this is my first time doing this

[diego_p]

i decided to start keeping my orchids under lights because i dont get enough through my windows due to the snow this winter has prodced. the box is just a tub i stood right side up and its hooked up to some cfl bulbs. the light cycle has been kept at 12/12.
i thought for a while that it would actually be better than being by a window because i wouldn't have to worry about cloudy days blocking the sun or sudden temp changes, but recently i noticed one phal (smaller one) has slightly wrinkled leaves and the other is purple in the middle (crown?)
also i just saw a video where a guy said that with orchids, its better that its yellow than the healthy looking dark green. (obviously i doubt he means a straight up, dead, dry, looking yellow is good but a yellowish green is more like it.) is this correct? if so then how much more light do i need? my leaves arent as nice and dark green but they are not yellowish either.

[RandomGemini]

The one with the wrinkled leaves is not getting enough water. I had a phal do that to me, turned out to be under watering. Once I gave it a good soak for 15 minutes, the next morning, the leaf was back to normal.

I see nothing wrong with those leaves otherwise, they look pretty healthy to me. In fact, I'm not sure I would call them dark green. I have two phals that have naturally dark green leaves, they can look black in some lighting. I'll get a pic for you side by side of my dark green phal and a regular green phal so you can compare. I think you will find that your phals are perfectly normal.

Creative use of a rubbermaid tub, btw.

[diego_p]

thanks i apreciate it. im still very worried and wary about these phals that anything different kinda freaks me out.
the tub is something i put together real quick. next month im going to build a more proper "enclosure" out of the laminated particle board used for shelving.

[RandomGemini]

Why build? Why not go to home depot or walmart and spend 40$ on metal shelving racks? These are great and you can attach T5s to them.

[diego_p]

wouldnt any surrounding lights from a living room or kitchen interfere with the light cycle needed to grow or bloom?

[RandomGemini]

No. Not really. There's a reason you can't use those lights to grow plants.

Also, while some orchids do need a dark period, while you're asleep should be plenty of darkness for them. You'll be fine with a shelf and some T-5s. It's not necessary to build an enclosure. You don't want to grow them in a closet.

[diego_p]

yeah no kidding, like the rack idea so i could also see them.
what about the humidity though? s that where humidity trays come in?

[RandomGemini]

A lot of people use humidity trays. I just close the door to my office (that's where I grow my orchids) and have a small room humidifier in there. Getting your humidity higher will depend a lot on the humidity in your house. I have a whole house humidifier and can get mine up to about 40%, I use the room humidifier to take that up to around 50% in the room where I grow orchids. I don't add plants to my collection that need more humidity than that, because I can't provide it.

[Brooke]

You need some kind of reflector around the lights because you are spraying the light in all directions. A CFL bulb should also be within inches of the plant to supply enough light for the plant to utilize.

Brooke