Any one suggest a phrag that will grow well under fluorescent lights? Does anyone have experience growing them this way? Should I just wait? Thanks!
Tadd :evil:

Any one suggest a phrag that will grow well under fluorescent lights? Does anyone have experience growing them this way? Should I just wait? Thanks!
Tadd :evil:

I think most of them do well under fluorescents. I grew them that way for years. Problem is that some of them will get very large. Actually most phrags can get very large... Maybe stick with things like Hanne Popow, or plants with a lot of schlimii or fischeri in them. Those tend to stay smaller for me.

If you're using fluorescents with natural sunlight, then yes, your Phrags should be OK but if you're talking about fluorescents only with no natural light then forget about it, especially if you have the long petalled Phrag species and hybrids. I'm speaking from my own experience but others may feel differently.

If you're using fluorescents with natural sunlight, then yes, your Phrags should be OK but if you're talking about fluorescents only with no natural light then forget about it, especially if you have the long petalled Phrag species and hybrids. I'm speaking from my own experience but others may feel differently.

I never had a problem... Of course I mainly grew besseae hybrids, not long petalled hybrids. This was in a basement where the only thing they got was fluorescent light. I do think they grow better under HID or in the greenhouse. They certainly get bigger, and the flowers are probably better. But I still found them rewarding under fluorescent tubes.

Yep, HPS lighting is the best to grow all kinds of orchids indoors. I have tried fluorscents before I got my HPS and my plants were just not too happy and I have bloomed a bess under fluor. but the flower quality was very poor. My plants have been growing and blooming beautifully under my HPS system.

My Phrag klotzscheanum x warscewiczianum that is in spike right now, all I have for light are 2-40 watt fluorescents and 2-65 watt compact fluorescents they are about 8 inch away from the top of the plant. So that must have been enough light to get it to spike.

All of my seedlings have done well under lights....but they soon get to large to remain there. Most phrags grow very large, so they will soon outgrow a fluorescent light garden. Some can stay there longer...besseae, caricinum....but most..including the hybrids of these species, will grow too large. Take care, Eric

Peircei stays small enough to stay under lights too,and will certainly grow well under florescents, but I couldn't vouch for flowering them under lights, since mine have only flowered in the greenhouse.

I use to grow all my phrags under 4 40 watt florecents
2 grow lights and 2 cool white
They use to flower for me beautifully
Now that I'm starting a new collection I will be growing this way again

I grow most of my Phrags in the basement under plant light fluroescent tubes. As they come into spike, I bring them upstairs to my sunroom to enjoy. Some Phrags have been in my Sunroom for years because they continue to bloom and rebloom.

For those of you who have grown phrags well under regular fluorescents, meaning NOT compact fluorescents, how close to the bulbs do you put them - just a couple inches?

As close as possible
I use pots turned upside down and various things (nothings safe...lol) to get them as close as I can.
Most are 3 to 6 inches away
I also Phrags incredibly adaptable.
I don't repot for awhile after a new purchase to let them adjust to my conditions and within 3 to 6 months they start responding, but most just keep growing

Yep, HPS lighting is the best to grow all kinds of orchids indoors. I have tried fluorscents before I got my HPS and my plants were just not too happy and I have bloomed a bess under fluor. but the flower quality was very poor. My plants have been growing and blooming beautifully under my HPS system.

Interesting. I thought HPS had a poor CRI, and wasn't great for orchids. BTW, what light fixtures do you use?

I have all of my orchids indoors and in a compact space, ie steel bread racks with fluorscents (4 32w T8s per shelf) and all of my phrags have done well, ie. spiked and flowered. They definitely liked being outside during the summer, but expected them to grow more slowly as the temps cooled... The nice thing about the config is the ability to get 3-400 plants into a very small room and have them do more than survive the winter...

I guess the decision point is how much space and $s you can spend. Is a green house or HIDs better? Probably. Will paphs and phrags survive and bloom under fluorscents? Yea. If you are suffering orchid withdrawal, then any fix is a good one :shock:

Jerry

Interesting. I thought HPS had a poor CRI, and wasn't great for orchids. BTW, what light fixtures do you use?

Jerry

Jerry, from my experience, the fluor. lights were a disaster, all my plants grew slowly but didn't look too happy and sulked most of time. BUT all that changed when I installed my first 430 w HPS w SonAgro on a light mover. My plants, mostly slippers perked up right away and have been growing and blooming successfully ever since and I will never go back to fluorescents. I have posted pics of my setup and plants in bloom in the gallery as proof of my success. :D :-dance:

Hey Tadd, I have a dozen of Phrags under flourcents right now I have Elizabeth Castle just starting and Cape sunset. also just starting then I have Mt Falau and Phrag Caricianum with spikes of 37inches and 24 inches should be showing some buds here shortly Those two I put outside this summer under protection but with higher light for july and Aug. I seem to be doing ok I think they would grow faster with more light but I'm not complaining Try it this winter Wallmart sells two bulb shop lights for $7 or $8 dollars how can you go wrong

For those of you who have grown phrags well under regular fluorescents, meaning NOT compact fluorescents, how close to the bulbs do you put them - just a couple inches?

