Growing Orchids Under Artificial Lights
Many people grow orchids indoors – mostly in windows or places with other good quality natural lighting. However, you can also grow your orchids using artificial lights. Orchids do well growing under lights, and many sellers even specialize in plants that do the best. You can’t just plunk any orchid under any lighting fixture, though. There are some things you’ll need to pay attention to if you want to have healthy, beautiful plants. Let’s take a look.
You’re going to want to try to stick to relatively compact plants when you use artificial lighting. That’s because many of the larger orchids require higher quantities of light, and we just can’t provide everything they require. Each orchid type requires a different amount and quality of light, generally expressed in terms of foot candles. Orchids grown without the right amount of light will appear to prosper, but won’t flower. If you have an orchid in this situation, you might need to add more light.
The best way to tell how much light you have available in your growing space is to use a light metter. These are relatively cheap, and are pretty easy to use, so don’t feel like you need to skip out on buying one. The most commonly grown orchids need anywhere from a thousand to three thousand foot candles each, depending on species. Phalaenopsis and Paphiopedilum plants require one to one and a half thousand foot candles, while dendrobium orchids come in at about one and a half to two thousand. Cattleya orchids need two to three thousand foot candles of light, and oncidiums require a whopping two to five thousand. Make sure you’re providing the right amount of light for the plant you have – as you can see, there are significant differences.
While this might sound like a lot of light, you should realize that it’s not. Full summer sun at midday can be as bright as ten thousand foot candles. That’s a lot more than the average orchid needs. Greenhouse orchid growers have no problem getting that much light and more, and often need to partially shade their orchids, but in a home or a small apartment, getting the right amount can be tricky. If you’re worried that your plants are getting too much, just watch out for leaf burn. This appears as damage on the edges of the plants, and is a warning sign that something is wrong.
Remember that the quality of light matters just as much as the quantity, too. Plants require both blue and red spectrum light to grow successfully. This can be provided by adjusting the temperature (visually) of your bulb. Warm white bulbs offer red spectrum light and cool whites offer blue spectrum. There are also special combination bulbs that provide both in one unit. Mix the two types, or buy a single bulb, then decide how long to operate them. Most growers use fluorescent bulbs which produce less heat than incandescents and require changing less often. Replace bulbs once a year since their light output reduces over time.
Photo period is going to be important, as well. Some species will require you to change the apparent day length if you want them to flower. Orchids in the window will simply react to the length of time the sun shines on them, but orchids grown under artificial lighting may require careful timing. If you have a species which doesn’t require specific conditions, provide twelve to fourteen hour photoperiods in the winter and fourteen to sixteen hour days in the summer to offer enough light for a beautiful crop of flowers.
Another basic rule is to provide as much light as your orchid can take without developing leaf burn. Too little light causes narrow, elongated leaves and weak pseudobulbs and stems. Orchids which are getting enough light will have bright, light green leaves and strong, compact growth. Your plant could look healthy, with beautiful dark green leaves, but this indicates it’s not getting enough light and will probably never bloom. Correct the problem, and you’ll soon have attractive flowers and a healthier orchid. It’s all about the light.
