Total beginner on Orchids.

[demosthones]

I thought I'd introduce myself. I've been doing some indoor gardening for a few months now for vegetables, herbs, etc.

I'd really like to start growing some Orchids. I would like to plumb the depths (or explore the heights) of the indoor Orchid growing hobby.

I will search on this site, but could someone guide me towards a good beginners tutorial on growing Orchids? What is an easy variety to start with (and where can I get some rarer varieties once I know I'm not going to kill them.)

Here's my equipment. At the moment I have a 400 watt High Pressure Sodium grow light (puts out 55,000 lumens mainly at the lower end of the kelvin scale). My grow room temperatures this time of year range between 58 F at night to about 78 during the day. Will I need to warm the night time temps up with a space heater?

My RH runs around 50%.

Will this grow room work for Orchids? If not what should I be shooting for? I'm hoping to set up a grow tent just for Orchids in the next few months, but I want to experiment on the periphery of my current grow room.

Well I have a thousand more questions, but I've asked more than enough for one post.

Demosthones

[Ross]

Firstly, welcome to the board. Glad to have you join.

I think you have pretty-much what you need to grow lots of genera of orchids. There's a lot more to it than light and humidity, but you have a great start. You might want to supplement the HPS light source with something "bluer" like high-output t5 florescent lights in 6500K spectrum or halide hot lamps. The temps sound fine for lots of orchids, and for the ones like Phalenopsis or Paphs that like it just a bit warmer at night, a plant propegation mat will supply gentle radiant heat to approx 15 degrees over the ambient air temp. So you would want to place it on its own timer to only run at night. Cool temps don't bother these plants until they have flower spikes, then they expect a bit warmer temps (like low 60s at night as the coolest). If you have specific questions regarding types of orchids, growing under lights, etc. visit the various forum sections and questions left under those sections are more likely to be answered by the experts. Once again, enjoy your stay here.

[demosthones]

Thanks so much for the welcome Ross. I've been meaning to get a seedling heat mat for some time anyway. Really excellent idea that won't cost me more in electricity than running my light itself.

I will probably start in the next week with a few Phaelenopsis simply because they're readily available at grocery stores in the area.

I guess the thing I'm most worried about right now is lumen burn, but I will try to put the orchids as far from the light as possible.

Would a typical Phaelenopsis benefit from a humidity dome if I can find a small enough specimen (or a large enough dome)?

Also any input from anyone on a tutorial explaining the basics of orchid cultivation?

Demosthones

[Ross]

OK, I wouldn't worry about lumen burn. It's unlikely you can output enough to scorch the leaves of any Phals with your light. The books say 500-1000 foot candles, but I think the consencus here is that Phals grow better under higher light (say 1000-1500, maybe up to 2000 foot-candles). The leaves will turn reddish, yes (a result of high light) but this won't hurt the plant like exposure to direct sun at the equator would. Humidity is not really that terribly important for Phals. Yes they do enjoy higher levels (like 70%) but it isn't required to grow and bloom them. Like I said, mine drops pretty low sometimes. I do nothing to correct that. The heat mat is way more important. I have one coming as I can see where the cool nights in my area (50s) are holding back the spike, bud development, etc.

As for a tutorial, there are several really good articles accesible from the "home" page of the Orchid Board. Just check them out. There really isn't a "science" with these guys (Phals). That's why they sell them in the grocery store. Lots of folks are growing them with way less experience and equipment then you have and reblooming them as well. Before you do any purchasing, let me stress that you need a good light meter that will tell you what you can grow such as one from here Light Meters, 840006,840020,21,22 I have the 840020. It is adjustable, self-calibrating, manually calibratable, and does an accurate job of telling you exactly what you have to work with. That is the only way you (or anyone else) can answer a couple of your questions such as lumen burn.

[cb977]

Hi and welcome to Orchidboard

It's kind of hard to give a basic tutorial because orchids are so varied in their care. Most folks start with Phalaenopsis, I think. It's best to pick one or two types that will grow in your conditions and get adept at those before you start expanding...which you will want to do rather quickly

With the lighting you have, you might want to try out a Cattleya or a Dendrobium as they like higher light than the Phals.

Once you're ready to buy more...boy oh boy, are you in the right place! We'll be happy to help you shop

[demosthones]

Thanks for both responses. I will probably try to pick up a couple cheap orchids at a grocery store or something just to make sure I can get them going without killing them.

I will start growing under the 400 HPS and I can vary the distance from the light depending on the conditions. Directly under the 400 HPS there is a high concentration of light and I can probably reduce it as I get further away.

Demosthones