Light levels Experiment

[Piper]

I have moved one non-spiking phal into the dining room to see if it respikes in this change of environment. However, this plant only finished flowering just before Christmas, and it's quite possible that it just wants a rest before it does anymore.

You don't have a non-spiking Phal, you have an imaptient, unreasonable owner, LOL! If it finished flowering just before Christmas, it will want a rest - particularly if it's not a big plant yet. I wouldn't be impatient until next Christmas, if it hasn't done anything by then. Some plants, particularly when they're younger, take a year off between bloomings. Get used to orchid time. It's much sloooooower than Kerry time! LOL!

While it's good to have an idea of what your light levels are, Kerry, there's a more practical, and easy, approach to where you place your plants. Starting with the most light-requiring plants (ie, Dends, then Catts, etc.) Place as many as you can in the brightest spots you have. You're in England - you won't fry them. Just keep an eye on the leaves. Your Phals won't mind that much light. Your Paphs will want a bit less light, but as the others fill the sunniest spots, the Paphs will probably be relegated to less light anyway. If you have any of the shadier genera, choose windowsills accordingly.

McJulie

[Kerry]

You don't have a non-spiking Phal, you have an imaptient, unreasonable owner, LOL! ..... Get used to orchid time. It's much sloooooower than Kerry time! LOL!

While it's good to have an idea of what your light levels are, ........ You're in England - you won't fry them. Just keep an eye on the leaves. Your Phals won't mind that much light. Your Paphs will want a bit less light, but as the others fill the sunniest spots, the Paphs will probably be relegated to less light anyway. If you have any of the shadier genera, choose windowsills accordingly.

McJulie

Too right to the impatient bit. I get an idea in my head, and just won't let it go. Thank you for your input, I appreciate it. I don't know if I speak for other newbies to Orchids, but I have found that there is a lot of information out there, it can be very confusing and sometimes contradictory. After trying to understand the concepts of lighting requirements, I began to panic that I was doing completely the wrong thing. I also don't yet fully understand my limits or the limits of my conditions.

I know that I am not going to be breeding orchids, or hybridizing them and I am unlikely to start collecting a huge range of species orchids with more specific requirements. Nor will it be likely that I go for many more of the high light orchids. For me, it has helped that I now know that at 1pm on a sunny day the plants on my bathroom window were actually getting 2000 fcs which surprised me, although not for more than a couple of hours in total. I have gone from reasonably happy, to total panic that the room was too dark, back to thinking that they could require a bit more consistent light for longer, but it is not a total loss.

It also helps so that if anyone ever asks me about their windows in my area I can give them an honest idea of how much light they are getting. That reassurance or advice, whether it be a negative or a positive, is something that I have really been looking for.

And the icing on the cake for me has been that in the future, I can buy more of these fantastic plants (within reason) and I am not dooming them to the horticultural equivalent of living like a mole underground.

It has been reassuring to hear from other people like Becky and Christian, to know that I am not alone in the world wondering about light. And also from the Steves and Julies of this world, where they have offered their advice which has very much been appreciated.

Sorry, have gone on a bit. Will stop now.

[Piper]

No worries, Kerry! Light meters are very useful, especially for quantifying which windows are brighter than which, and if you're using lights, to demonstrate exactly how quickly light levels fall with distance (measured in inches.)

But ultimately, the plant will tell you what it wants!

McJulie