They will all need more light than a N. window can provide. How about a octopus floor lamp, or even a few desk lamps with some CFL's to give light. Leave them on for 14-16 hrs.

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Jane

That's a good idea and thanks for the pics..do you know how many watts the bulbs should be??? Thank you!!!!

I don't know what you're financial situation is, but you might consider purchasing an orchidarium, or constructing one yourself (www.orchidarium.com). This way you can have a highly decorative and attractive growing environment that provides all the necessary light for most of your plants, with a little extra humidity to boot! And you don't have all the ugly lamps everywhere! Though it might also require redirecting the direction of your collection away from the oncidiums and such to more compact plants.

Thanks for the web link, that definitely gave me some options (wow$- does anyone know if bulbs advertised for growing orchids like Wonderlite, with certain spectrums, are worth it?

Don't go with those specialty bulbs - you can use regular compact fluorescent bulbs, or tube fluorescent lights to grow plants fine. I was really worried as well when I first started, but it seems that the spectra needed are regularly available. To be honest I think it depends what you're growing - most of your plants don't seem to be the real high light kind though, so a little supplemental lighting for them in the north window should be good enough, imo :)

I use the bulbs sold in Home Depot or Lowes. They are 23W in the desk and floor lamps. I believe they equal 100W. I also bought some clamp work lights which can hold larger CFL's that are 150W equivalent. Calvin is right, you don't need anything expensive or fancy, just some additional light. Daylight is short in winter and the plants need more light hours. The lamps serve that purpose. But you need to leave them on at least 14 hrs. Look in Home Depot, Target, Lowes for sales on octopus floor lamps or just use some desk lamps

Most of your plants should do fine under lights.

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This little Twinkle spends the day in a West window and I bring it to work and bloom it under a desk lamp. This was taken last year but its in bud now and I will do the same.

Jane

bgian, you asked whether Wonderlites are worth it, and got some negative answers from a couple of people.

My answer would be different. I've used Woderlites since Dec 06 for blooming orchids in my two south windows. So I'm nearing two years using them, and just replaced the bulbs for the first time this fall.

For me, they have definitely been "worth it" for use in living areas. I have six, using them in three different places in sets of two (so I can take advantage of the overlap area between them). My present wiring can't accommodate more in one place, or I would be using sets of three.

I have other light set-ups, including HIDs in a basement light room, and a new bank of T5s in a kitchen window. But for "living" areas, where a less industrial look is needed, I like the Wonderlites.

I've used them only for displaying blooming orchids, not strictly for "growing", since I don't want a lot of non-blooming plants in the living areas. Too much mess. But I've used them for displaying catts and oncids as well as phals. Orchids of all kinds do show new growth and new spikes under them. Last spring, nearly every spiking phal I had put out additional spikes under the Wonderlites (in a south window).

The spectrum of Wonderlites is such that flowers look beautiful under them, and the lamp itself is relatively attractive (unlike banks of fluorescent tubes), even without a reflector.

So I would say, it depends on your budget. If you can afford them, I think they are the best choice for living areas. For out-of-sight growing areas, other lights will do and may even provide better growth. But for the combination of growth/attractiveness, I don't think you can beat Wonderlites.

Hi there!
I live in an apartment in NJ with a northern exposure as well. I looked all over for suitable lights that were cheap but looked ok to match my decor. Two weeks about I bought these lamps at IKEA:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20110903

They come in black or silver and are only $14.99 per lamp. They will take up to a 11 watt CFL= 60 watt regular bulb. (someone on this forum recommended them to me) There is an IKEA in Brooklyn and you can check online to make sure they are in stock there.

I have my phals arranged on my windowsill with a lamp on each side. I'll take a pic tonight when I'm home and upload it for you. I would have liked a lamp with a higher maximum watt bulb, but for the price, I decided it was ok.

~Debbie

The Ikea will hold a 25 watt CFL and still be contained in the fixture. It will also take the 42 watt CFL but will extend beyond the reflector and an additional reflector will be needed to direct the light down and not lose fc's sideways.

The fixture is rated for no higher than a 60 watt incandescent and to be safe, you should adhere to that rule. Burning your house down for an orchid is not worth it.

Brooke

Brooke,
I'm very confused! The 11 watt bulb I bought at Ikea said it was an equivalent to a 60 watt which was the max for the lamp. How can I use a 25 watt CFL? Isn't that more then a 60 watt equivalent????

TIA!

Sorry the 25w CFL was a mistype and should be 26 watt CFL which is equivilent to a 40 watt incandescent. The 42 watt CFL is equivilent to a 60 watt incandescent.

I'm guessing here but an 11 watt CFL is probably equivilent to a 25 watt incandescent. Go to the store and read the CFL carton to give you the actual wattage used by the CFL and what brightness you get from the lower wattage CFL. You are saving electricity $$$$$ for the CFL but getting more brightness.

The Ikea lamps I got were rated for a 60 watt incandescent. Maybe yours are a smaller type?

Brooke

The package for the Ikea 11 Watt CFL says it is a 60 watt equivalent. So, now i'm very confused.

this is what I bought:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00067731

and it says a 60 watt equivalent

The labeling on CFLs that say "X watts equivalent!" is talking about the light levels..11W CFLs should be equivalent to the light levels of a 50W incandescent bulb, while a 15W CFL puts out the light that is similar to a 60W incandescent.

As Brooke said, when a lamp is rated for up to 60W, it means 60W of power...ie you can go up to a 60W compact fluorescent bulb (which is the equivalent of something like a 250W incandescent bulb) safely. These are pretty big though, so a 42W CFL should be good (around the same light output as a 200W incandescent)

And here is another question, would it work to somehow use an aquariuum hood???? How close can the light be to the leaves if you are using the CFL bulbs???

Thanks Calvin for a better explanation and I need to learn to spell the word equivalent - must go stand in a corner and write it 100 times.

Brooke

Thanks guys. I'm going to get some stronger bulbs!

It is my small light setup for the rooted rose cuttings. I bought this shelf in Costco for 40$. My husband attached a cheap fluroscent light to it. The middle part of the shelf you can adjust to any hieght you need.

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Markiz, you will need stronger lighting than that to grow most orchids, especially a Den.

Thanks to everyone's suggestions, I went out and bought higher wattage bulbs.. I'm not using 23watt bulbs in my Ikea floor lamps. here's a pic of my setup:

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(please excuse my messy desk!) LOL

I know it's not ideal... but it is the best I can do right now. and the orchids appear happy, so i'm pleased!

whoops... i meant I am NOW using 23 watt CFL's!