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Start-up Orchid Family

7 years ago

Still haven't gotten lights arranged but in the meantime this is the makeshift setup. When I plugged in the 250watt Equivalent LED Spot, I was pleasantly surprised by the brightness. But being an orchid fancier, it didn't take me long to squish in and prop up plants to get the maximum feasible light. There is a mature Phal. schilleriana, a seedling schilleriana, a seedling C. trianaei, C. violacea blooming size, and a Phal japonica blooming size. The trianaei is already getting a nice tinge of purple on the edge. When I get two or three more reflectors suspended form a curtain rod there will be orchids a along this window ledge.


Comments (4)

  • 7 years ago

    Well that looks like it could be a great window for growing just about anything, depending on what direction it faces.

    However, the list of plants you have will not be happy in the same spot. The Cats will want brighter light and cooler temps. the Phals will want lower light and warmer temps. I would look up each individually because there will alsol be different watering, temperature, and lighting needs for each.

    You can set them up in a way to make them all happy, to do so you need to know that window very well. I see snow in the picture so I assume you live in a northern climate with seasonal changes. I would also assume that the light levels and temperatures in that window will change with the seasons. Knowing that info will help you select and position plants to maximize their potential

    Posting your location and the position of the window will help people give you advise.

    First I would get some trays or saucers under the pot so the wood widow sill doesn’t get damaged.

    I would place the Cats closer to the glass and the Phals away from the glass. Depending on how much sun that window gets, you may not need additional lighting at all.

    In any case, good luck. You do have a nice selection of plants to work with.


  • 7 years ago

    Thank you for your great support and comments. I probably should have mentioned that I've been growing orchids for roughly 40 years and am aware of cultural preferences for these genera. I just wanted to "show off" a pic of where I am in the very early process of constructing my latest setup (the first one with LED lighting). Unfortunately, the window itself isn't all that helpful for growing (NW facing) - more so in summer than winter, although by virtue of its overall size it allows more light than I would have expected. It should give nice supplemental light for phals, paphs and possibly miltoniopsis. I also have found that the climate preferences generally given for various genera are often optimal, and if carefully selected, genera considered as having incompatible requirements often adjust acceptably for hobby purposes - the most important and least compromisable element being Light. I'm keeping an eye out for bleaching in the phal leaves. Since I'm unfamiliar with LED light, I'm giving light on the high level and waiting for signals where it falls in the plants' preferences. Eventually I hope to have an enclosed growing area in another room with stronger lighting where the catts and maybe a few vandaceous types will go. I just they look kind've cute all crammed together under my one single spotlight (for now.) ;)

  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    "The Cats will want brighter light and cooler temps."

    As John noted, there is often some flexibility with temperature ranges. Even amongst a genus there can be widely different temperature requirements/preferences. For example, C violacea is a hot grower and should grow very happily with the phals. As far as light differences go, not really that hard to accommodate --- I have to do that with all sorts of plants on my light stand. Simple solution is to use things like setting higher light plants on top of overturned pots to raise those particular plants closer to the light source. I have catts which do bloom for me in the winter which only receive whatever meager winter sun shines through my SE exposure sliding glass doors. Would they do better with more light? I'm sure they would but they make do.

  • 7 years ago

    It is nice to be able to grow with so many more options than I had in my NY apartment. There, I had an 500 watt HID setup in my otherwise seldom-used kitchen and a partially obstructed East SE single-sash window. Still was able to do quite a lot there.




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