Orchid Lights and Giving "Perfect Timing" A New Meaning
One of the best advantages an orchid lover can bestow upon himself is to master the art of using orchid lights.
See, there's no question that water is important, especially with the strategic ways that you can give your orchids water.
And fertilizer has it's place as well.
However, with each of these, you as the caregiver are actively involved.
What I mean is that you know exactly how much water and fertilizer you are providing.
If you don't give it, they ain't getting it! By contrast, light is quite a bit different in that you don't really administer it directly.
Unless you are using orchid lights, you really do not know how much light the plants are getting.
Sure, orchids will vary in the amount of light they prefer.
However, the general rule is that orchids like a lot of indirect light.
Much of the light they receive in their natural tropical habitat is often filtered through other plants.
More specifically, orchids tend to be exposed to a lot of light in their indigenous areas, but it's mixed with alternating shade.
Rarely would they be exposed to full sun for any lengthy period.
To approximate this, you can always try to put your orchids in an east window, so they receive the cooler morning sun and miss the more vibrant afternoon sun.
Yet, it's good for orchids to get a good 12 hours of light per day.
The way to provide optimal light, without getting them exposed to the scorching sun, is through orchid lights.
Ideally, you can research your particular type of orchids and study up on their precise light preferences.
You can learn a lot about this by better understanding where they come from, and what that habitat is like.
Alternately, you can simply discuss it with the folks you got them from.
If they are actual plant lovers, and even better if they like orchids, they can probably help you out.
If you explain that you are considering using orchid lights, then they may be able to comment.
If you bought at a discount store, of course, I'm not so sure I'd listen to them.
Sometimes the larger stores have employees who work in diverse areas, so their guidance may not be so useful.
Some basic guidelines for orchid care may help.
There are what are known as "hard-growing" orchids.
These actually like to be more in the sun.
They will generate a lot of blooms, and the actual plant will grow less.
If the leaves on these varieties look to be poorly growing, or even yellowed, that's not necessarily a problem.
The opposite is the "soft-growing" orchid.
These, as you may have guessed, can do better in more shade.
The soft orchids will put on blooms less often, and they will likely be smaller.
In any event, regardless of the amount of ideal light, you can use orchid lights to not only produce the light they need, but also know how much they are getting.
If this is starting to feel a little too technical or labor intensive, do not despair.
It's really not that difficult.
There's a simple trick you can use, which involves orchid lights on timers.
You just set things up and let them do their thing.
The light will be metered, producing just the right amount at all times! Using timed orchid lights, you can produce the most beautiful orchids you've ever seen.
See, there's no question that water is important, especially with the strategic ways that you can give your orchids water.
And fertilizer has it's place as well.
However, with each of these, you as the caregiver are actively involved.
What I mean is that you know exactly how much water and fertilizer you are providing.
If you don't give it, they ain't getting it! By contrast, light is quite a bit different in that you don't really administer it directly.
Unless you are using orchid lights, you really do not know how much light the plants are getting.
Sure, orchids will vary in the amount of light they prefer.
However, the general rule is that orchids like a lot of indirect light.
Much of the light they receive in their natural tropical habitat is often filtered through other plants.
More specifically, orchids tend to be exposed to a lot of light in their indigenous areas, but it's mixed with alternating shade.
Rarely would they be exposed to full sun for any lengthy period.
To approximate this, you can always try to put your orchids in an east window, so they receive the cooler morning sun and miss the more vibrant afternoon sun.
Yet, it's good for orchids to get a good 12 hours of light per day.
The way to provide optimal light, without getting them exposed to the scorching sun, is through orchid lights.
Ideally, you can research your particular type of orchids and study up on their precise light preferences.
You can learn a lot about this by better understanding where they come from, and what that habitat is like.
Alternately, you can simply discuss it with the folks you got them from.
If they are actual plant lovers, and even better if they like orchids, they can probably help you out.
If you explain that you are considering using orchid lights, then they may be able to comment.
If you bought at a discount store, of course, I'm not so sure I'd listen to them.
Sometimes the larger stores have employees who work in diverse areas, so their guidance may not be so useful.
Some basic guidelines for orchid care may help.
There are what are known as "hard-growing" orchids.
These actually like to be more in the sun.
They will generate a lot of blooms, and the actual plant will grow less.
If the leaves on these varieties look to be poorly growing, or even yellowed, that's not necessarily a problem.
The opposite is the "soft-growing" orchid.
These, as you may have guessed, can do better in more shade.
The soft orchids will put on blooms less often, and they will likely be smaller.
In any event, regardless of the amount of ideal light, you can use orchid lights to not only produce the light they need, but also know how much they are getting.
If this is starting to feel a little too technical or labor intensive, do not despair.
It's really not that difficult.
There's a simple trick you can use, which involves orchid lights on timers.
You just set things up and let them do their thing.
The light will be metered, producing just the right amount at all times! Using timed orchid lights, you can produce the most beautiful orchids you've ever seen.
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