Lighting

I use 4 T-12 tubes per shelf and recently found out that this was too much light for violets, although the plants are 8-12 inches from the tubes. My violets have done fine under this set up, but if it's not right, I don't want to do it. It just seems that 2 tubes is not enough to cover an entire shelf of plants from front to back. It feels like somebody is going to be starved for light!

Please chime in with your own experiences and suggestions. Also, I'd like to hear about how you light your streps since they require a tad more light than violets.

Thanks a bunch!

I never can remember the tube numbers, but mine are the regular sized fat tubes. LOL Anyway, I use 2 tubes per shelf for AVs, Streps, Petrocosmeas, and the speciosa Sinns. For Sinningias, both species and hybrids, I use 4 tubes per shelf. Some of the other weird things I grow get moved back and forth til I can figure out what they like, but most of them, like Eucodonia, xSmithicodonia, and xAchimenantha, are under 4 tubes to keep them from getting leggy. I have no clue whatsoever if that's "correct" or not, but it's how I do it.

But, no matter what everyone else says, if your AVs are doing well under 4 tubes, then I wouldn't change anything. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, ya know! ;o) I do lots of things that aren't the "right" way, but they work great for me. So watch your plants and let them tell you what's right and what's not. ^_^

I have 3 gro light stands of streps....only using one fixture and 2 T-12 lights for each shelf. I leave the lights on 11 hours a day...............seems to be plenty of light for them. I tried two fixtures per shelf and the leaves burned. The only plants that I have which can tolerate two fixtures per shelf would be sinningias or Kohlerias.


Just took 3 quick pics for you......I need desperately to cut the foliage back so they will put out new foliage.

I even have to sleep with streps!!

Even the company has to sleep with streps!!

I just realized that you said african violets and not streps!!! Sorry about that............I am positive that 2 fixtures for african violets would be too much light for mine where I live.

I have my work cut out for me this weekend!
I am going to remove one fixture per shelf. I think I will get better results with less light. Guess that means I'll need to buy another shelving unit to accomodate all those extra light fixtures that I'll have now. LOL

Thanks Amy and Gail!!!!

Good luck............sounds awesome to me!!!

Question Gail:
Some of your light fixtures look different from the others. Where do you buy them from? Also , have you been able to find any without the reflector?

I have some without a reflector. I think, but can't promise, that they came from Home Depot. I've only bought fixtures from Lowe's, Home Depot, and Wal-Mart, so they would have to be from one of those, but I believe it's HD.

Can I see a pic of yours Amy?

Oh dear. You'll have to see how unorganized I am... LOL Give me just a few and I'll come back with pics.

Well, I don't know how well you'll be able to tell anything, but these fixtures are from Lowe's.

Edited to add: You can see how the reflectors don't come down even far enough to totally shield the bulbs. They only come about halfway down the bulbs.

This message was edited Sep 22, 2009 10:42 AM

These fixtures are from Wal-Mart. The reflectors come down about even with the bottom of the bulbs. I like these best.

I don't like the ones from Home Depot that don't have reflectors at all, so I've tried to phase them out. I've done a better job of that than I realized, because I only have one of those fixtures in use. It's on the back side, so I had to get a pic of it from an angle. The one on the left is from Home Depot and completely lacks reflectors. The one on the right is from Lowe's.

For what it's worth, I like the larger reflectors better. It directs the light down on the plants where it needs to go rather than letting it shine out into the room.

Hope this helps!

The old light fixtures I bought from a friend are the best............they have a large reflector like Amy says. I am going to buy them as each of these goes out. They are much more expensive but work soooo much better.

I keep saying I am going to put up mylar and someone even posted the site where we can find the mylar but now I can't find the thread. If I put the mylar on the back side of the shelf it will reflect so much better the light.

This was a tremendous help, thank you!!!!

Sear's had grow lights at half price for a couple of days...maybe they will have ithe sale again...(I happened upon it..just surfing)...and of course, ordered one......................I don't know what a 'good price' is? am too much a newbee...!

