Light requirements of slippers

[paphioboy]

Some barbata like volonteanum are known for inhabiting very shady areas..

Rothschildianum does not always grow in bright light. Different populations take different amounts, such as these plants growing in leaf litter:

 

[paphioboy]

More pics of volonteanum in habitat:

Stonei when kept shadier grows large shiny leaves:

In brighter light but still partially shaded:

 

[paphioboy]

Personally I grow my stonei quite bright. They receive several hours of direct sun on the leaves daily, but are growing well and clumping (pot diameter is 15cm/6 inches for size reference):

 

[Secundino]

I wouldn't call the first pictures like 'very shady' - it seems to me that the light question is very subjective. As most of us do not own light-meters (lux or energy) and grow in very different regions (50% shade cloth - 50% of what sun/light-quality!?) it seems to me that this can be endless. I do give more shade in direct relation to rising temperatures and when the fans are on, I give more light. In practise its more a balance between light AND temperature AND ventilation than the absolute value of one of theses parameters.

 

[Dido]

this pic are great thanks for sharing

 

[paphioboy]

I judge by leaf colour. That is the easiest. Paphs are happiest and grow fastest when light provided matches their requirement. Usually the leaves show good contrast for mottled leaves and are nice and shiny like the in situ stonei posted above. I personally am not a fan of bleached-out looking plants grown under high light, although that may encourage earlier blooming and give better colours. I think the excessive light could be a factor in these precocious plants dying after flowering on small growths.

 

[TyroneGenade]

Hmm... a lot to ponder. Perhaps the way to experiment is to use successive layers of 50% shade cloth (as well as shifting plants around under it) and find out when the plants look their best, as you describe Paphioboy?

I assume where you are in Penang, there is very high humidity? Those of us growing under lower humidity conditions might need to rethink the amount of light/heat due to excessive water loss?

 

[eggshells]

My roth, stonei, lowii and philippinense flowered under 400-500 foot candles. All single growths and grew second growths and starters before they flower. 2 flourescent light bulbs with a distance of 18 inches from the apex of the leaves. The lights are on for 8 hours a day.

 

[TyroneGenade]

500 ftc is about 5382 Lux. You can get Lux meter apps for cell phones so this is easy to work out. Interestingly, this is only about 67 microE of light. To grow "high light" aquarium plants only about 40 microE/m2/s of light is needed and this falls in the zone of maximum responsiveness of plants to light with respect to photosynthetic flux (see the orange line in the graph I posted).

BUT, if you are using grow-lamps, then your 500 ftc may be producing a lot more Photosynthetically active radiation. Gro-Lux tubes are 2.7x duller than cool whites (to which most fluorescent light sensors are calibrated), so you could have the equivalent of about 187 microE/m2/s over you plants.

Thanks for sharing your experiences and data.

 

[eggshells]

Thanks Tyrone, I am using the hydrofarm light meter. I will post later again.

 

[dodidoki]

Tyrone, can you estimate equivalent dose of 2/3 B/R led grow lamp, 5X3W ( measured 1000 lux from 40 cm), compared with sunlight???

 

[consettbay2003]

Eggsjells

What is the length of your tubes and are they T5HO?

 

[NYEric]

Lighting nerds! oke:

 

[eggshells]

What is the length of your tubes and are they T5HO?

2 x 48 inches T5HO tubes 6500k for multiflorals (and long inflorescence species). I have some 24 inches ones and I use them for the medium to small species. One tube per shelf.

 

[papheteer]

I am not really sure myself if I'm giving my plants good light but I tend to shoot for nice green foliage. I like to see very contrasting mottling in my parvis. Some of my plants are under 2 54watt T5HOs about 12" away from the leaves and most of them got bleached.

 

[TyroneGenade]

Tyrone, can you estimate equivalent dose of 2/3 B/R led grow lamp, 5X3W ( measured 1000 lux from 40 cm), compared with sunlight???

No, LEDs are tricky. You need to know the spectrum of the LED and the bias current. There is a lot of data on LEDs at http://www.apsa.co.za/board/index.php?topic=4454.0. I don't even begin to speculate... What we are finding for the aquariums is that a daylight LED gives just as good growth as weird combinations.

Cool whites and Daylight have almost the same Lux output but the latter have a slightly higher PAR rating so the lower microE estimate is probably closer to the truth.

 

[consettbay2003]

Paphateer

I have been using HO T5 for several years and I use 24" for most of my plants.

 

[papheteer]

I have been using HO T5 for several years and I use 24" for most of my plants.

What type of bulbs do you use? How many/set-up? How far from the plants? And what size is the shelf? Thanks!

 

[consettbay2003]

papheteer

My fixutres are 4 tube 54 watt (5600K). Distance to tips of multifloral leaves
is 20 inches.
I have 9 of these fixtures in my grow room.

What type of bulbs do you use? How many/set-up? How far from the plants? And what size is the shelf? Thanks!

 

[consettbay2003]

paphateer

For multiflorals one fixture covers an area of approximately 2' x 4'.