Tips for growing orchids outside (or inside) in Florida?
After nearly 20 years of suffering through bitter, never ending Minnesota winters, my fiance and I are finally..FINALLY moving to Florida.
We're stuck here through winter, but plan on relocating to the Sarasota area by summer of 2015. I've had great success growing my many orchids and other plants both indoors and outside when it's warm enough, but have a few questions as the climate were moving to will be very different. I have read as many threads as I could find on growing orchids in Florida, but was looking for more actual tips or recommendations.
Humidity - in MN, the long winters make the indoor air so dry that I have to mist all of my plants at least twice daily, and many of them need almost daily watering. During the summer, it tends to be very hot and humid, so my outdoor plants are watered daily or every other day, and the indoor ones are watered when they get almost dry.
All of my orchids are potted in a bark mix, except my paphs, which are in a finer mix of bark and moss.
What will I need to do differently in order to transition to growing these guys in Florida? Will the bark pose a risk to the plants in a warmer, more humid environment?
Will it attract bugs if I keep some plants inside all year?
Sunlight - we don't get much sun here, so most of my plants are grown under supplemental lighting during winter before going outside when it gets warm. Most of my orchids stay inside, either in the orchid tank or an east facing windowsill.
I'd like to try more outdoor growing with my more heat tolerant orchids, so what kind of set up would I need?
Any other tips or suggestions are very welcome.
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