angraecum sesquipedale - under lights for winter?

[Kailyn]

Hi I have had an Angraecum since this spring doing well for me in a bright warm window sill. Since the temperatures are dropping and days are getting shorter I've moved it under a light and onto a seeding heatmat. I was wondering if anyone has any advice as this is the first time I've had an orchid under lights and this isn't a plant i want to make many mistakes with if i can avoid it... I was reading that the native habitat stays fairly constant without much of a winter so I wanted to do my best to emulate its spot from the window. Thanks for the advice.

[Leafmite]

Angraecum sesquipedale will do fine under lights. This will be the third winter that my sesquipedale. will be spending under the T5HO lights. The heating mat will improve the chances of blooming as this one comes from the lower part of Madagascar where it does remain consistently warm-hot. As the island is breezy, it is best in the winter not to get water on the leaves and to give them a little extra Calcium to help prevent issues from bacteria or fungus. Good luck!

[estación seca]

This is a very easy-to-grow and tolerant plant if you keep it somewhat warm, and don't let the roots get dry for very long, at any time of the year. If it's warm enough, it keeps making leaves all year. The heat mat is a good idea.

For the sake of the Vandas, I heat my growing area to 50-55 F / 10-12C minimum at night in the winter. My days are usually much warmer. My Ang. sesquipedale continues growing through the winter. Properly-grown plants keep all the leaves for many years. If you are losing lower leaves, consider whether the plant is kept too cool, or you are not watering enough. I have only lost one leaf on my plant, a seedling I bought in December 2015 from Sunset Valley Orchids. It should be big enough to bloom this winter, if I have cared for it properly.

The lecture on Madagascar I saw said this one does not come from the narrow, hot, eastern coastal plain. It grows from hills to mountains, a little to a lot higher than the coast, and has a small to moderate winter night temperature drop compared to summer. This may be what triggers it to bloom. It's not known whether the temperature change or the degree of lower temperature reached is important.