I have a converted wine chiller for my Dendrobium Cuthbertsonii with a dimmable full spectrum LED. I'm not sure about the light intensity. You can find a lot of information on the internet but it's not designed for 12 hours of artificial lighting. At the moment I have 80-130ppfd for the leaves.
2 plants in the 130 ppfd range are getting purple leaf discoloration, so I assume there's too much light.
Hi there! Let me attach these two pictures. I was using these two screenshots for my own grow lights. I’m not sure if others have the same experience as I do but it seems grow lights give my orchids more of the purple spots than natural sunlight does. I’m no expert with grow lights. And I only use mine as a temporary fix. Hopefully it helps you out somewhat.
I guess the other photo didn’t make it. Here’s another link. It’s the more useful photo. It’s a screenshot from another forum. I just can’t find the link at the moment.
Den cuthbertsonii are relatively low-light plants. If the lights are on 12 hours a day, cut the "recommended" light level in half. In nature, plants experience the peak amount of light (whatever the value) only for a few hours at mid-day, increasing gradually in the morning, then decreasing again in the afternoon.
It's not possible to create a chart of ideal photon flux intensity for each plant. How plants use light depends on all the factors involved with photosynthesis: Water availability, temperature, nutrient availability, carbon dioxide availability. Choosing lighting is an art, not a science. A light level that would be ideal for a plant in one set of growing conditions might scorch the same plant in different growing conditions. Because sunburn is a worse problem than insufficient light, most growers start plants in somewhat low light, then gradually increase it as tolerated. With artificial lights this means starting farther away then moving them closer as they tolerate it.
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I have a converted wine chiller for my Dendrobium Cuthbertsonii with a dimmable full spectrum LED. I'm not sure about the light intensity. You can find a lot of information on the internet but it's not designed for 12 hours of artificial lighting. At the moment I have 80-130ppfd for the leaves.
2 plants in the 130 ppfd range are getting purple leaf discoloration, so I assume there's too much light.
I would be happy to hear about your experiences
Best regards
Oliver
Hi Oliver. Please refer to the link below for just such an article. I had been looking around for this type of article for awhile, and have myself been growing a wide variety of orchid species under LEDs for several years with quite successful results. That said, it's always helpful to have someone else's perspective. I was pleased that the info/chart in the article pretty much conformed with my understanding and my own practices but also that it enlightened me in a few areas. (I tend to over-light somewhat.) I hope you find it useful, as the PPFD recommendations assume 12 hours illumination per day. The author includes a disclaimer that the information is only for reference, but that it is at least partly informed by real-time data.
Another factor would be the age of your plants, seedlings generally requiring somewhat less light than adults.
Roberta's recommendation on the value of observation, of course, is the way to go, long-term. Maybe this article help you find the place where you might want to start.
Hi Oliver. Please refer to the link below for just such an article. I had been looking around for this type of article for awhile, and have myself been growing a wide variety of orchid species under LEDs for several years with quite successful results. That said, it's always helpful to have someone else's perspective. I was pleased that the info/chart in the article pretty much conformed with my understanding and my own practices but also that it enlightened me in a few areas. (I tend to over-light somewhat.) I hope you find it useful, as the PPFD recommendations assume 12 hours illumination per day. The author includes a disclaimer that the information is only for reference, but that it is at least partly informed by real-time data.
Another factor would be the age of your plants, seedlings generally requiring somewhat less light than adults.
Roberta's recommendation on the value of observation, of course, is the way to go, long-term. Maybe this article help you find the place where you might want to start.
I know this article and actually based my calculations on these values. I'm just a little surprised because 2 plants show signs of too much light and thought about the experiences of other caretakers. Thanks
Okay. In that case I'd trust my observations, absent anyone having a more definitive comment. You know that red-tinged leaves is a sign of stress. I was looking for culture of cuthbertsonii and was surprised to discover that they are not as low-light as I thought. Dendrobiums after all. I woudn't think that 130 was excessive, but given the closed container-type static environment of your converted wine cooler, absent interference by leafy overgrowth, and the signs of stress that you noted, decreasing light to the next level down sounds reasonable to me. Maybe think masdevallia levels?
Such a beauiful plant, crystalline texture of flowers. The first time I noticed them was at the NYOS prior to 9/11, where they were displayed in a closed Edwardian Case with exacting humidity, temperature and air movement controls.
---------- Post added at 06:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:42 PM ----------
In addition,
Referencing Estacion's and Roberta's comments, I'm reminded that the best we can do is to estimate any given plant's requirements. I'm certainly always wanting my orchids to behave perfectly and to appreciate the environment that I'm offering. And they do, to some extent.
I find comfort that orchid requirements have been reduced for the home grower into numerical values. It gives us a chance. Added to this is the difference in goals. Commercial orchid growers back in the early -mid 20th century were tasked with producing maximum blooms. As orchid growing became more hobby-oriented, the attractiveness of the entire plant became more important. And as numerical values are attriuted to environment have come to the forefront, some of us are excited to try even the most difficult of the species Cool rain forest has got to be one of the most difficult. Good luck.
Light Levels (ppfd) for Dendrobium cuthbertsonii
Linear Mode
