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

Three autumns ago, I began growing orchids and a few other plants under lights during the cold months. After a little adjustment, I seem to be doing well. I am thinking of growing plants under the lights for the entire year, instead of moving the plants outside every spring and inside every autumn. This thought of changing things was prompted by the introduction of a huge, fast, funnel-web spider into the house. An unhappy week for my spouse followed until I finally caught her and put her outside. This experience got me thinking that it would be rather nice not to get eaten alive by mosquitoes while enjoying my plants. I also would not need to worry about the plants being stolen (heroine has come to our small town. :( )

How many of you grow your plants indoors all year under lights? Do you have any tips? Suggestions? Do any of you use T5HO fluorescent lights? Do you grow Cattleyas under the lights? I do plan to use a fan on the plants to help with the heat but, as we do not have AC, it does get warm.
Thanks!

---------- Post added at 01:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:31 PM ----------

If anyone has any pros and cons to share, I would love to hear those, too! :)

Hello Leafmite
I grow mine all year under Lights ( I hate Bugs -I tried in my first Year growing and put them outside-after bringing them in-next morning i had slugs running around on my Kitchen Table-gross -so they have not been outside since .
Anyway-i grow all my Cattleyas under T5"s- i have 2 x 4' at 2700K and 2 x 5400K on each Shelf and run those little computer Fans --one on each shelf .
I have no problems blooming them-
well- except my walkeriana -that one just doesn't want to bloom for me :(

Thanks. I do have a bunch of walkeriana and walkeriana hybrids. It will be interesting....
I do not mind slugs outside but inside....ugh. I do understand. This year, I had a pill bug infestation. I do not mind one or two but there were so many that they were eating the roots and even the flower buds! I noticed that the group of orchids that remained inside this past summer did not get scale, mealy bugs or anything else. That was rather nice.

There is no benefit where humidity is concerned as the windows are open during the summer. The free light and breeze is nice but if the T5HO and my fan can substitute, I think I will go for growing indoors.

One of the other issues we have been having lately is the crazy weather. Some summers, we have had night temperatures in the low forties and one summer, we kept having temperatures just above freezing. That just gets annoying.

Thank you!

One of the things I've come to realise is that you will never be able to casually grow under lights in your house and have high humidity or cool temperatures. Growing them in a small enclosed space, like a closet as I've done, does help the humidity a small bit, but even high efficiency bulbs will raise the temperatures during the day. Plus, if you're using regular housing areas, high humidity might not be wanted in the long run, so you're better off not letting humidity run too high, which is to the detriment of the orchids. I've always used and swear by Sunblaster T5HO's. 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.

(Sorry if this is incoherent, my boyfriend has been showing me his coin collection. If you want any clarification, just ask)

Yes, Cody is right, the minute the lights come on the humidity goes down. I am stuffing my growtent but I can't duplicate the 70% humidity I had before I put a light above it. That is with water trays below and a small fan running 24/7.

Thanks, Cody! You do make sense. Thanks Fishmom. Humidity was a problem until this year. I am using trays and I have the orchids that were unhappy under the lights in a window and the ones that need very high humidity small terraiums with cloth over (as they like shade, too). The others (Cattleyas, Angraecum sesquipedale, Cyncnodes, Phal-type Dendrobium, etc. are not at all picky, judging by past experience.

The other plants I am currently growing under lights are 3 dwarf Ficus carica (which were all proclaimed great for bonsai and will be kept small), a mini pom tree, coffee, a couple of alpine strawberries (I have more outside), a guava, Aglaia odorata, a few small citrus, a piper nigrum, a Cestrum nocturnum and a Camellia sinensis. These have been growing under lights for almost two months and are doing very well. I wonder if anyone else has tried growing any of these under lights for an entire year successfully?

I will probably get more lights for he Cinnamon, bay laurel, Manikara zapota and plumeria. The Jasmine and Theobroma cacao will remain in the window as they do fine in a shaded location (and the Theobroma would probably fry under lights). It should be an interesting future for all these plants. They have always gone outside every summer.

I currently have a Sunblaster and three Envirogro. Looks like I will be getting more shelves, more lights.

