Let there be light!

[paphioboy]

First growing under lights setup This is not the primary source of light, just supplementary. The plants face a large window that receives bright filtered light for most of the day but may not be enough for my small Aerides and Catts. I plan to have the lights on from the time I get back from work (6pm) to bedtime (11-12pm). For now I have a mix of things, slippers and non-pouches, some as indicators of proper light levels. Each tier of the rack is installed with a 4-foot long LED tube (40 watts, 6000-6500K). Do you think this is sufficient?

 

[NYEric]

should be.

 

[SlipperFan]

I think so, also.

 

[troy]

Thats a long period of light, does the length of time of light exposure have an affect?

 

[Justin]

Nice healthy plants!

 

[gonewild]

Thats a long period of light, does the length of time of light exposure have an affect?

Yes

 

[troy]

What would 18 hours of continuous light do Everyday? I leave mine on 12 light 12 dark

 

[gonewild]

What would 18 hours of continuous light do Everyday? I leave mine on 12 light 12 dark

It really depends on the plant species and phase of growth and all the other environmental conditions. Probably the reality is running the lights for 18 hours instead of 12 is mostly a waste of electricity. Running the lights 14 hours a day may give a little added value in growth.
And it depends on if you are running the lights longer to make up for low light intensity or to create longer days.

 

[troy]

I understand shortening winter days (light period) although keeping bright light and cooling the temps slows vegetative growing, promotes blooming when days get longer and warms up in the spring for most paph and phrags?

 

[gonewild]

I understand shortening winter days (light period) although keeping bright light and cooling the temps slows vegetative growing, promotes blooming when days get longer and warms up in the spring for most paph and phrags?

I'm not sure if it has been proven that Paphs and Phrags bloom responsive to day length or intensity. I suspect the intensity may very well have an effect, I think that is what you are asking.

One exception is the the long day length may increase growth of small seedlings more so than adult plants. Giving deflasked Phrag seedlings long days did speed up growth for me once. But I dont think the extra growth was worth the energy cost considering the actual time it takes the plant to mature.

 

[paphioboy]

Thats a long period of light, does the length of time of light exposure have an affect?

Just to clarify, for the main part of the day, the light intensity is less than desirable, so my intention is to compensate for that by adding a few extra hours of light. I think I have read before that increase in daylight hours can compensate for lower intensity.