Recommendations for Dorm Room - Orchid Board

shahrezsyed · #1 12-31-2014, 05:50 AM

A few months ago, I moved into college leaving all my plants behind. I want to be able to put more plants into my room and need help doing so. I have a small window with not a lot of sunlight so I definitely need grow lights.
It'd be highly appreciated if I was referred to a fixture big enough to house 2-3 medium sized orchids and a few other plants under it. I'll be putting this under a lofted bed.

*fingers crossed for a greener dorm room*

DeaC · #2 12-31-2014, 11:03 AM

Hello...I have sev growlight setups from indoorgardensupplies.com and from Amazon a 2ft and 4ft growlight setup. Prices vary according to size of course but bet you'll find one small enuf to fit in a dorm room. Orchids make the perfect room mates! BTW...Amazons products are Hydrofarm.

MrHappyRotter · #3 12-31-2014, 12:23 PM

What's your budget for the lights/setup & how much light would the plants be receiving otherwise?

What type of orchids are you growing or planning to grow? If you're asking for recommendations on the plants as well, what kinds of things do you like (i.e. are there specific colors you prefer, do you like spots and stripes or uniform color, do you like round flowers or less traditional shapes, etc).

shahrezsyed · #4 12-31-2014, 02:56 PM

I'd like the fixture to be as cheap as possible without sacrificing the needs of my plants. Also, I'd like to use for general purpose stuff. A few orchids (I'm open to suggestions, considering they're all gonna be in a dorm room that I can't regulate the temperature of), a few winter bulbs and maybe seedlings that I'm growing for fun haha (carnivorous plants, cacti, etc)...

Paul · #5 12-31-2014, 03:34 PM

If your dorm is anything like those of my distant youth -- it often is warm/hot enough that you open your windows up during the winter to let some of the heat out. (For those who find this shocking ... it is often quite true. The dorms I'm familiar with never had thermostats which could be controlled room by room. Instead the ENTIRE dorm was set at the same temp with the thermostat located who knew where ... and it was typically set on the high side of the temp range.) Your RH will also be utterly pathetic, if typical.

With that in mind, I'd suggest considering going the terrarium route with micro minis that like it intermediate to warm. (Plants in that category typically aren't cheap, unfortunately.) Whether this is an option depends on the space you have available.

shahrezsyed · #6 12-31-2014, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul

If your dorm is anything like those of my distant youth -- it often is warm/hot enough that you open your windows up during the winter to let some of the heat out. (For those who find this shocking ... it is often quite true. The dorms I'm familiar with never had thermostats which could be controlled room by room. Instead the ENTIRE dorm was set at the same temp with the thermostat located who knew where ... and it was typically set on the high side of the temp range.) Your RH will also be utterly pathetic, if typical.

With that in mind, I'd suggest considering going the terrarium route with micro minis that like it intermediate to warm. (Plants in that category typically aren't cheap, unfortunately.) Whether this is an option depends on the space you have available.

You're correct about the dorm stuff. Don't you think a humidity tray and misting would be enough?

Paul · #7 01-01-2015, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shahrezsyed

You're correct about the dorm stuff. Don't you think a humidity tray and misting would be enough?

Unlikely to have any significant impact. I have found that catts and phals seem to deal with such conditions better than folks would think. For those plants which really need their humidity, a terr would be the way to go if you have room for a decent sized one.

Aluka · #8 01-09-2015, 03:04 AM

I grow my orchids in my room inside a fish tank with an planted aquarium light. seems to work well =D

this is a 11 gallon tank (you can get a cheaper 10 gallon at petco for 10 dollars) i have 8 orchids and a few succulents in it. Also if budget is an issue, instead of an LED light, you can get a clip on work light at home depot ($7) + 13watt daylight clf bulb rated 6500k (2/$9). The best thing about the clip on light is that you can adjust how high or how low you want to hang it depending on what your orchid needs. If you need more light you can get a 26 watt clf instead.

So a budgeted version of this will cost you around $26 before the orchids. If humidity is an issue you can get a glass top at petco ($15) or get a glass panel cut at lowe's ($5), or get a piece of eggcrate at homedepot to put in the bottom of the tank, fill the tank with about an inch of water. let the orchids sit on the eggcrate (not touching the water).

Tho, if you plant them in s/h (i do, =D), humidity shouldn't be an issue.