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Welcome to My Green Pets with your host, CW. It's December. The days are short and the
sun is low in the sky. I wanted to know if my orchids were receiving enough light, so
I bought an inexpensive light meter from Amazon. It displays readings in lux, which can be
roughly converted to footcandles if you divide by ten. The American Orchid Society website
offers culture sheets for many different types of orchids. According to them, my Phalaenopses
and Paphiopedilum need a minimum of about 10,000 lux while my Oncidium needs closer
to 20,000 lux to grow well. So, let's take a reading and see what we've got. Right now
the light meter is displaying a tenth of the actual reading so we're seeing around 2,700
lux for the Oncidium. The Phalaenopses and Paphiopedilum look like they're getting around
2,300 lux here. But wait a minute. If these readings are accurate, then my plants aren't
receiving nearly enough light. In fact, they should be dead by now, shouldn't they? Well,
apparently not. My orchid-growing friends told me, "Hey look at your plants. Are they
healthy? Are they growing? Don't rely only on your light meter. Remember, the days are
much shorter now and the sunlight much less intense. Your orchids will adjust to this
by slowing their growth and needing less water and fertilizer. Basically, they'll go to sleep
for a couple of months. Then, when the days start getting longer and the light starts
getting stronger, they'll start growing again." So here's the conclusion: a light meter will
show you how much light your plants are receiving, but the plants themselves can tell you a lot.
Pay attention to their leaves; are they a bright green color, indicating plenty of light?
Is any growth occurring, or do they just seem to be on standby? I'll keep taking readings
with my light meter as the days start getting longer, but I'll also keep a close eye on
my plants. Hopefully, having a better idea of the illumination they need will help me
keep them growing and blooming and looking their best!