Determining Light levels
 

Can anyone tell me an easy way to gauge my light level in my grow room without buying equipment or lights?

I have northeast exposure. The strongest sum comes in the morning; it casts a clear shadow of my plants on the wall. Unfortunately this is only for my left window. The right window is in partial shade as a rooftop obscures it somewhat...

Anybody wanna take a guess as to what kind of light this may be?

I wanted to try orchids other than phals. I had decided upon a den kinganium until the question of light raised its ugly head.

Thanks for any and all advice!

Beth

You can either get a light meter to measure your light intensity or you can use a manual camera to figure out your light levels. I used option 2 with the help of Ray from FirstRays. This link will go into more detail on how to figure it out using your manual camera: Light Intensity Measurement

Hope this helps!

Susan

There's also an app on the iphone for a light meter. There was quite the discussion on the OB about that about a month or so ago. It was quite technical and they lost me, but there seemed to be some confusion about it's accuracy.

You might want to search for that thread and read up on it if you're interested in the iphone app.

Hard to determine the light levels without a light meter. But if you have a camera with manual settings you can get some ballpark figures.
But I also have a northeast facing window (gets some morning sun only from march to october) I've bloomed Onc hybrids with no problems in that window, morning sun was even enough to turn the leaves nearly yellow. I don't really grow Dens, so can't help with those. I think you could easily grow Paphs as well, although the light might be a bit strong sometimes, particularily during the summer months.

I grow den's as they seem to do best in an eastern window, or in a sheltered position on a west window. I attempted to leave on in a sunny west position, and it hasn't been very happy with me.

One word about light. I was shocked to learn how much light was coming in through my windows! It was very decieiving for me! Places I didn't think I could grow plants I found out that I actually can (and in fact, the light may actually be too bright in those areas). While knowing how much light there is from a meter will be helpful, ultimately it boils down to keeping a watchful eye on your orchid and recognizing quickly any changes that need to be made.

I survived without a light meter for 4 years and was very successful. I finally got one because curiousity was killing me, lol...

I LOVE this forum!!! Thanks scy and camille!! Your post is so positive Paul! I'm gonna try to grow the one den that I've got in the brightest spot in my brightest window once I remove my screens.

Also, apparently a friend I was complaining to about my dilema (that I'm spending hundreds on staired humidity trays, orchid pots, and orchids but am too cheap to buy a light meter) so he downloaded an app onto his ipad to try and help me gauge the light. So, flawed or not I should at least have a reading...

I'm so grateful to have you all to count on!

Oh, BTW I'm getting a new leaf on an orchid I've had for 8 months!!! I've gotten a few new buds on stuff but I know some chids will flower till they drop. This is a new, very positive sign that my chids are lovin the environment I've set up for `em.
Sooo encouraging!!!

Happy Orchid growing!!!

Beth

Congratulations on your new leaf! It's always a good feeling when you see new leaves or roots.

Since you're new here, I will tell you that the community thrives on helping. Any questions you have we will try and answer for you based on our own experiences and knowledge.

You're very welcome! Paul's right. Everyone here is super helpful. Congratulations on your new leaf! *cheer*

Susan

I think too much importance is given to the orientation of the window.

What matters a lot is also how large / wide the window is.
Also I had to photograph a 5 story building that was being gutted and renovated. I did notice that the top 2 floors were a lot brighter than the bottom floors. And the exposure of the photographs reflected that. The buildings across the street were not very tall.

Also I have southern windows but in the summer the sun is too high in the sky and the light does not penetrate well into the room. At that time of the year I get a lot more light in my eastern exposure kitchen window.

I think the orientation gives a general idea, and a north window is insufficient most times, but a southern window may be a lot of light for some and insufficient for others...

That is a very good point Stefano.

You game for Masdevallias or Zygopetalums? Maybe Coelogyne or Pholidota?

Whew! I need to do more research! I've heard that Masdevillias like lots of water which would suit me fine; I like to fuss with my plants.

Based on the advice I've gotten here I bought 4 oncidiums. I also found another orchid enthusiast at the high school where I teach who gave me a slipper orchid!

Soooo I'm pouring over my Understanding Orchids and Orchid Expert books as well as the internet! I think I need more resources :)

AND I ordered a light meter.

You guys are great! Thanks for all the encouragement.


PS I've been so worried about the light here not being high enough. Today I see that two tips of the leaves on my new dendrobium have turned red. That usually means high light/sufficient light I think? Who knows...maybe I have higher light than I think!

