade cloth is not actually cutting out 95% of the sunlight. I'm not sure what % it is cutting out (it looks similar to my 70% shade cloth) but you could test it with a light meter or free phone apps that measure LUX. Hope you feel better soon.
Sorry to hear that.... but I'm not surprised, Tolumnias are not the orchids to go trying things, too temperamental 😂😂😂.
😢
🤔☹️😢