Thinking of growing year-round under lights....

[Orchid Whisperer]

katrina, don't get me started on the pesky squirrels.

The number of healthy plants I have had spoiled by squirrels this year . . . Yeah, I have sort of developed a Bill Murray-esque / Caddyshack hatred of the tree rats. Don't let the fuzzy tail fool you - - pure concentrated evil.

[Leafmite]

Yes, there are definitely going to be cons to this and the heat and cost of lights is definitely one of them. I plan to run a fan over the plants to distribute the heat.
We don't have air conditioning so that's going to save us some money. :|

You make some good points, TheBlazingAugust. If I do this, I will probably grow those in a window with lights supplementing them (and I can always hang a light sideways, too). Many of my leafiest, bushiest plants are also the favorites of mealy bugs and scale and, because they produce fruit or have leaves that are useful in cooking (cinnamon, bay laurel), I do not like to use a systemic on them. When I do use a systemic to save the plant, I forgo the leaves and fruit for two years. I won't miss that part of putting them outside. Indoors, I can use some Diatomaceous earth to prevent ants from moving scale and mealy bugs onto the plants.

Thanks Katrina and Orchid Whisperer. This is definitely a big decision. I have always put all the plants outside for the summer. Last summer, I kept a few window plants indoors and they did well. I still have not completely decided what to do, yet. I am just trying to get some extra information to try to make the decision.

Fig trees. Anyone grow these under lights?
I have two types that are recommended for bonsai culture, Ficus 'Petite Negra' and 'Little Ruby'. Fig 'Petite Negra' has shown some promise for growing under lights. It broke dormancy at the edge of the light range and started making little figs. It had the same conditions as my orchids this summer and it continued to produce and ripen figs. I have them under lights, now. The only fig not going under lights is the 'Violette de Bordeaux'. It wasn't recommended as a bonsai tree and will continue going outside. I am trying dormancy with it this year. It is said to be hardy to zone five so I would plant it in the ground if it wasn't my daughter's tree.

[katrina]

BTW - I didn't mention it but I do have fans running...2 ceiling fans in the room and 3 other fans (oscillating) at various places so all plants are receiving adequate circulation.

If you opt to do it, you've started considering it early enough that if gives you a lot of time to figure out all the details and that's a big bonus.

OW- we actually feed the squirrels! I know, I know...but we enjoy their antics. In all fairness to the squirrels...the chipmunks and raccoons are usually more of the a problem for the orchids around my place, these days anyway. Oh, and the birds...damn things pick off buds and pull the sphagnum off mounts and out of pots. Of course, we feed those too.

[Leafmite]

Thanks jkofferdah for your input. I am using three sets of four foot, four bulb lamps and one two foot, two bulb lamp, all T5HO. I just found some nice LED's advertised and might be adding those for the larger plants to help supplement the window's light.

This is not an easy decision. I have always put the plants outside and felt confident it was the right decision. I would actually rather grow my plants outside in the summer. However, a few factors have come to play:

1) This sounds crazy but thieves have been digging up ornamental grasses and all sorts of other plants from people's yards. I fear that once they realize what I am growing and what the resale value might be, the plants would be an easy target. With ebay, even plants are easy to resell.

2) Mosquitoes. I use mosquito dunks and bits, am careful to empty saucers, check the yard for anyplace that might offer a place for mosquitoes to breed, even check my mini-pond to make certain the goldfish are keeping it clear, but they have become awful. If I forget to spray myself with off, I am covered in bites. I cannot get rid of the mosquitoes because, likely, they are coming from nearby retaining ponds, the park or low-laying water in our city's drainage system. Now that they have been found to carry West Nile, it makes it even more unpleasant to be bitten. Even with the off, I sometimes get bitten. So, caring for the plants when they are outside has become rather unpleasant.

3) The weather. Our weather was once pretty predictable. Now, it is crazy. Cool wet summer or hot dry summer? Cold summer dispersed with nights barely above freezing? Weeks solid of rain? Three very warm weeks followed by two weeks of cold? One never knows. My plants did not really thrive last summer and many are now recovering beautifully under the lights or in the windows.

4) Pests. Many of my plants have been proving sensitive to pesticides like the Bayer 3-in- one and Malathion. Some of the pests are proving resistant (probably because we spray the fruit trees every two weeks, all summer). I had some very healthy Phals and, after putting them outside for the summer, mealy bugs found them. I battled those mealy bugs all summer and finally, when it was time to bring in the plants, had to through them away (they seemed to really thrive after being hit with two doses of systemic). Where were the lady bugs? No idea. I did find lacewing larvae on the cinnamon but that was it.

The cons, of course, will be the heat, buying more lights, replacing the bulbs more frequently, and losing the benefits of the natural sun, rain and breeze. I think the heat will be okay as long as a fan is running. I can set up another window fan to take air out (in the summer, I always have one bringing the air in).

