The Phal abuse ends here. - Page 14 - Orchid Board

greenpassion · #**131** 08-04-2011, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

Q: Is it possible to grow Phals under artificial lighting?

A: Yes. CFL's and T5's or T8's are fine. Just make sure that the Kelvin temperatures are within the range of 5500K and 6700K. The wattage of the bulbs varies in context of the situation.

I have my phals (now out of bloom) under tracklighting over a counter top. The bulbs are regular 'grow' bulbs for house plants. They (4 of them) are about 3ft from the phals, which are on a humidity tray. So far the phals are sending out new roots...are these lights OK?

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #**132** 08-05-2011, 12:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenpassion

I have my phals (now out of bloom) under tracklighting over a counter top. The bulbs are regular 'grow' bulbs for house plants. They (4 of them) are about 3ft from the phals, which are on a humidity tray. So far the phals are sending out new roots...are these lights OK?

What's the wattage of the bulbs?

The "grow bulbs" should have Kelvin temperature ratings to them. Many florescent lights do. The Kelvin ratings can sometimes be difficult to find on the bulb or package.

For example...

I bought a pair of daylight compact florescent light bulbs from The Home Depot a while back, and the Kelvin rating on these bulbs are 5000 K. It's printed on the package, underneath the barcode.

Paul Mc · #**133** 08-05-2011, 09:24 AM

I agree with King. I did not understand the whole Kelvin thing and only thought wattage (real, not same as) was important. But from King and Ray among others here, I learned that you must be in the right Kelvin range as well.

Home Depot has the right one's where I live, and they are far cheaper than any other place I have found to buy my replacements.

greenpassion · #**134** 08-05-2011, 10:13 AM

These are bulbs, not fluorescents. There are 4 of them in tracklight 'heads' that are white dome looking things. I just decided to use the lights as 'grow' lights instead of just decor. I think they are 65 watts.

Paul Mc · #**135** 08-05-2011, 10:23 AM

If I'm not mistaken, there should still be a Kelvin range for them. All light generates a Kelvin range, not just fluorescents.

greenpassion · #**136** 08-05-2011, 11:18 AM

Ok, I'll try to find out what the Kelvin range is...thanks.

greenpassion · #**137** 08-22-2011, 09:59 AM

I have another question for the King. I have read all the posts in "Phal abuse..." and have read that one should not allow water to pool on the leaves or crown of the phal. But then I read that misting helps with humidity. Misting will cause water to pool in the junctions and such on the orchid. Mine are on a humidity tray (don't really know if it does much for them) and I don't know if I should mist them or what. It seems so many of the members here have orchid set ups that are much more competent (?) then mine. I have 5 phals and one oncidium in my living room /kitchen, no where near a window, (no light) under chip tec led lights, on a humidity tray. The phals (I have no idea what kind of phals they are) have all bloomed, and I've cut off the spike close to the crown. I see new healthy roots, but it's been 3 to 4 mths with no sign of a new spike= no flowering. I don't know how I'll mangage to 'lower the temps' to encourage flowering. I keep the house around 65 all winter....? but it's august now, probably around 70 or so inside. I rely on these posts completely as I am so new and in love with orchids. I'm like a dog with a bone. I refuse to give up if I run into trouble. I want to be an orchid grower when I grow up, and needless to say, Phillip is my go to guy without a doubt.

Paul Mc · #**138** 08-22-2011, 10:07 AM

I think the thing about misting is that is does help, but only if your phal is growing the way it would in nature. They do not grow like how we pot them, they grow with their leaves angled down or upside down to prevent water from collecting in the leaf creases and crown. If you have yours planted as such, then misting is a great idea (although misting in an open room does not do much, in enclosed terrariums it does). However, if you have yours planted upright, then it's generally not a good idea to mist the leaves. Mistking was developed for greenhouses and terrarium growing where people would ideally be able to grow plants as they are found in nature.

Not all orchids are as susceptable to crown rot as phal's, so their would generally be alright with a misting system.

If you have your phal near a double pained window, then generally the temperature difference it will feel naturally from the window between day and night should be sufficient. Just keep in mind that if you close curtains around it then it could get too cool as the cold air can get trapped and drastically reduce the temperature around your plants (too much so possibly).

Humidity trays are great, but only if there are tons of them and air movement across the surface of it. That being said, with a larger collection in one windowsill, all the humidity trays is an excellent idea given air movement is there to pull the water into the air.

If you are not going to move your plants to a window, then you might try finding a chilling pad (can't think of what they are really called at the moment) to sit your orchids on.

Healthy roots are important, and as long as you see those you will be fine. Depending upon the oncidium, you may not see flowering until late winter to sometime in the summer. Phal's typically don't start flowering until late winter/early spring.

lucRiv · #**139** 08-22-2011, 04:40 PM

All 7 of my Phals have come from these types of stores and so far (fingers crossed) they have done well. By “well,” I mean that I haven’t killed them yet. I have only been taken in with this orchid-frenzy for about a year now, so I have not yet had anything re-bloom. Some of them have now finishing blooming. Some still have blooms. All are in the process of growing new leaves and large new roots. I’m assuming that this is a good sign. However, I’m starting to get nervous because I know that soon I’m going to have to do more than monitor water, humidity and light. As we quickly approach Fall, I know that SOMEHOW I’m going to have to find a way of still providing a light source, while reducing temps. I have NO CLUE how to work this out. I’m not sure how to water appropriately during this time or fertilize.

Also, I seem to have a preference for spag. moss, which surprises me. I feel like I can’t tell if my plants in bark need watering. But the ones in moss I can tell so easily when they start to get dry. When I bring them home from the store, they tend to be SO packed in moss. What I do is loosen up the moss to (1) thoroughly check out the roots, and (2) loosen the moss so that the roots won’t get so bogged down with water. This has been working out for me. But I always worry that I’m doing the wrong thing because it seems like most “orchid people” use bark or charcoal mixes, not the moss, so I hope that I’m not going to be sorry in the long run.

greenpassion · #**140** 08-22-2011, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lucRiv

All 7 of my Phals have come from these types of stores and so far (fingers crossed) they have done well. By “well,” I mean that I haven’t killed them yet. I have only been taken in with this orchid-frenzy for about a year now, so I have not yet had anything re-bloom. Some of them have now finishing blooming. Some still have blooms. All are in the process of growing new leaves and large new roots. I’m assuming that this is a good sign. However, I’m starting to get nervous because I know that soon I’m going to have to do more than monitor water, humidity and light. As we quickly approach Fall, I know that SOMEHOW I’m going to have to find a way of still providing a light source, while reducing temps. I have NO CLUE how to work this out. I’m not sure how to water appropriately during this time or fertilize.

Also, I seem to have a preference for spag. moss, which surprises me. I feel like I can’t tell if my plants in bark need watering. But the ones in moss I can tell so easily when they start to get dry. When I bring them home from the store, they tend to be SO packed in moss. What I do is loosen up the moss to (1) thoroughly check out the roots, and (2) loosen the moss so that the roots won’t get so bogged down with water. This has been working out for me. But I always worry that I’m doing the wrong thing because it seems like most “orchid people” use bark or charcoal mixes, not the moss, so I hope that I’m not going to be sorry in the long run.

I think I'm with you. Thank you. I'm shocked with the 'science speak' of the lighting issue. All I want is to give my 5 orchids, (4 phals and 1 oncidium) what they need...I am just a simple person and the talk of light measurments and all that has me completley overwhelmed...