I bought a clamp on the table, LED grow light for my Phals this past winter. The light says it puts out 80-150 umol/m2s when placed 12-24 inches away. Since all my Phals were on a table, about 12 inches away, even if the ppfd output was a little off, it worked out and they are in bloom now. Over the last few months I bought 2 Dendrobriums, 1 Oncidium and 2 Vandas and 1 Rhynchostylis so I had to change my set up. I put them on a shelving unit by a south-facing window and the previous fixture’s light does not reach the bottom shelf. The goal is to add supplemental lighting for days when they don't get much light or for when the day length gets shorter.
I read some of the grow light related threads on different sites, watched several Youtube videos and now I'm really confused. I'd appreciate some help in making a choice. My budget is $50 CAD and from what I read, LEDs are the way to go, not the pink-purple lights. I'll be placing either the tubes or the panels below the 1st and 2nd shelves. I read that the light targets for orchids should be as follows:
• 65 umol/m2s PPFD – for low-light orchids (Phals, Paphs, Jewel Orchids)
• 131 umol/m2s PPFD – for moderate-light orchids (Oncid, Phrags, Epidens, Dends etc)
• 200-328 umol/m2s PPFD – for high-light orchids (Cattleya, Vandas)
**Converting feet to meters: 1m = 3.28ft
[-From blogger: Here But Not]
Among these options, which one’s spectrum and ppfd would make for a good light for my orchids (esp the vandas)? LED tube lights? If so, which is better, the warmer 4000K or cooler 6000K? OR are grow light panels better? Or tube grow lights? Do orchids need infrared light too?
Option 1- LED
4000K OR
6000K Tube lights
Option 2 - LED Grow light Panel by
YGROW or
IndoorGreen
Thanks for your help!