Yeah, I have been doing plenty of research. I have not found any information on growing ficus carica under lights (except for starting cuttings) but people do grow them in windows. The other plants might need a window and supplemental light. The orchids should be fine. Some of them have already proven to me that they hate the lights and they will remain in the window.

[Tindomul]

Originally Posted by TheBlazingAugust

You can solely use the 6400K spectrum bulbs, and I used to grow solely under those and bloom and grow things fine. However, I now use one each of 2700K 6400K and 10 000K spectrum bulbs. It's been said that while the 6400K is a broad spectrum that can grow and bloom anything, the 2700K and 10 000K put out light in spectrums that help encourage growth and blooming. Now, I can't necessarily say whether or not this is true, but I can say that using one of each bulb produces a light that is much more pleasing to the human eye, whereas the broad spectrum 6400K bulbs feel a bit too clinical room white to me. Also, if you can find a retailer that sells Sunblasters, they offer either 2', 3', or 4' ballasts that come equipped with a 6400K bulb. If the store is decent enough, it will sell replacement bulbs of each three spectrums in each of the three lengths.

Great info I think. I have always wondered if that mix would look good. I understand that certain wavelengths are great for growing, and I see people using them. I just can't bring myself to it because I want a light to looks good. I guess I'm selfish that way.

[FairyInTheFlowers]

Originally Posted by Leafmite

Yes, there are definitely going to be cons to this and the heat and cost of lights is definitely one of them.

The up front cost of the lights themselves might be a little high, but once running I don't think they're power hogs. The 4' bulbs I have are only 39W bulbs, so running two of them is still less than your average incandescent that runs at 100W.

Originally Posted by Tindomul

Great info I think. I have always wondered if that mix would look good. I understand that certain wavelengths are great for growing, and I see people using them. I just can't bring myself to it because I want a light to looks good. I guess I'm selfish that way.

Whereas diffuse sunlight looks soft white and most incandescent bulbs are a warm orange, this combo I have is a mix between. It's still warm, but not so noticeably red to the eye.

[Tindomul]

I guess I would have to try it out to see what I find nice.

[Tetra73]

I have to since I live in NYC. My mini Phals are doing fine in my 40g fish tank terrarium. So, I decided to make a larger enclosure using the same principles for setting up a terrarium.

My low budget grow tent...

I personally do not like those red and blue LED lights. They aren't great for admiring your plants. Depending on the size of your growing area, a t5 fixture may not be enough to get the light down to your plants. Maybe t5ho fixtures but they are not energy efficient and generating too much heat. I used to use them for my planted aquarium.

I am currently using 4 LED light bulbs 100w equivalent to supplement my 6 t8 bulbs. The LED bulbs are mobile and can get very close to the plants if needed. With my tent setup, a fluorescent light fixture won't be able to get the needed light intensity to my orchids. They are good enough for my other plants though.

In terms of the energy cost, I am only seeing few dollars increase on my bill.

---------- Post added 11-18-2016 at 12:06 AM ---------- Previous post was 11-17-2016 at 11:04 PM ----------

Oh about the humidity issue...I don't seem to have that problem. Mist heavily in the morning and by night time, is at 80%. My tent is fully covered with some small gap openings by the side and the front. So there are air exchanges. If I need to reduce the humidity, I can open the gap wider. If I need to increase it, I can mist more and to close the gap smaller.

Watering is easy too. I used a hand pump action sprayer and would just drench the orchid media. Any excess water would be caught by the plants and soil below. They would never drip to the floor. Sometimes, I have water sprays on the bottom of the tent but I generally soak them up once a week. They can also act as another source of humidity. I have a catch plastic lining by the bottom of the tent in order to prevent water from soaking the wood floor.

For pest controls, I put mosquito dunks in all of my water. So, excessive water won't become a breeding ground for fungus gnats.

[rockyfarm]

I've been growing my collection just under lights for a few years, after deciding that the summer move to the greenhouse wasn't helping them after all. In Maine I have a 10' x 12' grow room in the basement and have switched to pairs of 100 watt equivalent LED bulbs in 10.5" reflectors - currently 16 of these. The heat produced works nicely for me: I control it at about 80 degrees in summer and about 75 in winter daytimes, and 65 down to 60 in winter. I blow hot air out and replace it with outdoor air, using a pair of thermostats and timer set at my day/night preferences. This gives me a 15 degree range, day to night. The incoming air runs through a wet pad to keep humidity up. In North Carolina I have a similar grow room but use a heat exchanger to keep fall and spring temperatures in that same range. This circulates air through aluminum duct, releasing excess heat into the rest of the basement, then returning it to the grow room.

[Leafmite]

Thanks, Tetra73 and rockyfarm. I am going to give it try! I will probably need to purchase one more set of shelves and lights for the tall plants but I can worry about that in the spring.

Thank you everyone who has chimed in!