I can't believe what I've done to my plant!!!

[NYCorchidman]

I've been quite disappointed about my Susan Fender 'Cinnamon Stick' for not having any flower sheath on its latest growths. I just cannot provide enough sun in the winter here.

So I decided to put the plant under a halogen lamp to give it some more light yesterday. I put it under the lamp at around 3pm and then went out for a movie.
Well, I shouldn't have done that because when I came back, I found that one of the two new leaves had this huge black burn. I was so schocked to see that.

Well, the burned leaf has more than half of it alive, but the burned area is quite large.
I should have been more careful as these two new leaves came out in the past two months when the sun was very mild on my window.

I'll never do that again. just wait for the natural light in the spring.

[Phal grower]

Sorry to see that. Sometimes I hate to learn

[Merlyn]

Yeh, but once experienced by accident like that and you'll NEVER forget and it WON'T happen again !!!

[isurus79]

Ouch! Try high output T5 lighting instead of halogen. Better efficiency and less chance of burning your plant. I would also cut off that black spot so it doesn't invite rot. Don't worry though, we all burn a few leaves! lol

[Merlyn]

Yeh, even under T5 and T8 lights !!!

[Paul]

Originally Posted by NYCorchidman

I've So I decided to put the plant under a halogen lamp to give it some more light yesterday. I'll never do that again. just wait for the natural light in the spring.

I wouldn't go that far. Just means you have to be more careful with how close you have it or other plants to the light.

Originally Posted by isurus79

Try high output T5 lighting instead of halogen. Better efficiency and less chance of burning your plant.

Or for that matter, hook up a standard shoplight with T12 lamps. I've bloomed many a catt using those.

[NYCorchidman]

What does the number represent in T5, T4, T12??
I've heard they don't make much difference compared to regular florescent light bulbs. Do they provide enough light for cattleya types to bloom??

Last, how much would they raise the electricity bill?
I currently use LED light for some of my minis and they cost like $10 a year, so it's almost nothing.

[isurus79]

T12 are the 'fat' flourescent bulb that usually go in the ceilings of an office building. T8's are smaller and T5's are the thinnest. LED's are probably more efficient for electricity, but T5's are well known to be very energy efficient as well.

[NYCorchidman]

Originally Posted by isurus79

T12 are the 'fat' flourescent bulb that usually go in the ceilings of an office building. T8's are smaller and T5's are the thinnest. LED's are probably more efficient for electricity, but T5's are well known to be very energy efficient as well.

Thank you for the answer, so the number represents the bulb size or the output capacity, then.
I will go to a store and take a look this week, but I'm not sure if I want to set up an extra light setup for just one plant though. a little lazy here, hehehe

[camille1585]

Seeing as you mentioned that you are likely are moving to a place with better light, getting lights might not be a worthwhile investment if you aren't going to get any use out of them afterwards.