No matter of what, if you have the possibility to put a Dendrobium outdoors in the spring / summer it is better.

Also a newly cleaned window may let twice as much light in than a dirty window. Also the mosquito screens absorb a lot of light as well

I'll make sure to get them outside over the summer!

Dear King,

I went to the Longwood exhibition yesterday and a vendor convinced me to get a masdevallia. I asked him if they're difficult to grow but he said not really.

Should I panic now?

I grow lots of phals - hybrids mostly. I have 500 - 1000 fc, 40-50% humidity, and temps around 80 degrees.

So, why do these flowers have such a reputation for being difficult? Is it warranted? I really don't want to kill this plant or have it languish unhappily. Any pointers?

Thanks for any and all help!!!

Beth

Oh, and it's a Masdevallia "Morning Glory."

No panic needed.

They get a bad rap. Masdevallias are not that difficult to grow if you know what you're doing.

The common misconceptions are:

1. They're all cool growing! :(

* Eh! WRONG! They're not all cool growing.

There are cold growers, cool growers, intermediate growers, and warm growers. Pick the correct hybrid or species for your growing environment, and you'll succeed.

2. Masdevallias need to be kept wet all the time.

* This idea can be a bit misconstrued. Not wet, it's more like moist.

Soggy Masdevallia roots = dead roots.

Water the media again when the media has dried out to dampness.


Your Masd 'Morning Glory' is most likely temperature tolerant (36 F - 95 F). Masd infracta is in there and that's a temperature tolerant species.

If it gets warm in the summer and you're growing indoors near a shady window, just open the windows a bit or get a little fan (don't blow the fan directly at the plant though).

Got more questions, just ask away.

LOL... Phillip nailed it, and I admit I was guilty of not knowing about the various types of Masdie's available (cold to warm environment).

One thing Phillip did not mention was that Masdie's should do fine in the light given to phal's, but it really depends upon the type you have. I would recommend keeping it at a little lower light for a while and watch the leaves. If they seem to need more light, then slowly move them into more light. My understanding is that they like phal light, or just a little less. Newbie to Masdie's so I'd fall to someone elses expertise.

That's just what I needed so they like the same type of watering as phals (let them go almost dry before watering again)? And I'll watch the leaves!

Thanks again!
Beth

Reading your post again, King, it looks like they like to be kept wetter than phals...but just barely. Am I understanding you correctly?

No, it's not really the same type of watering as with phals. Like Philip said, they should get watered when the medium has dried out to be just damp. They like to be damp. With Phals they need to be nearly completely dry. Masdies also tolerant much less fertilizer than Phals. For my masdie I cut the dosage down to half of what the other orchids get.

Thank you Camille! Your imput is really helpful. I bought four new books but (I'm finding) I get nowhere near the kind of information that I get here. Thanks for giving me the info to grow my orchids properly!

One last question, and I'll leave you be...I promise :)

Would my Masdevalia appreciate misting when the top of the media gets drier? Or do I need to worry about crown rot the way I have to worry about my phals?

Thanks again for all the fantastic information. I don't know what I'd do without this forum!

I don't know a whole lot about Masdies since I only have one (well, had until the box it was in disappeared on its way to an orchidsitter), but I think it's fine to mist the surface of the media. Rot is less of an issue with them. I would mist the sphag at the surface to keep it damp until the sphag in the core of the pot dried out a bit more.

There is no such thing as crown rot with Masevallias.

They can be over watered, and if that's the case, the problem would be leaf drop.

What happens in leaf drop is that the stem turns to mush because the cells have burst. Or the stem doesn't have to turn to mush, it can also just turn yellow as a result of chlorosis due to over watering. Once the stem goes, so does the leaf.

The stem on Masdevallias are pretty short compared to the leaf.

Don't mistake the petiole for the stem, they're different structures. The petiole is the bottom part of the leaf that looks like a stem and connects to the actual stem. If you closely or if you use a magnifying glass, there is a break point between the bottom of the petiole and the top of the stem.

Thank you so much for all of your help! I never liked the look of masdevalia before but now that I have a nice bunch I find it much more balanced looking than many other orchids. Plus, the variety and colors are amazing. I'm going to give myself some time with this one, but I'm thinking maybe these plants are where I want to go with my collection :)

Thanks again & happy growing!

Beth