The only problem I can see you having with these plants under lights is that I'm assuming most of these are bushy, broad-leaf plants. What is convenient about orchids is that most of them have small leaf surface areas without much overlapping and shading of themselves. I could see bushy plants being a bit fussy under lights where the source of the light is only coming from one direction, rather than the sun travelling through the sky. This would place many of the leaves in a constant shadow, possibly leading to etiolation.

As you can see, 100% under lights does work for many people. If it works for you, why not do it?

Personally, I like my outdoor season with my plants. If I had no choice but to grow indoors 100% of the time, I would likely give away or sell off most of my orchids, maybe keeping only 1 or 2 plants. Different choices for different folks.

I'm with OW in that I like having my orchids outside during the warmer months...even though it comes w/it's share of things that I'd rather not deal with.

For me, having them outside it a break from the time consuming act of watering vs when they are inside. When outside I can just grab the hose and go. And, fertilizing is easier and quicker because I use a dial-set hose end sprayer but when inside I have to use a battery operate sprayer...it's just a lot more time consuming. So, yea, I need the 3-4 month break every year.

Also, the lights heat the house up so much that the a/c would be running non-stop and if I didn't have a/c then the house would be unbearably hot for the humans. And, I only run the lights for 10 hours during the bulk of the winter...starting w/a 12hr run time and bumping up to a 12hr run time in the spring. If I had to keep the orchids inside all summer then I'd have to run them at 14hrs combine that w/the constantly running a/c...well, my electric bill would be astronomical. And the extreme heat of lights combined w/no a/c...could cause problems of it's own. When my orchids first came inside this fall it was cooling down but we hit a patch of a couple of weeks where the outside temps went back up into the 80's and some days near 90...and w/the lights only set to 12 hours and the a/c not on...I actually got some damage on a few leaves of a couple of catts. Extreme heat build up caused cell collapse...almost a total scorch in a few of the leaves. W/no a/c...that might be something you'd want to consider.

It can work for some people but, for me, I wouldn't consider it. I also am of the believe that all plants benefit greatly from the time out in the elements. Rain, fluctuations of temps, humidity (when available), and wind...all good things. But, yes, there are also those less desirable aspects to it...bugs, pesky squirrels, chipmunks, birds, raccoons that like to knock pots around, the list can go on and on. For me the biggest PITA w/growing outdoors is when we are under severe weather alerts that involve high winds and I'm having to run around like a crazy person to get the orchids situated so they don't end up blowing around the neighborhood. I still remember the year Hurricane Ida whipped up through here and sent orchids flying through the air...I never did find about 4 of the smaller ones. Since that storm, I have a routine that requires a good 1-2 hrs to get everything secured and that time + a bit more to get them back into place once the storms have moved along - not convenient. Again though...the break I get through those months is more important to me than the inconveniences and risk associated w/all the plants being outside.

Now that I'm thinking about it...my biggest problem in the summer is the bouts of never ending rain we get...I have to pot up my orchids in set ups that can hopefully deal with that faction but because of that they dry out super fast under the lights...so that's kind of a PITA too. I've often wished I had the Bewitched nose twitch so I could switch things out in the spring and then again when they come back inside in the fall. :biggrin:

One more thing...you'll have to replace your bulbs more frequently if growing inside year round especially if you're running them the higher time frames in the summer.

There are also some orchids that might not bloom well under lights only...Ctsm, many rupics, maybe some of those walkeriana (maybe) but I think most would bloom fine if the time is high enough and the bulbs are good.

I'm not trying to discourage the idea...just throwing out some things you might want to consider. You can always give it a try and see how it goes. It would be a simple enough fix if you find you aren't getting the results you want. Give it a season and if it doesn't work out then you can always go back to putting them outside the next year.

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.

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. :)

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. :Tup:

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.:blushing:

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.

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.
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.

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.

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...grow-tent.html

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.

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.

