Question
I live in Florida, therefore all my windows are covered with a film to filter the sun. I have placed different types of orchids in my East,South,North windows and they don't do much of anything except turn yellow and dye off. The potting mixture is the same as i bought it and I water them each week. The leaves turn yellow and away it goes. I have 2 outdoor porches that receive the sun late in the afternoon and it has scorched on of my orchids and I haven't seen any flowers since. I love these different orchids. My neighbor 2 doors away has his porch on the other side of the house and he has gorgeous flowering orchids what seems to be all year. How can I solve this?? Also, after I purchase an orchid and the flowers die off within a couple of weeks the stem seems to start growning leaves...I've waited until it got as big as a small cup and cut that stem and tried rooting it into the bark medium. Can this be done? How?
Thanks so much
Nancy

Answer
Hello Nancy,

While Florida is great for growing orchids that love the sun, if you live in southern Florida it may be a little too intense for them.  If you do not have an area that affords some protection from afternoon sun, you can try putting some shading above them.  Home Depot, Lowe's along with smaller hardware stores and garden centers carry shade cloth that is made for this purpose.  From your description of what has been happening, I would suggest using 50% shade cloth above the orchid growing area.  Maybe even some on the west side also.  

With your intense summer temperatures, you may need to water a little more often, how often I am not certain but probably 2 or 3 times a week.  Water when the potting media become barely moist and feed them with a balance type orchid fertilizer but at 1/2 the suggested amount on the container.  It also might help to mist them in the morning between waterings.  

Yes, you can pot up any baby orchids that grew on the stem.  Wait until there are a couple of roots that are over 2 inches long before removing and potting it.  It is best to use small pots of about 3 inch diameter.  Put the baby in the pot then fill around it with orchid bark.  Water then place it near the mother orchid plant.  

Hope this has helped.

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.