Sunlight vs. T5s

[gngrhill]

Without getting into technical terms ( I don't understand most of it ) I would like to know how the T5s stack up against sunlight. I have a bunch of orchids on my front porch which is very bright, but no direct sun due to an overhang. I am supplementing with a 4 bulb
T5 unit. Will most orchids do ok there or do some need that direct sun to do well and bloom ? I have Cyms, Phals, Milts, Catts, and a bunch of Oncid hybrids.

[RandomGemini]

The cymbidiums need to be outdoors, I think. I grow the rest under t5s year round.

[AnonYMouse]

I can't answer your question, I don't know enough (orientation, hours of exposure, intensity). Given the right situation (orientation, hours of exposure, intensity), I'd choose natural light, hands down, every time. It's free!

[Ray]

ANYTHING can be grown under T5s, but it depends upon the number, the wattage, and the distance from the plants.

When I first got into orchids, I grew under 50/50 (wattage wise) ordinary shop lights and incandescent bulbs, to broaden the spectrum, and I regularly bloomed vandas, cattleyas, etc.

Today's phosphors and bulbs are far better.


Ray Barkalow
firstrays.com

[RandomGemini]

Cyms don't need the sunlight so much as the conditions that are provided outdoors. I believe they actually have to get cold to produce blooms.

[gngrhill]

Originally Posted by RandomGemini

The cymbidiums need to be outdoors, I think. I grow the rest under t5s year round.

Thanks for your reply.
I plan on putting the Cyms outside as soon as the weather breaks. It's still winter here. Last summer I had the Dens outside, too, but they are all doing a lot of nothing now. I don't know where I'm going wrong with them, but they obviously don't like me

[AnonYMouse]

Really? You all prefer growing under lights?

I only do it because I can't get the right intensity:duration of natural light.

[RandomGemini]

It's not a choice here. I have tried to grow a couple or orchids without T5s and they just don't grow well or bloom well for me. I don't get the right amount of light in some of my windows and too much in others. The artificial lights allow me to control the amount of light my plants get much more easily than being subject to the whims of an architect who has no clue what I need to grow orchids indoors.

[camille1585]

I much prefer natural light as well. My previous apartment also had the issue of low light in one window and high light in another, but I just split the orchids by light requirement. The east facing window was more than enough for Phals and some Oncs, while the west window had the other plants, and I put up a sheer curtain in the summer. And this is fairly high north, the netherlands is level with southern canada. I was using artificial lights only in the winter to supplement the east window orchids. Now I have only south facing windows, and everybody is happily growing there, with no added lights this winter. I place around with distance from the window and curtains to get everyone happy!

[Subrosa]

The bulk of the artificial lighting I use is really just a stop gap measure to keep stuff alive until I can get it back outside. Of course where I live that stop gap is pretty much half of the year. The bulk of my useable window space faces northwest, so Stanhopeas are a big fave, along with winter dormant terrestrials and Catasetum types. I learned early in my fishkeeping career that it's easier to keep fish suitable to your water than trying to make your water suitable for the species you wish to keep. I apply the same principle to plants I choose.