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! :)

I grow almost all my orchids indoors year round, and have for many years. The primary reasons for me to make this switch was weather and critters. It seemed like every year, there'd be at least one storm that would blow plants over, cause limbs to fall on the plants and damage them, a random hail storm would rip them to shreds, or some other calamity that would heavily damage some portion of plants. Similarly, I'd find myself dealing with some critter plague or another: ants, roaches, crickets, squirrels, slugs/snails. It was always something. And then, bringing things in for the cooler months would inevitably bring pill bugs, millipedes, centipedes, spiders, bush crickets, roaches, slugs, etc indoors. When I finally had enough, I realized that whatever gains I'd see in the plants from the outdoor living was getting wiped out by damage and "bugs", might as well keep things protected year round.

My collection is heavily geared towards slippers, though I do have a little bit of most of the major groups, and generally speaking all my plants grow fine in low-medium light. So, T12, then T8 fluorescent bulbs in 4 foot shop lights were fine, and now I've mostly made the switch to LED T8 replacement bulbs, though I'm experimenting with other LED lights as well. This is more than sufficient to bloom phrags, paphs, phals, oncidiums, dendrobiums, bromeliads, succulents, and even some cacti. I've never had a ton of luck growing orchids in windows without supplemental light. They seem to stop growing or produce very stunted growths and are so prone to rot. Granted, I haven't had good unobstructed windows in quite a while, and I tend to over nurture (i.e. over water). Under lights, the vast majority of things I grow will continue to grow all year long and I'm happy with that.

In the summer I run the AC quite heavily, so the plants get pretty consistent day & night temps in the upper 70's F to low 80's F that drop to low to mid 70's F at night. During the spring and fall, I usually don't run the AC or heat that much, and open windows at night. Temps are a little more variable at this time, but the nights can sometimes dip into the upper 50's F to low 60's F. And in winter, when I kick the heat on, the temps tend to hit low 70's in the day, and will drop to the upper 50's to lower 60's.

Because I have so many plants sandwiched on the stands, humidity isn't a huge issue most of the time. The plants end up creating their own micro-climate. Most of the time it doesn't dip below 45% - 50%, and unless I air dry my clothes near the plants or run the humidifier, it rarely gets above 70%. Aerial roots on the epiphytes seem to be generally be okay with that range. I do mist the mounted plants almost daily, and I run fans almost constantly.

Thank you, MrHappyRotter. My plants and orchids will have a higher light requirement but I think the T5HO lights should be able to handle that. Some plants will have a window and lights for the summer months when the sun goes overhead.

I don't have a problem with my pots getting knocked over by storms due to the lava rock but we do have the neighbors' cats who like to get into the orchids and knock over the pots or just knock the younger seedlings out of the medium. That is one of the reasons some of my orchids did not thrive this past summer.

After these past few years of dealing with all the issues, I am thinking that the problems associated with putting them outside for the summer finally has outweighed the benefits where I am concerned. I admit, I won't miss carrying over a hundred pots of plants outside, only to bring them inside a few days later when we get an unexpected temperature drop.

I enjoyed growing in a greenhouse in Florida but don't believe it justifiable for me now, further north. And I relish the warmth and growth I find in my basement during chilly and cloudy weather!

The lights really do make things warm and cozy and helps brighten the dim days during the winter. In Ohio, the cost of heating a greenhouse seems even less justifiable, especially with the constant wind. It is cheaper to run a bunch of lights.

Humm interesting. I grow under lights in the winter but my summers are so short here it gets cold fast so They are inside more than out. Mine are only outside for 3 months.

I think the plants do best with natural light and fresh air. I am lucky to not have many bugs where I live nothing that hurts plants just spiders and fruit flies.

I could see keeping the plants inside year round would be good when dealing with bugs. So if it works do it.

Thanks! :)

I'm sorry if I am duplicating anything someone else has said. I have skimmed the thread but not read everything.

I only grew seven plants outside last summer and next summer I will probably only put the bigger catts outside. I had similar problems as others have mentioned... primarily random nights down into the 40's and hail/wind storms. I also found myself protecting some plants from the rain since they hadn't dried from their last watering. Even with seven plants, shuttling them into and out of the garage all the time got tedious. I am hoping to avoid any soil pests next year by only putting out mounted and s/h growing plants.

