Phals under lights?

[Phal grower]

Hello again, just gotta say I love this site. Gotta question. I'm thinking about moving all of my Phals to the basement. Right now I have them in a shaded west window with a two tube fluorescent fixture. How many more fixtures do I need for good growth and flowering. There would be little to no natural light, I would rather have a sunroom but, I gotta work with what I have. So any advice would be great! Thanks

[Gage]

I grow some of my Phals under 3' T5 fluorescents and they have done very well so far. I bought the fixtures from Home Depot for 30 bucks (2 bulb fixtures), and swapped out 1 bulb in each fixture for a 6500k bulb from buylighting.com (very very cheap, I think for 6 bulbs with shipping it was like $53?). The fixtures/bulbs are T5 NO (normal output, which is like 20 watts for a 3' bulb) as opposed to T5 HO (high output, which is like 39watts for a 3' bulb, which would be way more light than Phals need). Using 1 6500k bulb and 1 3000k bulb (standard warm) gives more or less full spectrum for growth and flowering, supposedly. I have 3 shelves using 1 fixture per shelf. My plants seem to love it. Hope this helps!

[Phal grower]

Wow, that sounds like a great setup. I guess that I was just wanting to use regular shop lights. I know to use warm and softwhite lights or grow lights. I am just wondering if these types are strong enough for flowering. To be honest I don't even know what T5's are. I am a newbie who doesn't want to spend alot of money. Thanks for the great comment.

[Gage]

T5's are the thinnest fluorescent tubes, and the most efficient. The setup I described is one of the cheapest options. Believe me, most people spend way more than $38 a pop for grow lights ($30 fixture and $8 6500k bulb). Regular shop light may work fine, they are T12 (fatter bulb). I chose the T5 fixtures because it uses much less space and less power. I do not know how much T12's would cost when buying 6500k, you can check buylighting.com to see if they have them.

[Phal grower]

What does the "k" stand for? 6500k for example. Is it the intensity or the type of light produced? What then are lumens and how do you figure out what intensity you need for Phals? Help. lol

[Gage]

Originally Posted by Phal grower

What does the "k" stand for? 6500k for example. Is it the intensity or the type of light produced? What then are lumens and how do you figure out what intensity you need for Phals? Help. lol

I believe k stands for kelvin, which is the temperature or spectrum produced by the bulb. For example, 3000k is warmer/redder (to the eye it looks like the color of a regular incandescent bulb), and 6500k is more towered the cooler/bluer side of the spectrum. Plants need the cool spectrum for green growth, and the warm spectrum for blooming. Outdoors, plants get all of the spectrum they need, from sunrise and sunset (warm), and midday sun (cool).

As far as lumens or foot-candles, which is the intensity or brightness, the bulbs I have recommended will be more than enough to grow Phals, also some Oncidums, maybe Paphs(?). I don't have a decent light meter to see what is what on my grow lights, but I think Phals need around 2000-3000 fc, and Catts need around 5000+ fc, and vandas would need more... Again, not sure the exact fc of my lights, I just know my Phals like 'em.

[Phal grower]

Thanks for the quick reply Gage, that explains alot in a very confusing topic for me. Now I now what "k" means and am very thankful. You explained it in a way that I can finally understand. I think I'm going to try T5's, but maybe 4' lights. What distance do you keep your lights from your plants, and what would you recomend for 4' lights. It is amazing what I do for these plants. Sometimes I don't understand my own fascinacion lol. Thanks again.

[Gage]

Originally Posted by Phal grower

Thanks for the quick reply Gage, that explains alot in a very confusing topic for me. Now I now what "k" means and am very thankful. You explained it in a way that I can finally understand. I think I'm going to try T5's, but maybe 4' lights. What distance do you keep your lights from your plants, and what would you recomend for 4' lights. It is amazing what I do for these plants. Sometimes I don't understand my own fascinacion lol. Thanks again.

I know, it is crazy how plants can intrigue us. 4 ft lights should be great. I put my Phals about a foot away from the lights, but I'm sure they would be fie closer. The thing to remember is when they bloom they will need room for their spikes to grow. The only ones I have under lights are small enough that it isn't an issue, but with full size Phals you may want to double the lights (2 fixtures, 4 bulbs) and increase the distance from the plants to make room for blooming. I have an Oncidium with long spikes that I move to a window sill when it's spikes get too close to the lights. Hope that helps.

[Phal grower]

Thanks that does help. All of mine are mini's so I should be fine.