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Thread: Supplementing Lights for Phalaenopsis Orchids

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  1. #1
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    Johnny
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    Default Supplementing Lights for Phalaenopsis Orchids

    I did some reading on this forum and went through all the posts regarding lighting.

    I have two Phals, I brought them inside mid-November, they are sitting near a window that faces North-West, and I am afraid that they aren't getting enough light and that might hinder their blooming. I read a lot about foot candles, and types of lights.

    I only have two Phals at the moment, when my collections grows over time, I will get/build a light fixture like most of the professional growers on this forum.

    I'm posting this pic for the lighting conditions near the window. I disabled the flash on the camera to give you a more realistic feel of the lighting conditions.



    and the following pictures are of a lamp I found at home with two lamps. I used two CFL Energy Saving lamps, 18W / 6400K placed about 20cm above the plants as you can see.
    Do I need bigger lamps? and here I can get CFL lamps that give out a yellowish warm light, or should I stick with the white light lamps?





    Thank you in advance.

  2. #2
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    I had a phal that sat in a bay window (18" from the glass) facing NW and it got enough light to bloom every year (after some cool fall temperatures). If they were closer to the window, I don't think I would worry.

    What are they potted in? glass jars? Do the containers have drain holes?

  3. #3
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    Bruce Brown
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    The leaves do seem really dark (a sign that they need more light). But since they are both spiking, they must be getting enough light to bloom. If anything, I would move them closer to the window if possible and do supplement the light during the day with the lamps. Be sure to turn the light off at night as they also need a dark cycle.

    PS - I too wonder about their pots.

    Cheers,
    BD

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brutal_Dreamer View Post
    The leaves do seem really dark (a sign that they need more light). But since they are both spiking, they must be getting enough light to bloom. If anything, I would move them closer to the window if possible and do supplement the light during the day with the lamps. Be sure to turn the light off at night as they also need a dark cycle.

    PS - I too wonder about their pots.

    Cheers,
    BD
    Thank you BD,

    The lights are left on throughout the day and an additional two hours after that. The Phals get an estimated 10 hours of total darkness each night.

    I'm going to get them bigger lamps, it's not possible to move them closer to the window....however, regarding your question about the pots, they are thick plastic pots, they have holes punctured with a screwdriver about 2 cm above the bottom that serves as a water reservoir for S/H medium, and above these holes there at least 40 extra holes per pot reaching to the top to allow the roots to breath and some air movement.

    the ceramic pots serve only for an ornamental purpose, do you think i should remove the clay pots completely?

  5. #5
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    Susan
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    Are the CFL lights made specifically for growing plants? If not, getting lights made for growing plants will give you much better results because they have the correct spectrum of light that plants can use.

    Susan

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by empiref View Post
    Thank you BD,
    the ceramic pots serve only for an ornamental purpose, do you think i should remove the clay pots completely?
    Not the ceramic pots, but what looks like glass jars inside the pots

  7. #7
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    Paula
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    BD

    I know that everyone says that the leaves should be a much lighter green, but mine have about the same color leaves as those in the picture, and they are spiking nicely. Can't seem to give them enough light but they look healthy. I recently started using an Ottlite (supposedly full spectrum) and leaving it on all day during the glooms. I also have a northwest exposure for my small greenhouse window. I'm not sure it is helping the phals, but the cattleya in the same window is showing some growth inside the sheath (finally).

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