So, I have some set-ups that I use for growing and thus far have had success. One is very new, but is based off the concept of the older one, which you can see pictured in this thread, near the bottom:
http://www.orchidboard.com/community...onditions.html

I only use LEDs to grow under lights nowadays, which benefits me in multiple ways. The first being that fluorescent bulbs are not nearly as common as they used to be and can be difficult to find (at least this is true for me out where I live in the boonies). They also are considered hazardous waste once they've outlived their usefulness and must be disposed of differently than household waste. LEDs have become incredibly common which has also resulted in a price drop on bulbs. They also don't lose effectiveness like fluorescents and can be chucked in the normal trash. Another plus? They are harder to break and, if I eventually manage to break one, no mercury on the loose! I can now get 60w equivalent daylight LEDs at Walmart for less than $3 each (my electric coop helps with special pricing, so mileage may vary). I have found that I can significantly boost light output by cutting off the plastic bulb around them using my rotary tool, which exposes the diodes (some brands allow you to just twist that thing off, but the wally world brand does not). Finally, I bought adapters on eBay that convert a single light socket into three sockets, that allows me to get more bang for my buck from a single lamp cord I bought on Amazon, which I have suspended over the plants in the new enclosure. Because of the low wattage of LEDs, I still remain well under the limits of the cord using this method.

In the old enclosure, I did not have space for that particular style set up, so I purchased two Finnex FugeRay Planted+ lights that were appropriate length to span the length of each level (note, they ARE pricey, but also designed to stimulate aquatic plant growth so probably also have better wavelengths for growing). My plants are close to the lights (within 10'') and this seems to be doing well. The only plants that really work in this setup though are minis and seedlings. However, it seems to work well so far. My Den. moniliforme, M.atropurpurea and Bulb. auratum have all bloomed (well, the masdie is in spike) under the set-up, each varying distances from the light. Might not seem like much, but many of the plants in this area are not blooming size, are out of season, or I've only recently acquired. Also, a quick note, it does get some natural light, but not much as it is in a north facing window.

Other reasons I liked LEDs: they are much cooler and don't excessively heat my enclosures, which allows me to use the greenhouse cover without much fear. In fact, they help me better achieve the day/night temperature differential much easier. I also have trays of ZooMed Hydroballs in one and aquarium gravel in the other that I fill with water in a traditional humidity tray style. Computer fans in the enclosures circulate the moisture well throughout and they remain at 70% or more humidity.

I am also experimenting with the 3x bulbs on a two catts (a bifoliate unregistered hybrid and a C. forbesii) and my N. falcata to see if they will grow and bloom well. The forbesii has a new growth that's well along the wait to maturity and it's the right time of year, so we'll see on that! They are very close to the lights, as well... 6-8'' at most. My light meter says it's appropriate levels which I can only hope is getting me in the ballpark since I have heard that light meters don't read LEDs well and I find myself too lazy to look up wavelengths and conversions and such. The hybrid cat has purple pigmentation and the forbesii is a nice light green, so I think I'm probably okay.

Anyway, I think I might be a bit tangential and may not have actually addressed anything... but, that's what I do :biggrin:

I live in a small condo and have to grow all of my orchids and house plants under lights. We don't get any direct sun on the balcony or sole window in the bedroom due to a large tree and even larger building that blocks the southern sky.

I use a combination of Metal Halide, T5HO and LEDs. I also grow all my orchids in Exo Terra terrariums. The MH light is probably overkill for the orchids, but it has worked out great for my two terrariums filled with Latouria Dendrobiums and warm-loving phals. I also have a tank for vandaceous and cattleya alliance orchids. Those tanks reach max temps of 85 under the MH and cool down to around 72 at night, so they get a nice change in temps from day to night. I keep the humidity in those tanks around 75% and have pc fans inside the tanks for good air movement. I also grow some dwarf citrus plants and kitchen herbs/spices under the MH and they love it.

I use the T5s for the phal tanks and a bunch of other house plants outside of tanks. And the LEDs are for low light house plants. The LEDs came from First Rays and my plants really love them.

