A Neo Lighting and Growing Environment Thread

[rangiku]

So a southern window (second story so no sunburn from the snow) with no screen or sheer curtain will be okay?

[Jayfar]

Originally Posted by rangiku

So a southern window (second story so no sunburn from the snow) with no screen or sheer curtain will be okay?

I'm thinking a sheer curtain may be a good idea, at least for those of us in the north. The daylight is of shorter duration, but my understanding is that the noonday light coming in a window can be more intense in the winter due to the lower angle of the sun in the sky. Then again, possibly Neos are less vulnerable to sunburn than Phals? In their natural habitat they generally don't get much shade in the winter.

Someone please correct me if this is wrong.

[AnonYMouse]

Southern window has more exposure than northern (no direct sun in N. hemisphere). I don't think east/west matters much during the winter. If you are likely to be overcast, I wouldn't sweat it.

[WhiteRabbit]

Mine winter in a mostly unobstructed south facing window (fence blocks some morning sun - but the sun shines on the window most of the day) with no sheer curtains ... they do get rather purplish but don't burn.

I have read that Neos grow in deciduous forests, so get a lot if sun in winter.

[MattWoelfsen]

Now that we are on daylight savings time in Fort Wayne, Indiana, I have put my Neofinetia in my bathroom that stays fairly cool but has a sky light and a glass bricked, western facing window. I have 'sacrificed' the bathtub by putting in wooden planks across the tub and placed plastic shelving on top, stacking the Neofinetia on the shelves. Since this is in an alcove, I have placed an oscillating fan on a timer to circulate the air. To raise humidity I have also placed a cool mist humidifier in this alcove. I'm thinking this should be good enough--heck, I would live in this space if it were larger!

[Jayfar]

Originally Posted by MattWoelfsen

Now that we are on daylight savings time in Fort Wayne, Indiana, I have put my Neofinetia in my bathroom that stays fairly cool but has a sky light and a glass bricked, western facing window. I have 'sacrificed' the bathtub by putting in wooden planks across the tub and placed plastic shelving on top, stacking the Neofinetia on the shelves. Since this is in an alcove, I have placed an oscillating fan on a timer to circulate the air. To raise humidity I have also placed a cool mist humidifier in this alcove. I'm thinking this should be good enough--heck, I would live in this space if it were larger!

Maybe just keeping a couple inches of water in the tub would provide sufficient humidity, perhaps with a fan blowing toward the water surface. Just a thought.

[MattWoelfsen]

My thoughts exactly. I tried that a couple of days and it did not increase the relative humidity where the flowers are located. That is why I added a cool mist humidifier.

[Call_Me_Bob]

When they aren't outside, I grow my neos under 100watt Cfls in 10" dome reflectors. It's cheap, simple and very effective! Around 5" below the bulb I'm getting around 5,000 footcandles,. I don't know nobody else uses these!

Anyways, they grow about 18" below the bulb and off the the side a bit. They get about 3,000 FC.

I definitely think that most unvariegated neos have richer colored leaves if they aren't under super bright light so this is probably as much light as they'll get. As far as the variegated one's I may start increasing their light levels a bit to match what they got this summer. This summer they got almost full sun.

[MattWoelfsen]

Originally Posted by Jayfar

Maybe just keeping a couple inches of water in the tub would provide sufficient humidity, perhaps with a fan blowing toward the water surface. Just a thought.

On second thought, I might get a submersible fountain pump and get a water spout going into the air. The other reason I did not keep water in the tub was that the water started growing algae. But if the water was circulating....

[brn_thmbs]

Try a pond fogger with ultrasonic discs.
They're great at creating lots of humidity & you can scale your water source & number of discs per to your needs. If you can automate the water source, it's even easier. Otherwise, like me, you just have to watch the reservoir & add as needed. For my 5 gal bucket it's about once a day & I have it all on a timer.