Ctsm light increase needed ?
 

So I sent these pictures to Fred Clarke to be hyper vigilant of any issues that may have arisen thinking leaving the curtain up on my southern facing window sunburned the little guys , turns out he says they need more light... I can get it I have a southern exposure it’s bright and has direct sun a bit here and there but something about the way it comes in a coating on the window something I’m not accounting for is cutting the light. So for now I have one of those super terrible 45w(25w actual draw I think ) roleadro brand panels off amazon with the blue and purple leds making that purple space color . I ordered a 3ft sunblaster to supplement it should be here late next week so my questions are

Should I hook up. The cheap blurple panel a foot away ( is that enough?) to supplement them until the sunblaster gets here

Or just wait for the sunblaster

Should I leave it to on a full 14 hours or slowly introduce them for either light ? Should I start them at 12” inches right away or slowly decrease from like 18”

Last part is when I supplement with either light should I leave the sheer curtain up or down ? The light really only beats on the area they are on between 12-3 ish do if I had to I could just shut the light off for those three hours if I leave the curtain up or leave the curtain down and in all the time

Edit here’s the pics sorry

Do you have any space outside? I’m not any help when it comes to growing under lights, but mine get hammered with a good bit of direct sun from 11-4pm (and I’m in the waaaaay down Deep South) and just a little break when the sun moves over one of my banana trees which will give a little shading for maybe an hour or so. I have very high humbity. You could certainly try leaving the shears off and see if that helps.

Thanks for your reply , outside isn’t really an option for me for a few different reasons, I’m in Colorado though ( Denverish area) the sheers I’ve been leaving off for s few days now because it’s been grey and droopy our but in general I feel like they get “bright” light in the morning direct light for about an hour or two in the middle of the day and the the light is on the other side of the house and through the windows I’m sure it’s at a negligible amount as far as adding to the plants photosynthesis . The light I think would solve the issue if anything I may need to move them back to avoid scorching between the light and window . Few days at least until it comes though still musing using this silly blue red panel

---------- Post added at 08:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:41 PM ----------

I’m also at a steady 50 percent humidity indoors right now so I’m also trying to factor that into how much I can supplement

Yes, they need more light. That is not likely sunburn, rather a mineral deficiency. Sunburn is more spotty/patchy, where the light builds-up heat. Remember, heat is infrared light, therefore increasing light behind glass (real glass) will increase the infrared, while filtering the ultraviolet-blue spectrum. The later is what the plants use for most of their photosynthesis.

Your choice of LEDs is right on. Blue-violet light! This is what they need supplemented. Enough red light will come through the glass. Add them ASAP and you can keep the sheer until the plants have adapted to the more intense light, or just leave it. You are supplementing the blue-violet and the red is where heat comes from.

Now, as it looks that the roots are well developed, you can acutally sit the orchids in fertilized water! They are very heavy drinkers when in active growth, as well as heavy feeders. A balanced fertilizer with additional minerals is you best choice. I keep mine constantly moist to wet in the growth season. Heat is the biggest possible enemy, in that it can overheat the medium, but most Catasetum profit strongly from warmth (80+F/30+C), the trick is not sunburning new growth. It needs some time to adjust to strong light. That said, a few burned leaves is not a major crisis, as they are efemeral.

Potting media is best changed every Spring and use sphagnum moss (not the chopped stuff for the garden!) in clear plastic pots for indoors. This allows you to observe root development (to decide when to start watering), as well as getting light to the roots, which is beneficial.

Cats are a different breed, but once you get the hang of them, they are generally easy plants and quite forgiving.

Hope this helps.
Jamie

All good advice! Blast the light on that thing and crank up the fert/water. Don’t worry about humidity on a plant with wet feet.