Add Spectacular Color To
Your Outside Garden

Look around at your outside garden. Can it use more color? Would you like it if it had more variety? Would your garden be more attractive if there were flowers that have more fragrance?  Check out these garden tips. You might also want to consider that orchids can easily provide these things and more to your garden.

There are certain things you need to consider before adding orchids to the garden.

First, choose the outside orchid plantsthat grow well in your environment. These include:

• Cattleyas - the hybrids and especially those with the Laelia orchids

• Cymbidiums - are low temperature tolerant

• Epidendrums - these can use full sun and also are temperature tolerant

• Dendrobiums

• Paphiopedilums - the green leaf variety

Light

Most orchids in outdoor gardens do not need full sunlight. In fact, most do best in a bright area with indirect sunlight or sunlight through leaves of trees. Paphs. prefer shaded areas. Whereas Epidendrums and Cymbidiums can get mostly full sun.

Humidity

Generally humidity is not a problem in gardens except in the Southwest region of the US where it is dry.

Temperature

Most outside orchids need the temperature change between day and night to help induce the flower spikes for flowers. This is the same when they are in-doors. Except Cymbidiums which can withstand temperatures to almost freezing. Most orchids can remain outside as long as the night temperature is about 50 degree F. (10 C.)

Fertilizer

Outside garden orchids will like other orchids benefit from a regular fertilizer regime. the old adage for orchid fertilization is "fertilize weakly, weakly". This means to do it often and to use 1/2 or 1/4 strength of the label recommendation.

Watering

Your orchids in the outside garden actually will be dependent on how much rainfall and sunlight and the ambient temperature. If there has been a good rainfall during the week the plants will not need to be watered but if it has been hot and dry there may be a need to water up to twice a week or even mist daily in the morning.

Return to top of Outside Garden Page

Return to the Orchids Plus More Home Page

Home | Customer Service and Contact Information | Site Map | Security and Privacy