If by "regular" you mean 4' -- I have 3 shop-lights with full spectrum/plant lights, 6 4' tubes, 10 - 12" above my phrags.

I thought you needed cool white to bring in the blue spectrum..........no?

I thought you needed cool white to bring in the blue spectrum..........no?

Not if the bulbs are "full-spectrum." Bulbs called "plant lights" should also have the blue end of the spectrum. I like the Phillips bulbs the best.

Jerry, from my experience, the fluor. lights were a disaster, all my plants grew slowly but didn't look too happy and sulked most of time. BUT all that changed when I installed my first 430 w HPS w SonAgro on a light mover. My plants, mostly slippers perked up right away and have been growing and blooming successfully ever since and I will never go back to fluorescents. I have posted pics of my setup and plants in bloom in the gallery as proof of my success. :D :-dance:

How many plants do you have under the HPS? And, how close to the light are they? You have piqued my interest; I noted the SonAgro have a nice light spike in the blue range. When I was looking for lights, the HPS that I looked at had CRIs in the 2-3k range and the large spikes in the reds, orange, & yellows. They were flatlined in the blue, though.

I am committed to fluors for this winter, but will revisit next summer. Not sure I can get the volume of plants under 1 or 2 lights, but may think through a combo route for diff size plants... Hmmmnnn... Something to ponder this cold, dark winter 8)

Love the pics of your plants, btw...

Jerry

For those of you who have grown phrags well under regular fluorescents, meaning NOT compact fluorescents, how close to the bulbs do you put them - just a couple inches?

If by "regular" you mean 4' -- I have 3 shop-lights with full spectrum/plant lights, 6 4' tubes, 10 - 12" above my phrags.

Same set up, although the plants range from a foot out to intertwining their leaves in the lights. I have several phrags, stans, and Laelias that have run their new growths up into the lights. At first, I nearly panic'd thinking they would burn or otherwise be harmed. The plants seem to like it, so, I haven't moved them yet. Of course, these particular bulbs are a year old and noticably dimmer than brand new ones, so maybe they are not as hot, either... YMMV :roll:

Jerry,

My 430 w HPS w SonAgro bulb (has both red and blue spectrum) is on a track light mover and is about 3' above the plants (200 or so, lost count, had more at one time). I grow indoors with no natural sunlight. Here are some pics I took a couple of weeks ago and one taken last year.
http://mysite.verizon.net/vze6o1l1/1.jpg
http://mysite.verizon.net/vze6o1l1/2.jpg
http://mysite.verizon.net/vze6o1l1/3.jpg
http://mysite.verizon.net/vze6o1l1/gro.jpg

I've actually had pretty good results with Phrags under fluorescent lights. My Phrag Chuck Acker (long petaled) bloomed very nicely, and twice within 4 months. Now I have about 100 small phrags under fluorescents.

I find that with Phrags under standard fluorescent (and minimal natural light), they do best with 14-16 hours of light per day to help make up for the quality of light. I've read that Phrags arent sensitive to day-length, and my experience is consistent with that. Of course, if you can deal with the heat and initial expense of HPS, I'm sure they're better, especially for larger plants.

Just my $.02 :)

-Matt

Peter thats one heck of a display you have many mature plants in your collection very nice. Ray

I looked around and could only find the philips plant and aquarium bulbs
I live in a smaller town of 99K and cant always find what I want.........lol
couldnt find any info on them as far as sprctrum goes but when I was growing my collection before I always put cool white tubes with the grow lights.
they seemed to do pretty good.

I looked around and could only find the philips plant and aquarium bulbs
I live in a smaller town of 99K and cant always find what I want.........lol
couldnt find any info on them as far as sprctrum goes but when I was growing my collection before I always put cool white tubes with the grow lights.
they seemed to do pretty good.

Our local Home Depot store carries Philipps. The other building supply stores carry other brands.

Jesus, Peter, those plants look like they're out of a catalogue :-) In my case, I grow my plants in a studio apartment, so I don't have the luxury of putting the plants in another room and letting the lights go wild. That's why I got fluorescents to start with. Ki is trying to convince me to get a compact fluorescent for the top shelf of my unit, but I'm a bit worried about heat and more worried about the intensity of the light in my apartment - I can handle the current lighting, but not sure if cfl would be just too strong for me to live in the same room.

