The Best Grow Lights for Orchids

Of all the houseplants, orchids grow some of the most beautiful flowers. They produce orchid blooms all year round.

However, because of their unique environmental requirements, orchids can be difficult for growers to care for properly.

For example, they require a specific lighting spectrum to produce flowers.

That’s why indoor orchid grow lights are becoming extremely popular — because of the controlled and consistent lighting they provide, which helps create beautiful orchid flowers.

Plus, artificial lighting allows your orchid to thrive anywhere indoors, not just on windowsills or outdoors.

Fortunately for orchid enthusiasts, Hippie House offers a variety of grow lights so you can finally get some bloom spikes on your orchids.

With that, it’s essential to understand the different types of grow lights available and which ones are best suited for your orchid house plants.

Hippie House offers clippable LED lights, T5 fluorescent lights, and LED lights for orchid care.

So, what exactly do each of these lights do, and which lighting care should you invest in?

Let’s take a closer look at each of the grow lights offered by Hippie House that you can use for your orchids.

But first — what are orchids?

What Are Orchids (or Orchidaceae)?

Orchids are one of the most popular flowering plants in the world.

Furthermore, there are around 28,000 species within the orchid family — making it one of the largest flowering plant families alongside the sunflower family.

In fact, that’s why orchids are so diverse. While some species are at home in the tropical rainforest, other orchids thrive in the arctic tundra — all depending on the subfamily.

That said, the plant’s blooms come in a variety of sizes, colours, and delightful fragrances.

Clippable LED Grow Lights for Your Cattleya

Clippable LED Grow Lights for a Smaller Orchid Collection

Clippable LED lights are designed for novices and professionals alike who want to grow orchids indoors.

Simply clip the lights onto a shelf, windowsill, or table, making it extremely easy to provide the proper lighting conditions for your orchids to produce flowers — even if they aren’t nestled in a bright location.

Clippable LEDs Provide the Perfect Lighting Spectrum

Clippable LED lights boast a 40-50cm coverage and can shine up to three lights at a time.

They can also switch between blue and red lights — benefiting both the vegetative and growth stages of your orchid plant.

How? Blue light causes the plants to grow healthy leaves and stems while red light enables the plant to flower.

Moreover, these lights have five intensity levels and a built-in timer for ultimate orchid care.

Plus, the built-in timer can be set for three, six, or twelve hours. It can even run indefinitely — although that’s not recommended because plants need a period of darkness for their metabolism to work properly. Plus, overheating your plant can lead to heatstroke, causing it to suffer.

Clippable LED Grow Lights Are Just What Your Orchids Require

If you have a personal collection of orchids and are looking for an easy way to provide them with the required lighting to grow flowers — contact Hippie House today and order yourself a set of clippable LED lights.

T5 Fluorescent Grow Lights Provide Reliable Lighting For Plants

T5s Are a Great Budget Option for Your Phalaenopsis Orchid Species

A popular choice when growing orchids is T5 fluorescent grow lighting — it’s cheap to run and emits very little heat. In fact, T5 lighting is similar to the lights you’d find in an office building.

Because T5s have long lifespans and their replacement bulbs are only around $10 — they provide incredibly cheap and sustainable orchid lighting.

Provide Your Orchid Plants With a Wide Lighting Spectrum

T5 lights produce 6400k and 2700k light spectrums. Both light levels can run at the same time for a broader light spectrum.

To that end, we offer both tube types at Hippie House. But by default, T5s come fitted with growing tubes, otherwise known as 6400k tubes.

That said, a 6400k tube is ideal for your orchid’s vegetative stage, owing to the blue light output. And a 2700k tube is better suited for the flowering stage due to the red light output.

Did you know? Cymbidium orchids are known for their longevity. With a 2700k tube, they'll last even longer and produce more flowers.

Altogether, the two spectrums of light offered by T5s are ideal conditions for seedlings, vegetative growth, seed raising, and other propagation purposes.

Simple and Easy to Use — Perfect for Novice or Expert Orchid Growers

T5 grow lights are considered reliable because they are easy to run and come with few moving parts.

As they emit very little heat and can be placed extremely close to your orchids, heatstroke is less of a concern — perfect for novice orchid growers.

Tip: Your grow lights should be positioned 30cm above the canopy of your orchids.

Are T5 Grow Lights Exactly What Your Cattleyas Need?

