Should I get more lights for the winter????

[takeiteasy]

Hello
I know winter is around the corner. My collection of orchids are growing & I want to keep them happy. I have had a catt. since Jan. 2008 & it hasn't bloom since then, she growing. That being said..
I have a ALL WHITE LED Aquarium and Grow Light Panel 225 LED 110 Volt for my orchids...... Do you think that is good enough???? How many hours per day???? Is that strong enough for catts. & others that need more light..

or 2 PLANT GROW LIGHT CFL BULBS 2700K+6500K????
I live in Mo. so some days no sun............
Thanks for all your input.........

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I'm not a fan of LED's for plants that require high intensity lighting. LED lights are also available for reef aquariums, and I'm not a fan of their usage in such a manner also.

LED's from what I've seen don't produce enough high intensity light for corals, especially those growing in shallow reefs.

LED's may not even be enough for Cattleyas in my opinion.

LED is an electronic acronym for an electronics component called Light Emmitting Diode. If my memory serves me right a diode acts like a fuse. But it has the capability of using the electricity to produce light. If you look into the diode, you'll see two flat pieces of metal with a small gap in between, that's where the electricity conducts.

We've all seen diodes in one form or another, we just aren't aware of them.

For all of us who've own the original Nintendo Entertainment System and have turned the power switch on, that square light that turns red when it's on is a diode.

The little red light on your remote control that blinks when you push the on button is a diode.

For a Catt, I'd rather use CFL's. The Kelvin rating I'd prefer if I was using them for orchids would be around 5500K.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

You know what, there's also a thread in the lighting forum here in the OB that talks about this, maybe you can get more info there. It's a relatively recent one so it won't be hard to find.

[takeiteasy]

Thank you. I couldn't find it
I'll look for it.....

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

You'll see it now, somebody just posted something new on the thread. Go down to Growing Under Lights, it's there. The last person to post something goes by the screen name plantguy. He's asking somebody that goes by the name Ocerlaris a question in regards to LED's being adequate for a Wardian case type setting for miniature orchids.

[Ross]

I agree that LEDs just can't produce the intensity needed. There still is a lot of interest in using them, but t5 florescents don't use a lot of wattage for the light emitted and run fairly cool (albeit hotter than LEDs) but you get a known with t5 (both straight tube and the compact version.) I use both CF and straight tube successfully and even grow an indoor vegetable garden in my basement in the winter using t5 light banks. I agree that somewhere around 5000K light balance is probably best, but no because of the plant needs - because things look more natural to human eyes at that value.

[stefpix]

I think 5000/6000 K bulbs look very drab to the human eye.... 4000 K looks way more pleasing and relaxing. Cool whites make any room look like some sort of factory or warehouse...
Anyway saw linkable T5s and T8s at HD for 12/18 $ - but only 15 W. Is it useless to get a couple of those and put them vertically on my window sill? is a 30 W CFL more efficient?

[Becky15349]

Ditto! I am not a fan of LEDs for orchids. If you have cattleyas and you want them to bloom, you really do need sunlight. I guess you could get some HID lights or something, but unless you have some separate sort of grow-room, I wouldn't want those things in my house

I grow cattleyas and they do great on a south windowsill - do you have anything like that where you could keep yours? I know you said that some days you don't get sun, but just for comparison, I live in chicago where it is often cloudy and gross outside and I have cattleyas blooming on my south windowsill 12 months a year - so just food for thought!!