Setting up a 3 ft. X 3 ft. planter box?

[Stanley]

Hello! I am a new member and have just started an orchid collection. I have a 3 ft. X 3 ft. stainless steel planter tray, about 4 inches deep, that is in my family room, under 3 skylights (about 17 ft. above) and also receiving morning light from an east-facing window. I suspect that I will need to add artificial lights, also, and have replaced 3 ceiling flood (track) lights with 60 watt halogen bulbs and have them pointed at the planter box. These lights are about 15 ft. away from the plants. The 11 new plants are huddled together in the planter box, to increase humidity a bit. I have 3 gravel trays and each plant is in one of those glazed ceramic pots with air vents on the sides and a tray at the bottom (for a bit more humidity). Please offer advice on light, humidy (I am in DRY northern Colorado), etc. -- that is, how would you set up this planter box to be a viable home for my orchids? Would you fill the entire steel tray with 1-inch of gravel or volcanic rock or something else, or leave it empty for ease of cleaning?

[dr_frnkblck]

Welcome to the forum.
I think the first question would have to be- what type of orchids are you growing? There are different growing conditions for different orchids.

[bellini girl]

Stanlel, to OB. Sounds like a neat set up. What type of orchids do you grow ? Post some when you are able.

Lecent

[priz_m]

Hi Stanley! welcome to the OB!

I am sorry I can't provide any feedback on your planter, my orchid growing setup is pretty old school, a windowsill
check me out! huh?

I'm sure others will come to the rescue with by far more expert advice.

[Stanley]

Hello! Thanks for responding. I have 2 Oncidium, 1 Phalaenopsis, 1 Dendrobium, 3 Cattleya, 2 Brassia, 1 Brassolaelia, and 1 Miltonidium. All were from 2 local nurseries. My main concern is: "Am I providing enough light with the setup that I have?" Second concern: "Am I providing enough humidity?" I could add gravel to the 3 ft. X 3 ft. steel planter box and fill that gravel 3/4 full of water. What that be better than the few gravel trays that I have? Also, should I arrange the plants so that those that need the most light are closest to the light source, next closest, etc.? Any help you could give me would be appreciated. The orchids have been in the planter box for 3 weeks, now, and some have lost their flowers (seem to have dried up) and others have sprouted new leaves and one has sprouted a shoot that is beginning to blossom. They all still look very healthy. I leave the 3 halogen spot lights on for about 14 hours per day. Although they are rated at only 60 watts, they are very bright.

[Royal]

Hey Stanley, welcome. I'm envious of your skylight setup. Sounds pretty cool. A couple of observations:

The depth of the gravel/water doesn't matter. Surface area is what counts. A deeper reserve may have it's up and downs, but I'd say it's just preference. Also, those lights, while they probably highlight your plants, aren't doing much at 15 feet. I bet the skylights give plenty of light for Phals, maybe Dends and Oncidiums, but not quite enough for the Catts. I would arrange them as you suggested (higher light plants closer, etc.), but you may want to find a really bright spot for the Cattleya.

[Ross]

Hi, Stanley. Glad you chose to join. I am sure you will get help for all your questions here, as we are a very diverse group.

As for light, the halogens are a waste of electricity for what you are getting. If they make you feel better, fine, but the distance is too great to be of any real benefit. Remember, light falls off at a square of the distance. If you have X amount of light 12" from a light source, then at 24" you have 1/4 that amount. Now, 11 feet?

Just to get you thinking, here is my solution:



The coiled bulb is a 105 watt compact florescent t5 sheding approx 800 foot candles light at 12". Not a lot, but it helps. I am sure you can come up with a more esthetic way of doing same thing. Just drop the cord from the ceiling and place lamp(s) on a timer. I'd go 12-14 hours. If you are all creative and hardware savvy, you could create an aluminum bullet-type reflector that sheds light straight down and paint the outside to blend with your decor. Just a thought.

[Stanley]

Thanks for the feedback! Very helpful. It was especially valuable to find out that my halogen lights are of little value, at their distance (15 feet) from the orchid planter box. I guess I'll build a light box above the planter box and frame it in wood so that it matches the wood trim in my family room (where the planter box is). I will also fill the planter box with 2 to 3-inches of gravel, fill it with water, and use that as a crude evaporative humidifier. If there is someone from Colorado, New Mexico, or Arizona in our group, please let me know if this will work or how you handle humidity for your orchids (inside the house). Do I need to build a glass cage around my planter box or will my orchids make it without such a setup?

[Royal]

I bet they'll be fine without the case, but how cool would that look!?

[Blueszz]

Hello Stanley,
welcome aboard!

you already got some good advise on artificial lighting and humidity. As I'm a 'window sill' grower I can't give you a lot of advise about this.

During the darkest months of the year I use a few desk lamps with 4000K fluorescent tubes as additional lighting for my Phal's and Paphiopedilum. It is supplemental lighting and I have to be careful not to burn the plants. It helps them thru the darker months with shorter days. I use the lamps 12 hours each day.

About humidity indoors. I don't do something special, no humidity trays or so. Humidity is around 50-55% except when it gets really cold outside and I use the heater a lot (24/7). Then I need extra moisture. Drying the laundry in the rooms where I grow orchids does the trick buahahaha....

My plants seem to suffer more from cold than from lower humidity during these months.

Loosing flowers can be to natural aging of the flower, or lack of energy, caused for instance by lack of light.

Nicole