Orchid Lighting
Im going to discuss exactly how to assess the lighting of your orchid identify problems and resolve them quickly.
Orchid lighting. Temperature humidity and watering frequency are all key to having a healthy orchid. Heck you can even grow your orchids completely under artificial lights. Batchelor the following is an excerpt from an essay that first appeared in the american orchid society bulletin what later became the current orchids magazine in march 1981. Orchids are also classified into three other groups depending on the intensity of light they require high 3000 foot candles medium 2000 foot candles and low 1000 to 1500 foot candles.
In reality the outdoor orchids receive much less light in the winter due to clouds rain and low sun anglegrow. Many oncidiums miltonias dont confuse the miltonias with the militoniopsis mentioned above. Phalaenopsis orchid excessive light problems. A light meter helps you identify the best light for your orchids as the light conditions change during a full.
These are called the medium light orchids which prefer 2000 to 3000 fc. An ideal location is behind curtains or window blinds. Direct sunlight may cause plants to burn and too little light will prevent plants from flowering. If you receive your plant by mail expose it to light gradually in stages over a period of several weeks.
But if you dont have a place where your orchid receives enough light you can supplement natural light with artificial light. At that time the society was headquartered at harvard university hence the references to the cambridge offices. However light is probably the most important variable. Since light is the most important single factor affecting your orchids life cycles a quality light meter is an essential tool in determining accurately if your plants are receiving the maximum light needed for healthy growth.
Give your orchids six to ten hours of light at the desired intensity. Orchids like a lot of light but they do not like direct sunlight. Most orchids require plenty of light preferably at least six hours a day. Bad light light is a key factor in growing healthy orchids.
Some orchids dont fit into the low light orchid requirements but also sunburn with too much light. While light intensity is important the duration is also crucial. The great thing about phalaenopsis orchids is that you can monitor lighting conditions by observing the leaves. Using artificial lighting for orchids gives you the advantage of being able to control the light better and apply strong light that is not as strong as sunlight.
While seven hour is notably less than i would use a lower intensity fluorescent fixture in winter 11 hrsday the higher intensity led grow light more closely simulates natural sunlight and therefore i do not believe there is a.