Care of indoor, lower light Phalaenopsis

[HiOrcDen]

So my mother has bought a couple Orchids. You know, the typical fancy Phal, moth orchid with big white flowers on very tall stalks. She wants it kept by a window, which is west facing, but due to a balcony above partially blocking, gets just a few hours of direct light through the day.

So first off, I understand that the leaves will stay dark since the light is relatively low. Will it stay healthy as long as the leaves are firm upright and smooth, even if they remain dark? How will I know otherwise if it is not receiving enough light to live, do the leaves start drooping, pleating, etc?

Also, how do I fertilize it? Do I use less fertilizer than for an outside Orchid, I might surmise, due to slower metabolizing (though it will be watered less often... or would you actually water more, since dryer inside... which might support fertilizing less??) or the same, and why? They are in moss, if that makes a difference... and if so, why would that make a difference?

[estación seca]

Phals. don't ever need any sun on their leaves. They are shade plants.

Use the Advanced Search function to look up some notes on growing Phals. that I posted, with information from Eric Goo of Phoenix Orchids, now retired from Phal breeding. In they keywords box put Eric and in the username put my username, full or partial. Note estación is different from estacion so if your keyboard won't add diacritics use my partial username estaci .

[Roberta]

Also remember that orchids in general need very little fertilizer, since they grow slowly. The ones that grow fast do need more (like Cymbidiums) But Phals and most epiphytes, dilute - half of what it says on the bottle - and only every week or two, it's plenty.

[MateoinLosAngeles]

Originally Posted by HiOrcDen

She wants it kept by a window, which is west facing, but due to a balcony above partially blocking.

I face north-west and due to a building blocking the left side of my window, I only get 3h a day of direct sunlight in the middle of the afternoon during summer. This is way too harsh for my Phals so when we moved I had them about 5 feet away from the windows and they still spiked. They're now in the growing area with artificial light. If your mom has that balcony obstructing light, she might be able to have the Phal by the windowsill, if it gets hot afternoon light then I would suggest moving it back a few feet or to one side. The key is to not let direct light touch it.

The signs you're looking for "overall health" is firmness of the leaves, the darkness of the leaves is hard to asses because some Phals are naturally darker. I have a species called Phal. bellina that really responds to light turning lime green and speeding up its growth 4x under correct light, this is also a species that grows higher on trees than its cousin Phal violacea. Some of my multi-hybrid Phals have dark leaves and bloom nicely, some are lime green and they also bloom.

They need very little fertilizer, about 75-100 ppm N a week. You can calculate that here: Fertilizer PPM Calculator

[HiOrcDen]

Thanks very much @ all. So I understand, will keep fertilizer sparing, and not worry about low light.

One question though... so I understand pals do not need or like much sunlight.

However, when I was growing a couple under led gro lights, they were growing very quickly, putting out new stalks and roots quickly. In fact when I had a bunch of Orchids indoor under grow lights, before moving nearly all of them outside, even the lowest light species responded very well to very direct and strong full spectrum led. So is this a good way to really grow these Phals fast? I mean, they will not grow like this in low light conditions, correct? That is, even if they remain healthy.

[estación seca]

I think your Phals. may have been warmer under the lights. They grow faster when they're hot and humid. 85-90 F / 29-32C is where they're very happy.

[MateoinLosAngeles]

Originally Posted by HiOrcDen

Thanks very much @ all. So I understand, will keep fertilizer sparing, and not worry about low light.

One question though... so I understand pals do not need or like much sunlight.

However, when I was growing a couple under led gro lights, they were growing very quickly, putting out new stalks and roots quickly. In fact when I had a bunch of Orchids indoor under grow lights, before moving nearly all of them outside, even the lowest light species responded very well to very direct and strong full spectrum led. So is this a good way to really grow these Phals fast? I mean, they will not grow like this in low light conditions, correct? That is, even if they remain healthy.

Unfortunately “low light,” “bright light,” “shade,” “partial shade” are too vague terms to assess. LED lights have panels with different efficiencies, therefore two 8w LED bars may produce a completely different amount of light and still look bright to our eyes. If you saw my setup you would probably think I have the Phals under bright light, yet, when measured, they receive about 80 umol/m2/s which is “low light.” Another important factor is DLI (PPFDxhours) which is what I ultimately use to select one setup over the other.

