No flowering with T5 lighting..?

[orchidjunky]

Hi all,

I recently stopped by a hydroponics store today just to browse at the lights they might have. To make a long story short the person who helped me kept insisting that I would not get any sort of flowering with T5 lighting and kept trying to direct me to buy a 150w sun system grow light. He told me that T5s are only good for vegetative growth.

Now I don't doubt that the light he was directing me to would work well for flowering but I know that many have had much success with T5s and so I would like to hear what you guys have been able to get to flower.

I have only been using T5s for about a month and so far my plants look good. I even got a Paph to send up a flower (though I don't know if it's because of the lights or because it was already a well established plant... had it for less than a month under the T5).

[s.kallima]

This is what I have successfully brought to bloom exclusively under T5:
Paph. helenae, Chiloschista parishii, Nanodes porpax, Podangis dactyloceras, Pteroceras semiteretifolium, Tsillandia spp, Maxillaria sophronitis, Coelogyne cristata, Neofinetia falcata, Schoenorchis fragrans.
I have some rupicolous laelias (Cattleya) under T5 and they have red leaves (they are less than 5 inches under the bulbs).
I am pretty sure you cam bloom anything under T5, your problem won't be the light intensity, but the temperature difference (night/day) for hard to bloom species of Cattleya for example.

[orchidjunky]

Originally Posted by s.kallima

I am pretty sure you cam bloom anything under T5, your problem won't be the light intensity, but the temperature difference (night/day) for hard to bloom species of Cattleya for example.

Yes see... I was trying to get the point across that you don't really know for sure what will bloom unless you try it. It seems like the person was more of a vegetable grower.. But insisted that you need MH or HPS.. There is more to blooming than just the lights you use... I've seen some of my paphs at work flower just from regular old fluorescent lights that were high above the ceiling (think they were T12 not sure).

How far are your paphs from the T5?

[camille1585]

You can get a good many orchids to bloom under T5s. If that wasn't the case, they wouldn't be so popular among orchid growers! Almost sounds like the guy was was talking about growing weed! For that plant you do need something stronger for blooming.

[orchidjunky]

Originally Posted by camille1585

Almost sounds like the guy was was talking about growing weed! For that plant you do need something stronger for blooming.

Omg I kept thinking this the whole time! I hate being stereotypical but he looked like he would and I hear a lot of their clientele do just that.. This is the 2nd hydroponics store I've been to in my area where I got that vibe.. The 1st one the guy was flat out honest about it... He also told me that t5s don't do good for flowering... But he was also saying that he's heard of people being happy with their t5s...

[camille1585]

I guess it depends what their customers are growing under T5!
I get the same impressions when I walk into growshops, and it takes some convincing for them to believe me when I say I'm growing orchids.

[orchidjunky]

^^ it's funny because the guy from the first store recommended a fertilizer to me that he uses for weed that my orchids have been doing so well with!

[Ray]

A photon is a photon. Given enough of them in the correct wavelength, and the plants will grow and bloom fine - no matter what the sources of light.

Plus, how one plant reacts to a certain combination apparently does not translate directly to another.

[secretasiansam]

The grow shop employee was definately talking about weed!! And he was wrong. I wouldnt take much stock in most grow shop employees advice. Cannabis growers are possibly more obsessed with thier plants than orchid growers, but at the end of the day they are still potheads!

[Wynn Dee13]

I think he was trying to make a sale. He wanted to sell you the more expensive lights he sells instead of you going and buying T5s for less money. I grow and flower cattleya species, mini catts, laelia species, and a lot of other genera. I put my plants outside for summer and grow under lights during the cold months.

Wynn Dee