KlUe Posted April 17, 2007 I've got a quick question in relation to the light spectrum suitable for loph growth period. If I've got fluoros on some lophs at 18hrs daylight - so what is the best spectrum to help induce/encourage flowering? Obviously for other plants i've been following a basic protocol of majority cool white for growth and majority warm white for flower. Question is - is this the same for cacti? Cheers in advance. KlUe Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
teonanacatl Posted April 17, 2007 I had one of mine under straight cool whites and it flowered once a week, cactus seem to be moon plants, ie flowering has more to do with moonlight then sun. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ace Posted April 18, 2007 I have been contemplating building a box to house cacti with two seperate areas - one with a cool white compact fluoro (for vegetative growth) and one with a warm white compact fluoro (for increased flowering). After seeing that Teo has found that a cool white is sufficient, do you think my cacti grow box would be a feasable idea to increase growth and flower rates? I would plan on growing lophs and trichs from seedlings in the cool, then move to warm when they reach a flowering size. Or is this a bit of overkill for cacti? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SirLSD Posted April 19, 2007 overkill? no. i use a 250W metal halide and a 250W HPS together. others use 400W - that may be overkill. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
teonanacatl Posted April 19, 2007 grow seeds under lights, mature plants underlights dont etoliate but definetly grow more upright and fluffier (no wind or rain to remove fluff) and they also grow faster but dont look as nice. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jesus On Peyote Posted April 20, 2007 Iv got afew pedros under a 400wtHPS (first ones) and they seem to grow around a centimeter a day in average soil (never grown any outside yet so nothing to compare with). Not sure on spectrums and all but they seems pretty healthy and with no winter downtime they grow quick. I use 16 hours. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ENtiTY Posted April 20, 2007 A cm a day!! Thats some rapid growth. Not bad JoP. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shruman Posted April 20, 2007 Yeah thats 3.65 m a year, thats unbelievable Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ref1ect1ons Posted December 18, 2009 (edited) Ok this is a really old topic but I will resurrect it with a modern and relevant question. I have a mature diffusa and am considering LED for their low power cost. Apparently LED's are tailored to only use the frequencies that plants need for growth and therefore require less power. Concerned about etoliation (if this is a real word) and the general health and light requirement... anyone have any info I have been reading up on it for about two hours but was hoping for some experience based advice. I am thinking predominantly blue LED's would be best for cactai http://www.livingapartment.com.au/Products/Salad-Greens-Under-Lights/LED-7W-High-Intesity-Grow-Lamps;jsessionid=0a010c551f433f2b04751ac9410f99e684fbd5f4e806.e3eSc38RbhuLe34Pa38Ta38Mahj0 ^^^^^there is a useful pdf on this page called growing under led's, I wasn't sure how to upload directly. Edited December 18, 2009 by ref1ect1ons Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Stay Puft Posted December 19, 2009 (edited) Ive had my lophs under 2 4 foot 36 watt cool white fluros for well over a year now... and they grow normal... all be it at a much quicker rate since they have had no off time... there is a 400W hps in the cupboard under them and this keeps pot temperatures up which helps! just keep em close to the lights... like 10 - 20 cm away max... and they seem to flower regardless of light cycle... 12/12 16/8 they dont seem to care Edited December 19, 2009 by Mr Stay Puft Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kindness Posted December 20, 2009 reflections: Not too sure about led light systems. I know they run very cheaply though, obviously. If you only have one diffusa have you considered just using a desk lamp with a cool white fluro bulb in it directly over the top of your cactus, (you can pick these up from coles or woolies, just check on the box that it says 'cool white'). Pretty cheap setup and won't cost the earth to run. I don't mean to deviate from your question though. My setup however is three 18w fluoro tubes, one shelf has a double baton and the other shelf has a single. I have too many cacti to not have this setup. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ref1ect1ons Posted December 20, 2009 Dont worry about my initial q meanie, I have actually taken urs and mr stay puft's advice onboard. I think this is the easiest way to go. I didn't know you could put a fluoro bulb in those desk lamps, my main concern was the health of the plant especially during low light days or in winter. thanks, i will check out coles and perhaps bunnings for a larger ballast (maybe I can squeeze some more rainforest plants underneath the cactai) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kindness Posted December 20, 2009 My twin ballast cost $35 from a lighting store. I had to wire it up which was pretty basic. My cupboard was a score from vinnies, $25 and the other single ballast fluoro I got from our local 'freecycle' group... (people put up stuff via a yahoo group they don't want and you go get it). My lophs live in there year round, they just don't seem to grow as well in the natural light for me - well that and I couldn't be fucked building another fort knox to keep the possums off them... I do that enough with all my other plants! They pump under fluoro's as well - here are some photo's. The cupboard My diffusa The twin ballast A view of some year and a bit old grafts grown under the lights Pretty messy looking cupboard ATM! But you get the impression A loph graft suffering a bit of spider mite right now. peace Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ref1ect1ons Posted December 21, 2009 Awesome setup, cheap as well. Thanls for the pics. Do you rotate the ones near the edges so as they get more light periodically. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kindness Posted December 21, 2009 I haven't moved the ones near the edge for a while now... They are at an okay height for closeness to the fluoro tubes. It will probably be time to de-graft them in a while though. They take very little care really... I could probably put a bit more effort into them, like clean out the cupboard of all the bits of soil etc that has fallen out of pots over the last while. I'm sure this would cut down on my pest infestations in there as well :/ Generally however I go have a look at them every few days and just keep the water up to them... giving em dry periods so they shrink a bit but mostly I keep them nice and fat i.e. watered well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
weedRampage Posted December 21, 2009 Pet shops sell balanced spectrum flouros for fishtanks these have the advantage over HPS or MH of lower wattage and less heat generated Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kindness Posted December 21, 2009 (edited) I have tried these with my lophs. They didn't like them as much as the cool white's. Strange but true. Also they tend to be more expensive... I have also run one 'gro-lux' and one cool white in the double baton which seemed to work okay... although again, no great difference to just using cool white. This is just in my experience however. edit to say: gro-lux tubes can be picked up at any 'trade-link' style electrician shop. They are the same price as normal fluoro's. peace Edited December 21, 2009 by meanies Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
.dg Posted December 22, 2009 hps 600w 18/6 has my grafts flowering like mad over 20 flowers at a time on some grafts light is 25+ inches from buttons temps 90-100f daytimes, 59-75 nighhts f Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
