Shade Shelters for Orchids

Shade Shelter Definition

• Plants grown in climates with cold and inhospitable weather are often placed in greenhouses with consistently warm temperatures and humidity levels. Similarly, plants grown in climates with weather that is too hot and sunny to facilitate proper growth may be placed in shade shelters — also known as shade houses — which block extreme sunlight and keep inside temperatures slightly cooler. These structures are simply and inexpensively constructed of dark-colored netting or shade cloth draped over wooden or PVC pipe frames.

Finding a Shade Shelter

• Shade shelters are available for purchase in garden supply stores, catalogs and online. Purchasing a shade house kit or a pre-constructed shade house allows you the convenience of having all the necessary parts there and ready to go at construction time. It also saves you the guesswork of determining the proper size and amounts of materials needed to build your shelter. However, it is simple and inexpensive to construct your own custom shade shelter out of materials you purchase separately. For example, a shade shelter for a few orchid plants may not need to be as large as one for a vegetable or extensive flower garden, so building a custom shelter allows you the freedom to create a shelter exactly the size that you need.

Benefits and Considerations

• Orchids are placed into one of three zone categories: warm, intermediate or cold. Warm zone orchids benefit from the low light levels these shelters provide while allowing the naturally warm temperatures to remain constant. Another benefit of shade shelters is that due to the simple materials used to build them, the shelters are easily constructed, disassembled and moved around for gardeners who need versatility regarding where they grow their plants. Cold zone and intermediate zone orchids, however, require a greenhouse rather than a shade house in warm climates. This is because these orchids prefer low light and cooler temperatures, and while shade houses provide low light, the temperature may only be slightly cooler inside. Greenhouses provide consistent temperatures required by orchids while also providing shade.

Ventiliation

• Orchids require good air quality to remain healthy. Poor quality air contains dust and dirt particles, viruses, bacteria and fungal spores, all of which cause distress and disease in orchids. Disease in orchids often leads to death. Orchids are delicate plants not known for easily bouncing back from problems. Good ventilation in a shade house is essential to providing good quality air for orchids. If ventilation holes cut into the shelter's covering do not provide enough air movement, place a fan or two inside. Position the fans so that they do not blow directly onto the orchids, but simply circulate the air inside the shade house.