The Phal abuse ends here.

[Merlyn]

Holding it in the sink upright and spraying all over the basket, plant, under leaves, then put it back sideways in its position. The person I got this idea from uses galvanized chicken wire on the front to hold the sphag/media in. I didn't because I didn't like how it looked and I ran a twist/tie wire through to the back/bottom of the basket to anchor it that way unseen.

[RosieC]

Originally Posted by alley

Thanks so much Philip, Merlyn, and Rosie! I must say I am a little intimidated by the photo that Merlyn posted, though I know this is probably the best way, I'm a little scared to try that just now...
Rosie, could you post a photo of how you have one of your phals potted for me?

This is one of mine. I don't always let the spike trail like this, you can grow them potted like this and still train the spike upright, which is what I usually do. Just sometimes if I didn't stake it early enough I let it trail like this one.

Hopefully you can see how the pot is upright, but the plant is leaning over the side. When you first do this the angles between the roots and the plant mean you probably can't go all the way over like this, but as a plant grows tilted it will become easier with each re-potting to lay it down a bit more.

[silken]

Originally Posted by Paul Mc

Also, if if I"m remembering this correctly, here in the U.S. the government has issued new regulations that are supposed to be in effect by the end of the year. Those regulations have made T8's obsolete. You might want to research this before you purchase any fixtures for the T8's. I know it was the lower number of the batch, just not sure which one it was (T5 perhaps?).

It is T12's that will be obsolete. They are less energy efficient and from what I read, people are being encouraged to move to T5 and T8 as they use much less power for the same amount of light generated.

[alley]

Thanks Rosie...I think I'm getting the gist of it now...

[alley]

Philip, I'm wanting to get some T5's for my phals. I have 4 phals....how many bulbs and at what Kelvin each should I be looking for? thanks in advance

[alley]

Also, How long per day should I put them under the lights and when?

[Merlyn]

I know 4 is more than twice as good as 2 bulbs. But since you only have 4 Phals and I'm SURE you won't be getting any more, perhaps you should only get a 2 bulb 2 foot fixture. 6500K is the best. I only use 4 foot fixtures and either 4 or 6 bulbs. I can't tell you how many hours because I'm using T8s right now. 4 T8s are 128 watts vs 4 T5s are 208 watts !! BIG difference there ! I have mine all on a timer and they're on 15 hours/day during DST and 12/day when off.

HTH,

[alley]

Thanks Chryss...I just ordered a 4 bulb fixture with t5's so if anyone has any idea how long I should probably put the phals under the lights per day, any round about figure would be good for a start. I have no clue....
And I probably will get more orchids. Of course I'm hooked like everyone else on the board. It's so weird. My husband told me last night he was going to buy a bird that likes to eat orchids...lol.

[rwj5279955]

Question, after the plant spikes, can temps be returned to room temp? Or do they need continued low nights to keep the spike growing?

[silken]

I do what Chryss does only with mostly T5's. 12 hours in winter and around 15 hours in spring and summer.