John, I agree with you that a HID system would be too much for a studio apartment. My grow room is so bright that I have to wear sunglasses sometimes or shield my eyes by wearing a cap. :D

I just bought a Tek-Light T5 light strip with 4 48" bulbs, 2 of each. I can't believe how much more light that gives then my other high intensity strips. The plants seem to love it but it has only been up about a month. The others are the bulbs which Housermann's sell. They are stronger than the reg bulbs but not as strong at the T5. The cost was about the same for both. Both types are more expensive than the HD bulbs, although the Housermann's bulbs are supposed to last 3 years. Check out their info on their web site.

I'll keep you informed as to how it works out. I did test the light under the new ones and they tested almost twice as bright and my other units but I'm not sure how good my tester is.

Has anyone else used the T5 bulbs? What is your experience with them?

Grandma

Here's the Hausermann's info on their lights:

NEW! Vi-Tek 93+ Super High Intensity Flourescent Grow Light Bulbs, 3200 Lumens! (average wide spectrum bulbs are 1700-2100 lumens) 3 year life expectancy (standard wide spectrum bulbs are 11 months)
Available in:
4 pack, perfect for the Grow & Glow Tabletop Lightstand, OS-1144
8 pack, Perfect for the two tier Z-Light Stand

NEW! Vi-Tek 93+ Super High Intensity Flourescent Grow Light Bulbs, 3200 Lumens! (average wide spectrum bulbs are 1700-2100 lumens) 3 year life expectancy (standard wide spectrum bulbs are 11 months)
Available in:
4 pack, perfect for the Grow & Glow Tabletop Lightstand, OS-1144
8 pack, Perfect for the two tier Z-Light Stand

They say their bulbs have a 3 year life expectancy vs the 11 month for standard wide spectrum bulbs. The total cost for 8 bulbs is 125 bucks, while I paid 80 bucks or so at HD for my 8 fluorescent bulbs (I got two red ones and two sunlight-esque blue ones per shelf, per Ki's advice).

Are these bulbs any better than what I have, and when they say 3 years is that for real? They put it in the context of the 11 months that other fluorescents last optimally for plant-growing, so they seem to be saying 3 years of optimal light. Am I wrong? If that's true, the price is right.

I only grow a few phrags under lights....(normal fluorescent)....seedlings, and a few small growers. I keep them in a position where their leaves reach almost to the lights...besseae is towards the edge, with lower light intensity...the plants trays are about a foot beneath the lights. I keep the lights on for 15 hours/day, (longer created problems in some of my paphs...) and they go outside for the summer.....most are still outside, as temps still remain in the upper 50's at night....and are getting lots!!! of natural watering these days...My fixtures hold 4 bulbs, 3 cool white to 1 warm white.......I gave up on expensive "plant" or "natural sunlight " bulbs years ago...especially when I realized that the cool white hace the highest lumens....Take care, Eric

Well.............that makes me feel better!! :-dance:

These are the light I use to grow some of my plants (not Phrags as of now) but I have re-bloomed several Catts under these bulbs.

NEW! Vi-Tek 93+ Super High Intensity Flourescent Grow Light Bulbs, 3200 Lumens! (average wide spectrum bulbs are 1700-2100 lumens) 3 year life expectancy (standard wide spectrum bulbs are 11 months)

I have just hung one 4 bulb strip of the newer T5 bulbs. They throw a lot more light but they also use special fixtures. The bulb size is different. I have placed some small Phrags under these.

Below is a pic of a of a Catt. King Of Tiawan 'Splendiferous' (Bryce Canyon X Purple Ruby) just starting to bloom. The flower is 6 inches across. There are two more buds coming. This is the second time this has bloomed for me under these lights. The copy looks like it has tiny white spots but they do not show on the original or on the flower itself.

I am curious to see if I can bloom a Phrag under these lights, but at the present time I have not tried. Only some little ones are under the T5 bulbs.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a358/GrandmaMC/KingOfTiawanSplendiferous-shrunk.jpg

Grandma

The new high output 54-watt T-5 fluorescent lights are amazing. I purchased four phrags in bud about 18 months ago and put them under a three-bulb 40-watt fluorescent bulb setup after they finished blooming. The problem was that the plants were so tall that they just couldn't get enough light. They grew some but didn't rebloom. About two months ago I got a four bulb T-5 light setup and my phrags really perked up. The T-5 lights put on about twice the foot candles as my old setup. Of the four phrags, three are now in bud after only two months of being under the new brighter lights. I now intend to get some more phrags.

I now intend to get some more phrags.

Yeah! That's what I like to hear!!
Congrats! Sometimes these things take a little tweaking to find out what they like and don't like. :wink: