Looking for low humidity tolerant 'chids

[Ross]

Originally Posted by RPfeiffer

Sarah, I will pick up one of the temp/humidity guages...my spare one is in my Exo-Terra now...lol.

Ross, I was just thinking of replacing the T8 bulbs with better T8 bulbs....they seem really dim except one or two of em.

We did an experiment when I was working and took out half the t8 bulbs from fixtures, thinking it would cut the light in half. Wrong! It made the remaining bulbs brighter and they burned out quickly. Your company should be routinely replacing t8 ceiling bulbs as they get dim. But the real point is, ceiling bulbs have little value for orchids unless you can get the pots right up close to the ceiling.

[Ross]

Originally Posted by RPfeiffer

Ross, what is the difference between a 42 watt lamp and a 70 watt lamp? Or maybe I should ask what purpose does the wattage serve?

The 70 watt is supposed to output 4300 lumens. Now that is the equiv. of two 48" t5 bulbs! Pretty bright. Don't know on the 42 watt (they don't state) but seems to be a bit more than half as bright. If I were to guess I'd say approx 2000 lumens. Either of these should suffice with a modest collection of plants (say 2-3) of the low-light persuasion (like Hybrid Paphs or Phals). The 70 watt is probably better to be safe. As a plus, it is good for treatment of Seasonal Affective Disorder. Don't think you have a shortage of sunlight in winter in Boise (as I faintly recall) but doesn't hurt to have nice "sunlight" nearby.

BTW, the power is actual consumed. I use 55 watt plain CF Blue Max bulbs in my bay window to supplement the light I get from window (dismal this time of year) and it seems to work just fine. I just may purchase one of those 70 watt units to help with a dim lower section of the grow area. I'll see.

Edit - Just did a detailed review of the 70 watt desk lamp and I will probably buy one. It will provide approx 1000 foot-candles (sufficient for decent growth on Phals and Mottled-leaf Paphs) at 18"! That's awsum. And still a respectable 500 foot candles at 28".

[Becca]

Wow thanks Ross! I will look into one of those lights, I really like idea for the office. Come to think of it....I do have a lamp not being used that I might take a look at tonight or this week sometime and see if I could make do with it.....trying to save money and it would allow me to purchase a couple of hybrid phals I am eyeballing at Bigleaforchids.com.

Thanks for the help!

[Bolero]

A number of Polystachya are low humidity tolerant.