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bud spike question
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Posted by tstrombotn z5 OH (My Page) on Thu, Nov 12, 09 at 10:02
| I love November! It is the start of my orchid blooming season, and I have 3 orchids blooming right now, and another 8-10 with bud spikes! My question is related to my phals, which are among those starting to spike. My best light (right under the fluorescent tubes is limited. Usually, when plants start to spike, I put them under my best light area. But my phals spike even when they are not in the best light area. Am I wasting my "best light on phals that would bloom in less light, and could I be using it for other plants that need more light? My light set up can't change for the time being, so please don't suggest that I have every orchid in ideal light all the time - it's not going to happen at my house. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: bud spike question
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| At the end of the day if light is limited then you have to give it to the plants that need it most. So the question would be what are the other plants? Are they high light plants like cattleyas or lower light. If the phals are spiking anyway then they probably do not need the extra light to flower but would probably give more/better blooms if given the extra light. |
RE: bud spike question
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| Bright light can actually shorten the life of blooms, although I suspect that the light from fluorescent tubes is likely insufficient to cause this effect. Nonetheless, flowers don't need light - it's the leaves that need the light. If you've managed to get something to spike and bloom, then the light levels are just fine wherever they were growing. Unless you're using the light to change the direction of buds (and some people do this rather than staking), it's usually not advisable to change light levels when buds are forming. |
RE: bud spike question
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| Thanks for the responses - the other plants are cattleya hybrids and dendrobiums, and oncidiums, and who knows what. I have a little bit of everything! |
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