Winter is coming.. Will I need lights?

[RandomGemini]

I'm in the pacific northwestern US. This area of the country is notorious for getting lots of rain. In my part of the area, we have absolutely gorgeous summers and from about two weeks from now, until the end of April… it's gray and it's wet and it's gross outside. We will see the sun, maybe once or twice over the winter.

I have kept my phals in front of my window in my office and so far, they have been happy there, but with these poor light conditions coming, which actually often cause the people up here to have to take vitamin D supplements (I take 3,000 iu a day myself) I'm thinking I will need some sort of a grow light.

The question is, what's enough? These are noid phals. Three minis, two larger sized. Would a clip on lamp hung on a bookshelf do the job for my orchids for winter?

Any suggestions for how I can make them happy during the long dark?

Thanks much!

[jeremyinsf]

You can get a Hydrofarm "Jumpstart" light that will do the trick and probably be the right size. They are single bulb, and very in-expensive and only take 54w of electricity each.

You might not 'need' it, but in general Orchids do like a lot of light - more than most people think - and do better when they have it, both in growth and flowering. I put my plants under lights this year and am completely amazed with what has happened with them.

I'm in San Francisco now as an adult but I was born and raised in the Pacific NW so I know exactly what kind of weather you are talking about!

[brn_thmbs]

I'm in Boston. Also getting ready for 'the long dark' as I like to call it. I purchased some lights for the coming season 2 x 4 T5HOs Hydrofarms. Did some reading on the forums, asked questions of my fellow orchid lovers & am in the process of building it out. Well I have most everything I need except for the pond fogger I'm dropping in a bucket to blow humidity from via drier ducting & a high RPM computer fan.

[jeremyinsf]

I have three of the 4x4's and love them! Sounds like you are being creative, and having fun!

[GardenTheater]

I have LEDs from OrchidWeb that screw into plain old track lightinhg you can install above your windowsill. For larger grow areas, they also have massive grids of LEDs that use less energy and give off less heat than other options. Jason will consult with you over the phone or by email.

[RandomGemini]

Thanks for all of the advice! I'll look into your suggestions and see if any of those would suit!

I have been considering building some sort of mini bookshelf sized greenhouse, because I know that the furnace will soak a lot of the humidity out of the air. It's tempting to set up a terrarium for the minis, because I do have a spare 7 gallon bow front aquarium with a custom light that I could set up for them. I'm thinking some mopani wood, swap out the current "reef bulbs" for lights more suited for the mini phals… it could be cute but I'm afraid of the looks DH would give me. LOL!