oncids and oncid alliance

[Cinderella]

Just wondering, those of your who grow these, how much light do your oncids and oncid alliances get? Some fun sun, dappled sun??? My oncid growth has been much slower than my catts for the most part and that is why I'm asking.

[Liz]

I recently realized that mine weren't really getting enough light. I've now got them under shade cloth, up high on the top shelf with the dends and I think they're much happier. Actually, everything is happier with more light than I thought (or the books said) it needed.
Liz

[Heather]

Mine (I have one, just the Sharry) and it gets bright light in the morning on a shaded porch, some afternoon. Smells yummy too!

[uncasteeb]

Mine get full sun from about 10.30 am to about 4.30 am (50% shade cloth though) , after a few days of this they go a very yellowy green but they seem to like it(around 3000/4000fc with my light meter).

[JOHNnDC]

My oncs are outside right now. My Sharry Baby Sweet Fragrance gets almost full sun the entire day, though that can sometimes be a bit much. My Sharry Baby Red Fantasy (or something) seems to like a bit less light. But I have an Onc Gower Ramsey (or Sweet Sugar) that gets FULL sunlight all day long and loves it.

[Cinderella]

I guess I have not been giving mine enough sun. All the "books" say indirect sun but I agree with Liz. Most orchids need more sun than I previously thought.

[Heather]

You know, I hate that, Debbie - everything I *have* in books, and many places online say even paphs need "relatively low light" and that's not true at all for many of them (at least the ones I grow!) Thank god I asked a question once and got clued in...that was ages ago, and never turned back.

[LJA]

A great majority of the warm-growing oncid alliance do really well with light levels approaching standard catt intensity. Not quite, but just about. That's when they'll flower the best.

[OrchidTraci]

A great majority of the warm-growing oncid alliance do really well with light levels approaching standard catt intensity. Not quite, but just about. That's when they'll flower the best.

If they are gradually introduced to full sun, is it ok? I've had my equitants in full sun (well, in the same spot) since it was winter and they really seem ok with it. Would too much sun (even if they aren't burning at all?) be harmful?

[Liz]

I way overdid it on my one equitant by letting it get full morning sun; it got really dark purple all over, so I moved it back under the shade cloth. It's new growth is green, so I didn't kill it, but it's still a pretty dark shade of purple every where else. I don't think it's too happy with me.

[LJA]

Sorry--I should have been more explicit... We're using 65% shadecloth for our GH top, 72% for the west wall. The east wall is bare of cover. In the summer at our latitude, any direct sun between 9:30 AM and 6PM for our oncids is too much. And definitely introduce them to it gradually, otherwise you'll induce burn. On the other end of things, if they're not getting enough light, their leaves will be floppy, droopy, and darker green. So you're trying for the midrange between those extremes.

[Invinciblegirl]

My oncid intergenerics get dappled sun for 9-10 hours a day. I figure if my Sharry Babies are freckling and the color of my leaves is a light green, they're getting enough. Not that I've ever rebloomed any, mind you, but I always take light recommendations with a big fat grain of salt and try to get just shy of burning every orchid I have. I figure that they'll always be happier with just about the most light they can tolerate without being damaged.

[Floofy]

As with everything, Floridians do things differently that what is in the books.

I got some great tips on my equitants a while back and they have flourished as a result:
1. They get high light...higher than Catts, not as long during the day as Vandas.
2. They need watered like Vandas...watered almost every day, but drying out almost immediately.
3. Feed them like Vandas.

Interg's (for me) are not my favorite, so I put as little effort into mine as I can so they are in S/H. I have one that is in a 1.5 gallon storage container in S/H--it is massive. I don't know why I don't care much about it, it just doesn't do 'it' for me. Dgma I think it is.

My FAVORITE oncids are my Psychopsis--still waiting on that box from Persistance--I love these babies and am so happy they do well for me. I don't really think I have much to do with it--I think they just like living at my house. These I have potted in sphag/clay pot with paph light (a little higher than phals, lower than catts) and they do well with little or no effort from me. I'm embarassed to say how many and how much I've spent on these plants, but like I said, they definitely do 'it' for me.

Good luck with yours!

[PAGrower]

My experience has been that brassias will tolerate very high light. Mine get full sun for part of the day (40 degrees lat) and love it. Anything with miltonia in it gets bright light but no direct sun, and the miltonias themselves I treat with kid gloves. Their leaves seem to burn more quickly than all the others and they absolutely hate being hot. Mine live in an air conditioned room, in an east window protected by a sheer curtain.

[OrchidTraci]

You know, I hate that, Debbie - everything I *have* in books, and many places online say even paphs need "relatively low light" and that's not true at all for many of them (at least the ones I grow!) Thank god I asked a question once and got clued in...that was ages ago, and never turned back.

I guess it depends on where the writers of the books live ? In California, I wouldn't dream of giving my plants the sun I give them in NY. I mean, I would burn in 10 minutes in the shade in Cali, and here it takes me a few hours. It's all relative I s'pose.