Northern latitude, enough light when winter rolls around?
 

First of all, hope I'm in the right place, apologies if not!

Bought this plant at IKEA the other day. First of its kind I've ever owned as my other two are phals. The flowers have a sweet and somehow 'exotic' scent in the morning, but by the time lunch is over, you can't smell a thing. Never had a plant like that before.

So anyway I'm thinking about light. The windows in the flat are floor to ceiling but west-facing, so the plants get indirect light all day until about 6PM when the sun shines through for an hour or so before setting. Seems fine now but wondering how it will handle the winter...4 months of dim cloudy days...will it survive?

Anyone have experience with windowsill plants as far north as the 49th parallel? Many thanks...

There is enough light in the sky for an Odontocidium hybrid or Cambria in wintertime in western Europe. The major problem is the modern glass, built for thermic isolation. They are filled with gas and absorb parts of the sunlight, needed by the plants. So the plants, which have done well in the past behind a normal 5 mm window glass, nowadays meagre in the room. You will see if an addition of artificial light is needed.

I'm about 5 degrees north of the 49 parallel and have bloomed hundreds of orchids. There is plenty of light at 49 degrees.

Carl

All right, I'm feeling better about this now. Thanks for your response!