The issue with the west facing window is not the directness of the light, it’s the extreme sharp raises in temperature that afternoon sun induces. On an east facing window the Phals could receive direct sunlight in the morning without issue as this is much cooler.

Regarding speed of growth: yes they grow faster when warmer and higher humidity. They also grow faster with “correct” light, if they don’t get any light then obviously they will have an extremely slow metabolism and eventually die. Think that light is the food source of plants.

[HiOrcDen]

Originally Posted by estación seca

I think your Phals. may have been warmer under the lights. They grow faster when they're hot and humid. 85-90 F / 29-32C is where they're very happy.

Okay, thank you for this! Well since they are led lights, they produce negligible heat, as I am certain you know. So they were at room temp indoors. I had a bunch of Orchids in this receded bar area we have, under the led grow lights with windows on either side, which I would open at night to create a very cool area isolated there. All my Orchids were growing pretty fast there. And again, the growing area was, at most, not much higher than room temp at any point. In fact I'm anxious for the spring to start getting sunny, as it has been overcast all spring, and my plants in my shade houses (which you guys helped me design!) are not growing as fast as they did inside. Of course I do expect vigorous growth when the sun comes! So what is the verdict? My observation tells me that the grow lights really enhance the growth rate of my Phals indoors... what do you say?

Originally Posted by MateoinLosAngeles

Unfortunately “low light,” “bright light,” “shade,” “partial shade” are too vague terms to assess. LED lights have panels with different efficiencies, therefore two 8w LED bars may produce a completely different amount of light and still look bright to our eyes. If you saw my setup you would probably think I have the Phals under bright light, yet, when measured, they receive about 80 umol/m2/s which is “low light.” Another important factor is DLI (PPFDxhours) which is what I ultimately use to select one setup over the other.

The issue with the west facing window is not the directness of the light, it’s the extreme sharp raises in temperature that afternoon sun induces. On an east facing window the Phals could receive direct sunlight in the morning without issue as this is much cooler.

Regarding speed of growth: yes they grow faster when warmer and higher humidity. They also grow faster with “correct” light, if they don’t get any light then obviously they will have an extremely slow metabolism and eventually die. Think that light is the food source of plants.

Very good, thank you. The only east window we have is blocked by a very big and broad, flat topped ficus that blots out the sun lol in the living room where we don't hang out anyway, to enjoy, except when guests come... same with unused upstairs bedrooms with East facing French doors for nieces/nephews/guests. Is an East window effective without any direct sun through the window? (I'm guessing not?)

I will do some research about these terms. Will a typical light meter, such as from Amazon, give measurements for these factors you have described, or would you suggest a specific type of meter (or whatever the device might be called) I get that a precise light level will promote growth better than 'as much as they can tolerate' In fact this makes sense, because in my experience even when I tested pointing multiple led gro light stems (they are 5 stemmed gooseneck, I think about 10 watts each {led not equivalent}) a few inches from the lowest light and heat tolerant orchids, there was no damage. So damage is not an issue, but makes sense you want a precise proper level. Again, please let me know about how I should measure these factors you've mentioned, what type of meter/device I will need!

Oh, btw... would it be at all a good idea to use a West facing window, in addition to lights? How would this compare to just using led lights, or just the west window? And if this might be an advisable combination, would I aim for the same levels from the led's?

again guys!

[estación seca]

Most light meters will give you information you want. The units might be different than whatever unit you want to use. You can generally convert. The manufacturer may also have light output information on the Web site.

[Dimples]

It’s safer to give phals higher light levels artificially vs from a window, because you are then in full control of how much, how long, and if you’re already using lights, adding a fan to lower the leaf temperature if heat buildup wouldn’t be a bother.

You can add a sheer curtain or a clear privacy cling film to the window if the direct light is too intense. Diffusing the light will also let you keep the plant in the window instead of off to the side, if that’s an important factor. I’ve even seen people add shorter curtains to the bottom 1/4-2/3 of windows using tension rods. I think it was a privacy technique for first floor windows or something? I’ve always seen them in the homes of older folks growing up. At the time, 1980s-90s, they all had outrageous ruffles along the edges. There may be more options available today. Lol