Bbon

are you talking about the fixtures, Bbon? or the gro lights themselves?

couple questions, Amy:
1.) how much were the wally world fixtures?
2.) How much space is between each tube within the fixuture?
3.) Are they t-12 bulbs?
4.) where did you buy the digital thermometer? Is it really helpful? Is it used for streps?

Okay, so there were more than a couple of questions! LOL

I will let Amy answer but my fixtures from Wally World were 8 bucks each but now are 12.00 each.

The Gro Lux bulbs have gone from 6.00 each to 6.50 each I think. It looks like about 3 inches between the bulbs. They are t-12

I don't know why anyone needs a digital thermometer.......I keep a thermometer in each room just to be sure the temps don't go above 76 in the hottest times. They were a buck each.

Gail, Amy- do either of you rotate your plants from outer to inner?

I know Amy doesn't (LOL) and I don't make the time. If you have the time, you will find out where each african violet is happiest. Some like more light in the center of the bulb and some like it on the edge..........just depends as you watch them grow.

Are streps most happiest in the centers?

I don't know because I use every single inch of space I have.........so some get a lot of light and some don't. IT doesn't seem to matter much with my streps. My streps right now (because they need trimming so badly) are just smashed up against each other.

Gail, r your lights on timers?

yes mam........bedroom lights come on at 7 am and off at 6pm
living room the same.

My office has many stands so I run them at night from 8pm until 7am.

Okay, let me see if I can answer your questions.

The fixtures were about $10 when I bought them last year.

There are about 2.5 inches between the bulbs.

They are T12 bulbs.

I got the digital hygrometer/thermometer at Walmart for about $7. I originally got it for an Orchid case I was planning to construct so that I could closely monitor humidity and temperature, but ended up not doing making the Orchid case, so I just clipped it on my plant stand to monitor the readings there. It also records 24 hour high and low readings on both temp and humidity. It's fancier than is necessary, of course, but I enjoy having the info available.

I don't rotate anything anywhere with any regularity. LOL If I move something, it's because I'm tired of having certain plants in a certain place, so I rearrange them so what I want to see is in the room I spend the most time in. Not much of a scientific method, but it works for me! ;o)

Streps are happy anywhere! They're not super picky.

My lights aren't on timers. I turn them on when I get up, and off when I go to bed. LOL

very helpful, thank you!

here is my set up, these lights are great & i know home depot carries them as i bought a few from them, they were 25.00 & well worth it.they are wider than most, but the bulbs are spaced 3 inches apart so all the plants get plenty of light, the bulbs are t8 which i found to make a big difference, they burn cooler & give out more light than the older ones & they are just as cheap.
mrsbonnie

here is another shot, this is the name on them

last shot

Bonnie, those are the light fixtures I eventually want!! Thanks for the pics and brand, etc...........

that is fantastic! Now, to figure out a way to unload some of the smaller T-12s I have in order get these!

Ellen???:)

I have two T12 40watt bulbs, one warm, one cool, in one fixture hanging 8 to 10" above my plants. I don't know what the temps are, or how many footcandles of light, or any of that. Like most things in my life, I just fly by the seat of my pants....and I observe the plants regularly to see how they are doing -

The plants that can take the higher light go directly under the bulbs, the variegated and the ones that seem to bronze up or get tight centers go around the edges or towards the end. I have about 60 minis/semis/micros under this one fixture, and they all seem to be happy and getting plenty of light to bloom. My only issue is that my variegated plants are losing alot of their variegation. The only reason i can figure is the warmth of the lights.

I leave my lights on approx 13 hours a day. Sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less.

Bonnie, cool to see your setup!

All I know is that I had 4 bulbs per shelf, and my plants lost variegation, and some even looked like they had mites - very tight centers. Since I lowered to 2 lights per shelf, plants are looking much happier!

Nichole, over how much time did you begin to see the improvement in your plants?

Within a week or two I was wondering if I was seeing things . . . after 3 weeks I saw a big improvement.

my AVs were doing very well until recently. How often do you change bulbs?

Nichole, I've turned out one of the lights on each shelf. This weekend I will move the remaining one to the center of the shelf. Crossing my fingers that my results will be like yours!:)