I have looked at several posts regarding lighting, and I still
haven't been able to come up with a satisfactory answer to my
problem.

I have one phalaenopsis and the best window I have is north-facing. The
window receives a little light but not nearly enough, so I need to
provide supplemental lighting. I have read varying opinions about
florescent and "plant lights" that Phillips, and the like, makes
and cannot decide what I need to get for my situation. I have limited
space. I was thinking about buying a compact florescent desk lamp. Will
this do the job? Or, will the bulb-style plant light be better. I would
assume that the plant light would get fairly warm since it is a bulb.
Any help is appreciated.

--Pete

Pete wrote:
> I have looked at several posts regarding lighting, and I still
> haven't been able to come up with a satisfactory answer to my
> problem.
>
> I have one phalaenopsis and the best window I have is north-facing. The
> window receives a little light but not nearly enough, so I need to
> provide supplemental lighting. I have read varying opinions about
> florescent and "plant lights" that Phillips, and the like, makes
> and cannot decide what I need to get for my situation. I have limited
> space. I was thinking about buying a compact florescent desk lamp. Will
> this do the job? Or, will the bulb-style plant light be better. I would
> assume that the plant light would get fairly warm since it is a bulb.
> Any help is appreciated.
>
> --Pete

If you are planning to leave the Phal at the north window, the answer is
easy. The north window light is good light, there's just not enough of
it. All you need to do is add some more. I think the fluorescent desk
lamp would be enough as long as you can have it quite close to your plant.
The thing I really don't understand is planning on just one orchid. Are
you sure you shouldn't just go ahead and plan light for as many as the
window will hold. ... and then one more... ?

Steve

Steve,

Thanks for the reply.

I am a student and my space is limited. I cannot put anything in the
window. Actually, the plant is on a desk that is butted against the
window. Between the light I am planning to buy and the tray that I am
using to create some humidity, I simply don't have the room. As soon as
I have some room, I'll go the full measure. I already have my eye on
many, many things.

--Pete

Pete wrote:
> Steve,
>
> Thanks for the reply.
>
> I am a student and my space is limited. I cannot put anything in the
> window. Actually, the plant is on a desk that is butted against the
> window. Between the light I am planning to buy and the tray that I am
> using to create some humidity, I simply don't have the room. As soon as
> I have some room, I'll go the full measure. I already have my eye on
> many, many things.
>
> --Pete
>

I got my first orchid when I was in college. Then my second, then 3
more... then I graduated, got a job and my own place. That's when things
started getting out of hand. :-)

One last bit of advice. Don't compromise the light just so you can fit
in a humidity tray. Humidity trays are not very effective at all but
more light can work wonders. It sounds like what you plan to do will
work just fine though.

Steve

Pete: I have a plant light that's florescent in a hood. Look at a
hardware store and find a bulb that says it's for plants (gro-light).
Don't forget to fertilize-this makes a big difference-I fertilized mine
and they went crazy. As for what kind of fertilizer? I used some I got
from Lowes that said it was specifically for orchids (they also carry
spragnum moss which your phal. will also love. Good luck.....Burr.

...don't forget to empty the overflow dish-don't let the water stand
there-ever.

Sorry to intrude on this post, but I am interested in the spragnum moss
mentioned? I have two Phal's and wondered what the benefit of using
spragnum moss is?

Thanks

One of the benefits of sphagnum moss is that it is easier to tell when the
Phal needs watering (at least for me it is), since one can just touch the
top surface of the moss, and water when it is dry. Bark just seems dry all
the time to me, and I never did get the hang of figuring out by weight of
the pot or the other methods, so I just water the plants in bark when I
suspect they might possibly need watering without much feedback from them,
whereas the ones in moss I know I am watering when they need it.

Joanna

"UKOrchidFan" <lwbroome [at] blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1144148865.509925.114530 [at] i40g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> Sorry to intrude on this post, but I am interested in the spragnum moss
> mentioned? I have two Phal's and wondered what the benefit of using
> spragnum moss is?
>
> Thanks
>

On Tue, 04 Apr 2006 12:48:26 GMT, "J Fortuna"
<joanna [at] REMOVEfortunabujard.com> wrote:

>One of the benefits of sphagnum moss is that it is easier to tell when the
>Phal needs watering (at least for me it is), since one can just touch the
>top surface of the moss, and water when it is dry. Bark just seems dry all
>the time to me, and I never did get the hang of figuring out by weight of
>the pot or the other methods, so I just water the plants in bark when I
>suspect they might possibly need watering without much feedback from them,
>whereas the ones in moss I know I am watering when they need it.
>
>Joanna

One of the problems with moss is that it is easy to pack it in too
tight if you are not very careful to leave lots of air space. It is
very different from planting in one of the bark style mixes. I have
trouble with it. So there are some that swear by it and others (me)
that swear at it.

>So there are some that swear by it and others (me)
> that swear at it.<

I alternate between the two! I used to keep all Phals in spag, but no more.
Now I use it for small Phals which need to grow their roots-keikis and
plants that have had trouble. For me, it's fine in a basket, but not in a
plastic pot. I also use it in certain mixes. For my mature Phals, though,
most are in Aliflor and get watered twice weekly.

There will always be a place for spaghnum, however.

Diana

Just to throw a spanner into the works, I have a white phalanopsis that
I have had for the last two years, it has always been kept on a north
facing window sill without any additional lighting! It has flowered
repeatedly, to the point of stupidity, having in excess of 35 blooms at
a time that last for about 6 months!

So perhaps you should just leave yours on the window sill and see how
it does for a bit without worrying about additonal lighting. I don't
think there is anythign special about the window where I have put mine,
it faces due north and is in the kitchen. I havn't even repotted it
since I bought it and its roots are growing wild, I dare not touch it
in case it causes it to become upset!

Good luck!


--
jen