Leaves Dropping

[reneepalumbo]

I have recently received several orchids from husband and really like them, but don't know much about them. They are cattleyas. They all seem to be doing ok, except 4 days ago, leaves started dropping off of one. They are not turning colors - they are a medium to dark green. I have been told they may need more light, but I am not sure how to accomplish that - we don't get a great deal of sunlight in our house due to trees. I have been thinking about getting some sort of lamp, but have no clue what to look for or how to use it.
I would greatly appreciate any suggestions on what to do...I really love these orchids and don't want to lose them.

[abneofelis]

I have two of these, and I'm rather fond of them.

Indoor Plant Light - Indoor Light For Orchids, Tropicals & Herbs

The light is decent, but I've rigged mine to be a warmer spectrum. The built in tray also gives the added bonus of humidity control.

[kmarch]

Hi ren..... and welcome to the forum,

First things first: go to the American Orchid Society and download the culture sheet on cattleyas or read the one posted on this forum. This will give you a great deal of information on the conditions your cattleyas will expect. In SC, cattleyas should do well in a shady south or east window. You could also probably grow them in a semi-shady spot outdoors in the summer. Several folks I know in Michigan put them under trees in their back yards where they get dappled shade.

I haven't grown many cattleyas under lights only so I'm not sure what I can recommend in that respect. What I did, I grew under 2 40-watt flourescent lights, one cool and one warm.

Happy Growing!

[jerrymeola]

I can not remember a green leaf falling from a Cattleya except from physical damage

Improper light will take months to effect the plant and Cattleya will grow in low light levels just not flower.

Even root damage usually shows first by discoloration.

There may have been cracks in the leaves from shipment and eventually caused the leaf to drop. I re-potted 5000 Cattleya these last three months and do not remember one with this symptom

[tom499]

I've got two larger catts near a 125W envirolight and both have shown red tinges on the undersides of the closer leaves, which i figure to be good light strength.

[Debbie Hayden]

[quote=abneofelis;49802]I have two of these, and I'm rather fond of them.

Indoor Plant Light - Indoor Light For Orchids, Tropicals & Herbs

The light is decent, but I've rigged mine to be a warmer spectrum. The built in tray also gives the added bonus of humidity control.[/QUOT

I checked that out and really like it. Can you really expect good results from one of those? It would give me the opportunity to grow in other areas of the house,like my living room, where we recieve no bright light at all.

Welcome Renee. You will get good advice here, but probably not from me since I'm new at this, too.

[abneofelis]

God help me, I just got another. They come with fixtures that lean towards the cool spec; so I would suggest supplementing with another product from the site- They call it the 'wonder light'- I created a sort of improvised support/light socket setup and have them mounted behind the enclosures. I've angled them towards the catts, and away from the paphs. These cases are great, they enclose an otherwise scattered collection of pots. They are quite worth it. But be warned, they take about three weeks to ship them out.

[abneofelis]

Update to that previous post- I just spoke to the rep from the company that makes the units- she says that the lights are t5 tubes, one warm/pink spec for budding, the other/white/cool for growth. I still say it looks a bit cool to me. These units are actually perfect for kids that like less light, but supplementary light is still a good idea.

[PhalPal]

Welcome reneepalumbo!! This is a great forum, ask many questions so we can all learn from them.

I'm thinking the Orchid Light set-up (above link) will not be enough light for catts. I have a four foot/four bulb T5 fixture and my catts need to be propped up to within two inches of the bulbs to register over 2,000 fc. My phals are happy on the bottom of the tray, about 18 inches and 500-1,000 fc.

Don't let us confuse/intimidate you renee! Keep asking questions! There are many factors to purchasing lights: #1: do you want to go there? #2) Will you be growing only Catts? #3) How much room do you have for any set-up? Give us your plans and we can helpyou more.

BTW - Charleston is a wonderful, beautiful, historical city. And your catts will love it outdoors in spring and summer!