Do I need lights?

[BillieG]

My orchids are in a west window. I have phals, cattleya, paphs, phrag, oncidiums, ang sequipedale and a zygo.
Do I need lights, also, for them to bloom?

[WhiteRabbit]

I grow Onc, Paphs, Phals, some Catts in west facing windows (no lights). If your window is mostly shaded, then it could be possible that additional light may be helpful.

[butterfly_muse]

Originally Posted by WhiteRabbit

I grow Onc, Paphs, Phals, some Catts in west facing windows (no lights). If your window is mostly shaded, then it could be possible that additional light may be helpful.

I know this thread is a bit old, but I've just move to an apartment with all west-facing windows. Is yours shaded, do you use a sheer cloth for afternoon sun, or do you just leave them in there happy and free? Your cattleyas, specifically? I have only three of them, and as the sun moves around at about 4 pm it is above the tree level (so it's direct at that point), and I'm trying to figure out if that's too much light for them or not...it doesn't last long that way...=\ And it has also been raining here almost every day since May, so we haven't had full on sunshine hardly at all. I was trying to figure out whether or not I should get a light or two as a supplement since it's cloudy and rainy basically every single day.

Any tips?

[WhiteRabbit]

No sheer curtain or anything... I have two west facing windows, one is smaller (height-wise) so gets sun for a shorter amount of time - there's a small roof over-hang, and on the back fence of my rather narrow backyard are fairly tall oleanders - so, there is direct sun mid to late afternoon (at least a couple of hours of direct sun this time of year) - dappled by the oleanders later.

I also grow many orchids outdoors, a number of the get afternoon sun longer than the ones inside. I do need to watch for extremely hot weather (mid 90s or more), and move those getting afternoon sun (inside ones too, but because they are in the sun for a shorter time, they are less likely to burn so they don't cook. Tho, in spring, they can cook even in the lower 90s, as they are only used to temps being in the 70s, maybe lower 80s at that time.

They may need to become acclimated to the sun with no sheer curtain, if they are used to lower light.

Some Catts really need a pretty fair amount of light to bloom, but others are fine with a bit less. During summer, I don't know if overcast would cause too much difficulty - it probably depends on how long the plants are exposed to the overcast vs shaded.

Myself - I'd probably give it a go without supplemental light - but, that's my approach to growing orchids. I try out growing spots, if a plant doesn't bloom within a year or so, I try a spot with more light. Guess I'm ok with it maybe taking a while to get blooms. I have one now blooming for the first time in the almost five years I have had it! I will admit to getting frustrated with it, but, I hung on to it just the same

[butterfly_muse]

Originally Posted by WhiteRabbit

No sheer curtain or anything... I have two west facing windows, one is smaller (height-wise) so gets sun for a shorter amount of time - there's a small roof over-hang, and on the back fence of my rather narrow backyard are fairly tall oleanders - so, there is direct sun mid to late afternoon (at least a couple of hours of direct sun this time of year) - dappled by the oleanders later.

I also grow many orchids outdoors, a number of the get afternoon sun longer than the ones inside. I do need to watch for extremely hot weather (mid 90s or more), and move those getting afternoon sun (inside ones too, but because they are in the sun for a shorter time, they are less likely to burn so they don't cook. Tho, in spring, they can cook even in the lower 90s, as they are only used to temps being in the 70s, maybe lower 80s at that time.

They may need to become acclimated to the sun with no sheer curtain, if they are used to lower light.

Some Catts really need a pretty fair amount of light to bloom, but others are fine with a bit less. During summer, I don't know if overcast would cause too much difficulty - it probably depends on how long the plants are exposed to the overcast vs shaded.

Myself - I'd probably give it a go without supplemental light - but, that's my approach to growing orchids. I try out growing spots, if a plant doesn't bloom within a year or so, I try a spot with more light. Guess I'm ok with it maybe taking a while to get blooms. I have one now blooming for the first time in the almost five years I have had it! I will admit to getting frustrated with it, but, I hung on to it just the same

That is a lot of great info, thank you!