First T5H0 light!

[PaphLover]

Just bought my first grow light after finally finding a console table to install it under (since I live in a condo, I wanted it to blend in with all my other furniture). Looking forward to seeing how this affects the growth of my plants.

Being winter, and a dreary and quite dark one here I might add, my plants seem to have stalled more than last year. My main question is, should I gradually introduce my plants to the grow light? Meaning, should I start off at just a couple hours and work up to the 12 hours of light I've seen recommended. I'm wondering if I just throw them under the light for 12 hours right away if that will shock the beejeebers out of them, cause burned leaves or a further stalling of their growth cycle.

I have to say, though, that they already look happier. Their leaves look shiny and sparkly. The kitchen is now renamed "Hawaii." The light is so cheery it also has the added benefit of making me feel more chipper. No wonder they make people wear those light contraptions for the winter blues.

[gngrhill]

I am by no means an expert, but have been growing with t-5s for a year and you can indeed burn leaves if they are too close, or under too long a time. I have adjusted both the height and length of time and still had to move some out from under and put them on the side where they get some light, but not direct.

[Leafmite]

Looks great!
Last year was my first year with lights and I fried some of my orchids. I had the lights on too long and didn't water often enough. This year, the orchids are doing much better. I cut the number of hours to ten and moved the one shelf so the lights aren't so close to the orchids.
Good luck!

[NYCorchidman]

I would be a bit cautious as T5HO is nothing like regular T5. High output version gives very strong light and I think your light is a bit too close to the plants, especially phals.
Keep an eye on them.
You can always start further away and gradually shorten the distance instead of burning leaves and then moving it away.

[katrina]

You didn't mention the wattage of your new lights. IME, there is a good deal of difference from the lower end to the higher end. I grow phals under 22 watt HO T5 but they would burn to a crisp under the 54 watts HOs.

Regardless of wattage though...it's always best to acclimate the plants to higher levels. Especially when going from the dark and dreary winter light levels to something much higher in intensity. Even a bright window isn't consistently bright for 8+hrs. Clouds and all. If you're growing w/the 22 watts (or thereabouts) you could start w/5 or 6 hrs and work up from there but keep a close eye on things. If you have the 54 watts (or similar) then start w/less and keep an even closer eye on the plants.

Having a fan on will help w/heat dispersal.

[jmmehler]

There's a great article published in AOS a little over a year ago, regarding growing under lights. I may be off by a month, but they stress the needs of reducing the time by one hour for each month of Oct, Nov, & Dec; leaving everything as is for Jan; then increasing the time by one hour in Feb, Mar, and Apr.

Your plants look like Phals, Paphs/Phrags, which do not need too much light. If your fixture is a 2 lamp fixture you should be fine. If it's a 4 light fixture, you might want to see if you can remove 2 tubes. If you got a combination of 3000 kelvin and 6000 kelvin tubes, be sure to keep one of each.

Somewhere in the bowels of orchid board I've posted pictures of my ever-growing t5 setup. You might find that information helpful as well.

[estación seca]

I would put a small fan blowing across your plants to keep the heat down. I would also be a little concerned about all that heat under a wood table.

[PaphLover]

Great info, as always, thanks everyone!

To answer some of your questions/ comments. I only have one light. There is 9" between light and plants (is that really too close?) There does not seem to be any great heat output. I can put my hand directly under the lamp and only feel a very slight difference in temp.

The light is 39W, 6400K and provides 3627 lumens. It has a reflector.

I placed the paphs nearest the ends of the light and at the edges of the shelf to provide light but not the highest output of what the light gives at the centre.

Yesterday they got about 4 hours under the lamp. Today perhaps 5. I leave them at the window during the day and put them under the light when I get home from work around 5pm. I wonder if that's confusing to the plants…to be under lights at night. Should you more closely mimic daylight hours or does this not really matter? (I tend not to like leaving electrical things on when I'm not home. No washers or dryers left running. No crockpots left on.)

jmmehler, thanks for the article suggestion. I will go looking for that.

Since I live in a low-light area, I've never had to worry about burning leaves. Even in summer I can leave my plants on the windowsill in direct, full morning/ early afternoon sun without a single sunburn. So what should I be looking out for? I would assume more light would make the leaves a paler green first, which would be my first indication that they're getting a lot of (and perhaps too much) light? Anything else?

Thanks again, dear experts!

[gngrhill]

Pink or reddish color on the leaves could be a warning before an actual burn, although I have gotten a burn without much warning.

[Leafmite]

Just keep a close eye on them and you should notice right away if something is amiss. I hope you will update the thread and keep us informed on how your orchids do. I really like your set up as it looks really neat and tidy.
I found that there is a huge difference when you have more bulbs. I have a two foot, two light sun blaze and it doesn't create nearly as much heat as the four foot, four light lamps. I am guessing that with the nine inches, one light lamp and gradual introduction, you will be okay. Good luck!