If you want to provide your plants with a wide range of light spectrum yet don't want to break the bank, Hippie House has quality T5 fluorescent grow lights available for any orchid collector.

Contact Hippie House today and invest in a set of T5s for your orchid collection.

LED Grow Lights — The Orchid Care You Need for Flowering Plants

LED Grow Lights Are Ideal for Orchid Plants

Owing to recent advancements in technology, LED lights provide ideal care for growing orchid plants.

For example, LED lights offer a full spectrum of light with boosts in the vegetative and flowering stages rather than specific wavelengths — mimicking the sun's natural light spectrum.

In other words, full spectrum light provides all wavelengths of light at once instead of just one wavelength at a time.

And full spectrum light is white in colour, rather than red, blue, or purple. This white light is easier on the eyes — making it the perfect choice to display and admire the beauty of your dancing lady collection.

LED Grow Lights Offer Superior Canopy Penetration

Another reason LED lights are ideal for orchids is the superior canopy penetration they offer. This means the lights can be placed further away from your plants yet still provide plenty of light.

Unlike T5 grow lights, which must be placed 30cm above the canopy, LED lights can be placed up to 1.5 meters above the canopy.

As a result, this space will allow your orchid to stem plenty of flowers without being inhibited by your light fixture.

LED Grow Lights Have Long Life Spans

LED grow lights emit very little heat without the need for fans, just like the T5 lights. There’s no need to worry about your plants getting heatstroke.

And LED lights are money savers in the long term because they can provide light for 50,000-60,000 hours.

As a result, you could end up going years without ever buying a replacements bulb — saving you money in the long run.

Are LED Grow Lights the Lighting Care You Need for Your Orchid Plants?

If you’re eager for a display that’s easy on the eyes — white light LEDs may be for you.

But remember: If your orchids need room to grow tall and produce flowers, the LED grow lights available at Hippie House are your best bet.

But that’s not the best part….

Order now and get free shipping when you purchase our LED lights.

More Orchid Care Tips For Flowering Orchid Plants

HID Grow Lights Are Not Recommended

Due to the fact that HID grow lights run extremely hot, they are not recommended — especially for novice growers.

This is because abrasive heat can cause sunburn and heatstroke to your plant. In other words, the moisture will evaporate from your orchids, requiring a lot of extra care to nurse them back to health.

To prevent that fate using HID grow lights, orchids require a professional ventilation system and air conditioners for quality air control.

Plus, these lights must be placed in another room to counteract the intense brightness and colours.

Get to Know Your Orchids

There are many different species of orchids available to us worldwide — and each orchid plant has different needs and unique required conditions to survive.

Research the following information about your specific species of orchids:

• How much light is required per day
• What kind of light is required
• Water requirements
• Temperature and humidity conditions
• How to properly feed your orchids
• Whether your orchid grows on trees in its natural habitat

Proper Potting Conditions Are Necessary for Healthy Plants and Roots

Orchid growth performs best with the correct pot type. That’s why proper potting is just as important as lighting care — and is crucial for survival.

Take care to mimic your orchid's natural growing conditions. For example, phalaenopsis orchids’ natural habitat is a moist forest with warm temperatures all year round.

Orchids Grow Best With Proper Water Drainage and Ventilation

Some orchid species, such as the epiphytes species, grow on trees in the wild with their roots exposed.

As a result, orchids grow best when you utilise pots with proper water drainage and ventilation for healthy roots and plants.

Which means it’s essential to avoid overwatering because this can cause root rot — the most common way for orchid plants to fail.

Tip: Add tree bark to your orchid mix for natural air circulation, allowing moisture to flow freely. It’s crucial in orchid care and to prevent the roots from rotting.

Are You Using the Correct Pot for Your Cattleyas?

If you realise you haven't been using the correct pot type and proper water drainage for orchid growing, don’t panic.

Contact Hippie House today with any further questions regarding the perfect pot for your plant and how to ensure proper water drainage.

Or, order your perfect mesh pot and ideal growing containers for your orchids now.

Do You Want to Learn More?

Growing and tending to flowering orchids can be a gratifying experience if you understand your particular orchid species’ unique needs.

If you have further questions about which grow lights will provide the proper lighting for your orchids, reach out to Hippie House for reliable answers.

Even if you have simple questions about the potting mix, orchid fertilizer, or sphagnum moss — the Hippie House customer service support line will gladly help you out and recommend reliable products along the way.

For additional reading material, check out the Hippie House blog at our website for more orchid gardening tips.