Cacti under lights.

[Jox]

I would like to put up this post about growing cacti under lights, If you are experienced at this I would appreciate you adding your ideas & knowledge. If you are just starting out or have any questions, feel free to ask them here .

I have just set up a grow room with a 600watt HPS light & have a few questions. I will tell you my reasoning for setting up the room first, like a lot of people I start my seed off under lights (in my case 90watt MH light) & they stay there for a least 6 weeks up to 12 weeks, then I move them into a green house outside covered with 50% shade clothe, though summer they redden up a little & then start to grow. For the last month in has been wet, cold with very little sun shine & any attempt to move seedling out has not gone well. Another reason for this room is my seedling grafts, I figure I can feed & water them more & keep them warmer, I also have some nice ornamental cacti I would like to over-winter in my room as conditions out side aren't the best though winter (cold & damp).

My first question would have to be, does/has anyone grown cacti under a 600w light?

My other concern is to do with mature cacti under this lighting, I know they will be happier in this room over winter but I want them to flower come spring. This brings up my next question, if I put the lights on a summer & winter cycle (hours of light given though winter say 2 hours less) will my cacti still flower? Or do they need a seasonal temperature change as well?

Thanks for looking at this & please free to tell me your ideas & thoughts.

Cheers

jox

[Foo]

Millions of threads about growing under fluros.

[space cadet swami]

Make sure u've got an extraction fan & plenty of ventilation.

I've tried a 450watt HPS & they generate a lot of heat...it allowed me to keep watering my button cactus through the wet season & kept them in a dry low humidity atmosphere. I had to cover them with 50% shadecloth & keep the bulb at least 50-60cm away from them. It was probably the best growth they showed while under the HPS.

Good luck Joxy.

[Mr. Bowser]

My first question would have to be, does/has anyone grown cacti under a 600w light?

My other concern is to do with mature cacti under this lighting, I know they will be happier in this room over winter but I want them to flower come spring. This brings up my next question, if I put the lights on a summer & winter cycle (hours of light given though winter say 2 hours less) will my cacti still flower? Or do they need a seasonal temperature change as well?

I've also grown under 450w MH, mostly grafts and seedlings, both grew really well. Like Space Cadet mentioned, I've found there to be a 'sweet spot' in terms of distance from the bulb.

As for over-wintering mature cacti, they will need a cold dormancy to flower. I've overwintered inside under the MH ( about 1.5 meters from the bulb) and with holding water at 15 - 20C . They didn't etoliate, but they didn't flower the next summer either. If you can drop your temps in the grow room to 5 C or so, you might be able to flower them.

Good luck!

[Stillman]

they will grow like stink. I don't think you can go wrong except the power bill.

[Bigred]

just remember air exchange and the heat that will be generated. I would say under a 600 the first

meter squared m2 would be your power grow area . The outer 30 40 cm will be still great and can be

utilised. one of the best items a indoor grower can have is a sulphur flume will help immensely with

fungal problems and can also do wonders in a green house.

I've also grown under 450w MH, mostly grafts and seedlings, both grew really well. Like Space Cadet mentioned, I've found there to be a 'sweet spot' in terms of distance from the bulb.

As for over-wintering mature cacti, they will need a cold dormancy to flower. I've overwintered inside under the MH ( about 1.5 meters from the bulb) and with holding water at 15 - 20C . They didn't etoliate, but they didn't flower the next summer either. If you can drop your temps in the grow room to 5 C or so, you might be able to flower them.

Good luck!

I think why they did not flower was two factors a] The lumen's B] the spectrum of the bulb

did you know a bulb looses its lumen's fast from the bulb so the closer the better { try using air cooled shades saves $$$ in cooling)

I know the light you are using and they have very litte red spectrum. they are about as efficient as two 18 watt compact fluro's so

try switch to that in the winter and use a air con. In regards to the spectrum for flowering you need red spectrum's and some LED's

are great for this so are HPS

quote jox

My other concern is to do with mature cacti under this lighting, I know they will be happier in this room over winter but I want them to flower come spring.

This brings up my next question, if I put the lights on a summer & winter cycle (hours of light given though winter say 2 hours less) will my cacti still flower?

