Orchid Plant Light Requirements

In the home situation it is best placed in an eastern or southern windowsill.

Orchid plant light requirements. The most vital question now is how much light is right for your specific orchid. Once a home owner has succumbed and bought his or her first orchid or received one as a gift meeting a few cultural requirements will coax the plant to flower again. Tips to remember when growing plants inside. If you are trying to grow a phalaenopsis orchid in a dark room led or fluorescent grow lights are best due to their low heat output and high efficiency.

You can grow any kind of orchid in artificial light. Three tiered light carts are highly versatile. Growing healthy orchids indoors many orchids are rewarding indoor plants. Fresh green leaves mean that the light they receive is in the right amount.

While they don t do well sitting in water orchids do like humidity. It is possible to grow orchids under grow lights but not usually necessary unless you have limited light conditions. It just takes a little experimentation. Plants need red and blue light and they reflect green.

They do not require the kind of bright direct sunshine that let s say a tomato plant does. Orchids require different light then normal house plants. You should set them up to provide 11000 to 16000 lux for 8 to 12 hours per. Sometimes it is better to increase the light inside than it is to put the plants outside during the summer.

Orchids do well with indirect morning or evening sun but never direct hot sun in the middle of the day. Lower light plants like paphiopedilum and phalaenopsis can be staged in these shady areas while higher light plants like oncidiums and cattleyas can be arranged closer to the center and nearer the glass. You can determine whether the plant receives enough light or not by looking at the color of the leaves. An unscreened south facing window can be a little too bright and hot but a sheer curtain can add just the right amount of filtering.

Cattleya orchid needs bright light to thrive but not too much. You can create a humid environment by filling a tray with a layer of gravel and adding just enough water that the gravel isn t quite submerged. That s because the summer sun is going to seem extra warm and overexposure to the sun s heat can burn the plant. East facing windowsills are great spots for orchids.

Some orchid have light requirements that have to be supplemented since indoor light isn t enough. Orchids are far tougher and hardier than most people think and are by and large extremely adaptable. Many inside orchid plants receive insufficient amount of daytime sun. Fluorescent lights fluorescent systems are the most accessible and economical lighting systems to buy.

From a plant s perspective houses usually have dim light so you ll usually have better luck with orchid varieties that tolerate low light levels. Artificial light sources make it possible you to grow orchids without greenhouses or bright windowsills. Place your orchid s pot in this tray the evaporating water from the gravel tray will surround your plant in moisture without waterlogging its roots.