The MH light is hot and comes in handy during the winter. Since our condo is small and only has one small wall exposed to the outdoors, we don't really get that hot during the summer nor that cold in the winter. Probably use a little more A/C in the summer because of the MH light, but definitely use less furnace in the winter.

Our condo is 973 square feet in size and we have over 50 house plants and orchids combined. No problem with indoor air quality in our home. :biggrin:

Salixx, I have been keeping note of the ever improving LED technology. I am going to give it another few years, though, before switching over.

Joseia, it sounds like you have a wonderful garden in that apartment of yours. Plants really do help with the air quality and that is especially important when you live in an apartment building.

I added a pair of alpine strawberries and some herbs to the fluorescent garden. So far, so good.

I held off buying into LEDs until the 'standard shape' warm and cool white 100-watt equivalents became available. They produce a sunlight-appearance and suitable intensity at a better distance than my old tube fluorescent fixtures. I use one brooder clamp reflector over each pair of plants, 2 bulbs per reflector. As the leaves fall outside I relish the life and growth in my artificial garden.

I have seen some of these types of LED's and I am very interested in them. How much area do they cover? What brand, exactly, did you get?

Around here in New York City, I could only get the Phillips 100w equivalent in your standard light bulb socket. Is a day light bulb but rated at 5000k. About $15 for 2 in Homedepot. I may have to stock up since each bulb typical costs about over $10 each. I have 4 of them and daisy chained in a 15" x 12" x 7" box shape enclosure/reflector. My dendrobium and oncidium are only less than 10" away from the it and they have been growing like crazy. I have my oncidium sharry baby for less than 1 month and I have roots growing out from the bottom basket and a little baby pseudo bulb is growing and about just under 1" tall. The dendrobium frost dawn is growing a new leaf every week. I could literally see the leaf growing daily. The roots are already growing with side growths as well. I have my dendrobium for over 2 months now.

Good to know! Thanks!

Sounds like your orchids are really happy! :)

I am using bulbs I bought via Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
These are the cool white; they offer the same brand in 2700k warm white. They use only 13 watts each. I put a pair (cool/warm) in each 10 1/2" reflector with an adaptor (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1).

I have them about 10" above my Phals. and about 3 to 4" above my Cattleyas. They produce nice looking light and quite intense, considering the power used.

Walmart.com offers the 10 1/2" reflector fixtures for only $8 currently.

Thanks! I really appreciate the links. It is going to be really great to have some cooler options for the summer. The more fluorescent lighting, the warmer the temperatures so adding LED's to the mix is very appealing. :)

I thought I should add here...my dendrobium is slowly beginning to grow spikes by the nodes. Only the top 3 nodes have clear visible bumps, like something is about to penetrate through it. The lower ones not so, at least not clearly visible.

Yesterday I went to Home Depot to look for these cheap LED bulbs https://www.amazon.com/Philips-45660...ustomerReviews

BTW, our local Home Depots may have a different pricing. I bought these for $7.34 each. They are normally retailed for $10.

Since my middle light strip needs to have the bulbs replaced because they are more than 2 years old. You need a specific ballast to work on them. Some says you need a electric ballast but my 3 strips are using it. However, I couldn't get the bulbs to turn on UNLESS I mixed the strip with one LED and the other with the traditional fluorescent bulb. Is strange.

My Cattleyas have bloomed under my T5HO lights (and out of season) and the herbs are thriving (even the lavender and rosemary) so i feel pretty confident that this is going to work.

For ballasts, I would probably buy LED's that came with a ballast. I did that for the T5HO's and I just buy the bulbs that are the same watts, etc. I am not that confident in my ability to mix and match.

Please don't get super technical with me. I need supplemental, attractive lighting. I saw this and could live with it.

ViaVolt 2 ft. 4-Bulb T5 High Output Copper Fluorescent Grow Light Fixture with Timer V24 KIT at The Home Depot - Mobile

It could be a nice setup BUT, in my experiences with T5HO fixture using on my planted tank aquarium, they generate too much AND my electric bill was pretty high. :) I think t5 fixture should be enough and you are using more strips. I think with a T5HO fixture you are more than likely to burn plants if the distance to the plants is too close.