Or do they need a seasonal temperature change as well?

we are in the same climate so this works for me

(using big red's psychic powers big red understands you have a air cooled shade) these are awesome and reduce heat to nothing

you will be amazed. Do you have ducting for it ? or a fan ? back to flowering in winter for cactus 10 to 12 hrs is ideal and with the

air cooled shade you will be able to keep the plants closer to the bulb ( did you know that 600 watt bulbs produce the highest lumen

to watt ratio) and the plants will be going nuts. Have you heard of pk 13 14 it is a flowering supplement high in potassium and phosphorus.

This will help to induce flowering but only use it sparingly for cactus . but i think you will be ok at least you have decent equipment this

will impact a lot on your out come .

[Bigred]

I dont know what the fuck he is going on about but you can see what a hps will do to cacti

check out this you tube vid

 

Edited March 11, 2013 by bigred82

[Optimystic]

mostly tricerrus and sirius?

No sir those are definitely not mexican cacti from the town of san pedro mexico lolol good job guy
but no they are not grown on the tops of mountains LOLOL

he's pretty well trained and argues with professionals on a regular basis??? this dude could benefit from meditation

in regards to the lights, I had plants under 324 watts of fluoro and they mostly etoliated except for those which were already thin columns... they grew a nice pretty blue but otherwise it wasn't worth it... My bridge monstrose grew small penises...

I dont know how the lumens compare but obvious the plants in the vid are doing better than mine did under fluoros... I'd be hesitant to take his word for it but i'd wanna know how long he's had his cacti under those lights..

i'd have to applaud him on his ephedra plant ...

Edited March 11, 2013 by Spine Collector

[lhb2444]

"Knowing is more important than learning"?

Here I was all these years under the impression that to know something (or know about something) you have to LEARN about it. Seems I should skip that last step then and go straight to knowing it.

[theuserformallyknownasd00d]

I currently have lophs grown to a 1cm diameter on their own root over 18mths under CFLs. Seems worth it to me and I've just set up another cfl area to grow cactus in. I also have 18mth old trich crosses about 2" high in areas. Not the stockiest but a definite growth difference compared to the smaller guys outside of the same age. Will post pics this week sometime

Hps will be no problems aslong as you keep air extraction up and humidity down! I say this as I grew a pach 30cm under hps last season and its thicker than the trichs on my balcony

D00d

[slice]

sown exactly 6 months ago.BRI X JUUL'S - 450w CFL , agressive mineral feeding.In a week or two they will go to the greenhouse to enjoy a beautiful spring.By the time summer is over (12 months total) these guys will be about 15cms tall.

[Optimystic]

I should be clear that all my seedlings are doing tremendous under fluoros, even much weaker fluoros, though mixed spectrums.. they are still small but doing fantastic... but all my columns I tried to grow under fluoros, even intense fluoros, etoliated... the only exception to this was a Pach which is similar to PC but it stays skinnier even in a few months of sunlight... and this particular plant gave a different appearance under fluoros but didn't lose girth... every other plant I had grew bowling pin tips under flouros (and small penises) but I'll admit I maybe could have moved some closer... but even my tallest pair of Peruvianuses went thin.... they grew fast under flouros but while the skin came out quite beautiful the column grew thin... and they recovered outdoors so I will just be giving them dormant periods from now on... .from what I understand they make up for dormancy with growth spurts anyhow , so to overwinter them with lights doesn't seem to add much but I haven't tested this myself...

I'll add I was using bright white 6500k, 6 4foot lamps , High Output at 54 watts per bulb in an enclosed Mylar lined closet and the trichos were placed directly under the lamps

So maybe there was a spectrum issue I dunno... I know its alot of lumens but nothing compared to sunlight even in the shade... but I dont know how that compares to Halide or HPS I know with twice the wattage that would be alot of lumens but from what I understand you have to get pretty close to those two types to get full benefits.... and so a cooling system is a must

@ Slice! Those look really nice! My oldest little seedling are 3 months but they are still under baby fluros... im not even sure how to acclimate them yet! LOL but they sure grow fast! A couple werdermannianus are twice as thick as all the rest! I want to graduate them shady sunlight in the next month or two and start even more seeds

Edited March 13, 2013 by Spine Collector

[Bigred]

I will be posting some lighting gear for sale soon will give awesome sab discount

but will still be $$ because i dont sell shit

[theuserformallyknownasd00d]

Thx slice, ill bump up my fert schedule, thanks for te info