How well do Oncidium's do under lights?

[greenpassion]

I am new to orchids and I'm completely hooked and enthrawled with them. I have 2 currently out of bloom Onciduims, one of them given to me to rescue by a co-worker who know nothing about orchids. Needless to say I did not admit that I know nearly nothing as well Anyway, I have a little set up with 2 oncidiums and 4 phals under chip tech led lights. The lights are about 2 1/2 ft from the plants. From what I"ve read, Oncs like bright light, or almost full sun in nature, and phals can take low light. Am I waiting in vain for these oncs to rebloom? I'd cut the spikes off close to the leaf junction when the blooms went by, and so far although they look ok,(well, one of them may have issues with spider mites that I'm treating with Physan 20) I don't see any sign of new buds. It's only been around 5 or 6 weeks...

[WhiteRabbit]

I don't know anything about lights - some of my Oncidiums (and Onc alliance intergenerics) bloom in rather lowish light, others do seem to want a good deal more - tho many do great just on windowsills.

They do need to be in the proper stage of growth before they spike - for most this is just after the growth has matured, or is very nearly mature. And only the new growth will bloom.
If foliage is dark green and/or 'floppy', it likely needs more light.

gl!

[Paul Mc]

A few corrections. For Oncidiums, if the foliage is dark green or floppy it needs more light. This is not true of phal's. If phal leaves are floppy it could be a sign of either too much sunlight or not enough water. Also, if phal leaves are dark green then they are probably right where they want to be sunlight wise. The lighter they are the less light they are receiving. You want to shoot for just a hint of red around the circumference of the leaves - that would be just about right and too much more light would be devestating. That having been said, most of mine do not have that red tinge and have done just fine but they are darker leafed than oncidiums generally.

Oncidiums are one of the widest ranges of orchids and encompass many different types. If you have the full names of them it would be greatly helpful.

One correction to your comment about "full" sun though. "Full" sun for orchids is different than full sun for plants such as banana trees. Remember that orchids primarily grow on trees so they are protected by the canopies (lower, middle and upper) of the tree. Phal's tend to grow on the lower portion of trees so they receive much less light. Oncidiums tend to grow either in the middle to upper parts of the trees so they can more light (though some do grow lower), but it is important to remember that they are still protected somewhat from the sun's full power.

There have been many postings recently about people using lights, probalby since it's getting that time of year when we bring them in. There are a lot of things to remember when it comes to lights such as the color temperature of the bulbs, wattage, foot candles produced, etc...

One person here did an experiment with compact flourescent bulbs versus LED's and the LED's lost hands down. LED's are experimental at the moment in the orchid world to say the least, primarily because they are relatively new technology being applied.

Your best bet would be to invest in a T8 or T12 fixture and buy some "daylight" bulbs with a range between 6000 to 7000 kelvins (I believe that's the right term - still learning it myself, lol...). This will simulate daylight the best and give the orchids the color temperature they need.

I would use the search button here and type in "color temperature" and read the postings, then search for "LED" and do the same. Also, go to the indoor growing section on the forum (towards the bottom of the forum section list) and you will find a lot of conversations about proper lighting an equipment.

Hope that's been helpful.

[silken]

I believe Physan 20 is a fungicide not a miticide. Spider mites need to be treated with a pesticide that specifically includes mites. The fungicides are for fungus and spotting on leaves caused by bacteria. Using a magnifying glass will help you determine if you have spider mites. You will see very fine multiple webs on the undersides and in the crotches of the leaves and tiny little mites moving around on the underside of the leaves and on the webs.

The oncidiums only bloom on new growths, usually once they have matured. That's how you will know if they should be in bloom or not. Most will need more light than phals.

[Bud]

OK, easy on th big guns here...Physan can damage new leaf and buds...
mites are bugs: I use 10 drops dish soap; 1/2 teaspoon cinammon extract and 2 cups tepid water...spray the whole plant and make sure to soak the media down to the roots(to kill the eggs)

soap dish=anything from palmolive, ivory to the blue stuff
cinammon extract=any supermarket (McKormick brand is fine=you can find it on the aisle with vanilla and almond extract)
tepid water= run the hot water in the sink for a minute)

*this works very well for me, flies fall off their perch when I sprayed them with this mix...ants and spiders diee fast too= I just hate bugs and I dont want them in my house.

[silken]

Originally Posted by Paul Mc

Your best bet would be to invest in a T8 or T12 fixture and buy some "daylight" bulbs with a range between 6000 to 7000 kelvins (I believe that's the right term - still learning it myself, lol...). This will simulate daylight the best and give the orchids the color temperature they need.

T12's are in the process of being discontinued, so you may want to investigate T8's as Paul Mc suggested or T5's. Both are more energy efficient than the T12's which is why they are on the way out.

[Paul Mc]

LOL, oops, I got my T's mixed up. Silken is correct - they are phasing out T12's and they will not be available by the end of the year.

[greenpassion]

I was told to spray with this and it would take care of any possible mite infestation....

[silken]

Originally Posted by greenpassion

I was told to spray with this and it would take care of any possible mite infestation....

Are there instructions or comments on the bottle? You also might want to Google it. Physan 20 has nothing to do with insects, only possibly the damage they would do which could lead to a bacterial infection. If you do have spider mites, its important to treat them soon with a proper pesticide as they can do a lot of damage. If its not a heavy infestation, you could try soapy water as mentioned above, but I have never been able to completely eradicate them that way. They like warm dry conditions, so increasing humidity helps as well, but won't just kill them all off.

[Ray]

Physan is a bactericide/fungicide, algaecide/virucide. It will not affect mites at all.

OK, it might piss 'em off for a bit, being a good wetting agent, but not kill them.