More on LEDs

[Susie11]

Sorry Shiva for hijacking the thread. The light that I have is a simple cfl bulb that is 11w and 5000k. I want to grow a Den. spectabile under it. I was told by someone else that it would not be poweful enough to do much good so I have found another cfl bulb that is 60w and 6500k I am wondering whether or not to go for it. I have a basic lamp that is a clamp on fixture.

 

[Susie11]

if you aren't sure if added lights will be intense enough, adding more time that there is light can help 'add up' your total light. by having a timer or putting yourself on a schedule so that you turn on the light early in the morning and then turn it off later in the evening, the plant will collect the extra light over time. it's the total light in this case; adding medium light for a long time will hopefully equal 'bright' or intense light over a short time

you'll still have to fulfill the plants desire for whatever day/night temperature changes, or warmth during the day

Yes thanks for the info. I have been growing my Den under the bulb since Friday last week and I can already tell that there are some purple markings on the two newest canes. I am not sure whether they were there or not before though. I hear that that is good as it means that they are getting adequate light.

I think that I will get this newer bulb at a higher wattage than the other one and see how it goes. obviously I will have to have it higher up than the one that I have now as I don't want to burn my Den.

My set up is simple.

 

[Shiva]

CFL works but you might consider small LED spots or chip spots. You can check them out on Orchids Limited web site. Chip spots are very bright and produce a very pleasant light. They also give very little heat.

 

[Susie11]

Thanks Shiva. In regards to the heat I want some heat as I won't be putting on my heating over winter as I am saving my pennies So, any heat that I can scrounge from my CFLs would be greatly appreciated. I Have already bought the fixture so I don't want to buy another one just yet. I did look for LED that would fit it but they didn't go high enough in the lumens scale so I had to move over to CFL's. It is an ES CFL bulb that I have so hopefully it won't be too expensive to run.