I WANT my tropical plants to get a few hours of early morning and/or late afternoon sun. I DON'T want them to get direct sun between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM. That's spring, summer, and early fall. During the fall and winter months they can get a lot more sun, since the sun will be so far down in the southern sky, and the angle of sunshine is much less. Most orchids need bright, indirect light to grow well and to bloom.
P. S. I can post a picture of what sunburned orchid leaves look like. This orchid was high up in my oak tree last year and it got a few minutes of direct sun around 1:00 PM. I did not know the sun was shining on this one, isolated orchid until I was on a ladder one day and saw the damage. Though sunburn perhaps won't harm the plant, it sure is a black, nasty looking area and it will never go away.
