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Lighting for various cacti/succulents
    #25718542 -

Hello!

I've had succulents for years, only a few cacti. Unfortunately I haven't taken the best care of them. I'm completely ignorant when it comes to lighting requirements and so on, and I have read through many of the threads here but all the information is a little overwhelming. :crazy: I am ready to learn!

I live in Sweden, so right now we're getting about 6 hours of daylight. I had most of my plants on the windowsill but obviously they were not getting enough light there and some became etiolated.

The only light setup I had before is a one meter long T5 armature with two 54W 4000k bulbs that I had most of my plants (some non succulent/cactus) under. 

After doing some basic research, I bought an LED grow lamp with more blue light. It is 23W, 6400k, 2200 lumen. Right now I have all of my cacti underneath it. Here is the setup. There is a south-facing window situated perpendicular and just to the left of this shelf.

1) Is this adequate light for all the plants in the picture? Are there some I should move elsewhere/to the other light?
2) How long should I keep the light on, and do different cacti need different amounts of light? (I plan on buying a timer in the near future)
3) Do I need any kind of temperature control?
4) How close should the light be to the plants? Does this depend on the plant?
5) I have 3 small peyote and 1 Peruvian torch (lil guy in the back) - will these be alright under this light? I've read some conflicting information about what to do with lophophora in the winter and I'm a bit confused!
6) What is the most important aspect to look for; wattage, lumens, temperature...?

I've also read that some people believe wattage is mostly irrelevant and light temperature is the only important factor. What should I be aiming for? I don't have tons of cash to drop on equipment just now so if I can improve my setup with what I have, that would be fantastic. :grin:

Any info is GREATLY appreciated!

Edited by Theral (01/02/19 01:56 PM)

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Re: Lighting for various cacti/succulents [Re: Theral]
    #25718612 -

The loph W. doesn't require much light.  Indirect light is good for those.  As for some of the others, such as the columns....Supplement light with a window and LED wouldn't hurt 'em.


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"in sterquiliniis invenitur in stercore invenitur"

In filth it will be found in dung it will be found

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Re: Lighting for various cacti/succulents [Re: Morel Guy]
    #25718626 -

Morel Guy said:
The loph W. doesn't require much light.  Indirect light is good for those.  As for some of the others, such as the columns....Supplement light with a window and LED wouldn't hurt 'em.



I forgot to mention there is a window just to the left of this shelf. As for the lophs, can they just kind of be anywhere in a well-lit room?


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We're a long way from Texas

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Re: Lighting for various cacti/succulents [Re: Theral]
    #25718654 -

In nature, lophs grow under shrubs.  They like some filtered shade light.  They burn easily.  So can the others, if moved too quickly to strong light or different light strength at different time of day.


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"in sterquiliniis invenitur in stercore invenitur"

In filth it will be found in dung it will be found

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Re: Lighting for various cacti/succulents [Re: Morel Guy]
    #25720095 -

How long are your winters? You could let them go dormant depending on how long your winter is. And not need light or water.


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Matsesherbs.com is a SCAM site. Do not send them any money!!!!

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Re: Lighting for various cacti/succulents [Re: Crispy224]
    #25720220 -

The unusually long darkness hours usually begin around October or November and it's back to "normal" I'd say in April. Then we get those long summer nights where it hardly ever gets dark. :grin:

What is the point of letting them go dormant if they have light and water available? What purpose does it serve when they could instead be growing?


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We're a long way from Texas

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Re: Lighting for various cacti/succulents [Re: Theral]
    #25720311 -

If the provided winter growth conditions aren't comparable to the summer, then columnars will grow thinner through winter, thicker again at summer, leading to weaker points, that may not support future growth/weight as much.

Winter dormancy and cold temperatures can be a flowering trigger for some species, which fail to flower when they don't have that cold spell.


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●  EG Rules and Guidelines ● 


|| Lophophora Growers Unite! || Trichocereus Growers Unite! || Stone Eaters - A Soil Revolution ||

You must gather your party before venturing forth.

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Re: Lighting for various cacti/succulents [Re: Mostly_Harmless]
    #25721016 -

For seedlings you should be fine with this T5 or even certain weak LED, but 23W of even highly efficient LEDs is very scarce on a longer term as they grow up.

I'm growing purely artificially here too, a little more towards the equator but i just dont get any sunlight at all on my side of the block.
For me, fluorescent tubes or weak LEDs for seedlings generally put me in a game of checking their color and keeping them happy.. but for grafted ones which grow up fast basically, and also some rather mature specimens on own roots... my experience is that lophs and TBMs are fine under LED with not all that much power such as a 72W full spectrum (iirc 6000K sort of) COB unit i built, for now..
However trichs, even when grafted just don't get fat although it varies depending on genetics and sometimes a bit on how good the graft connection is.

TBMs don't really seem to get fat in the same way and grow way too weirdly to follow the pattern of regular columnars which is that under weakish lighting they just grow more stretchy, and it's quite probably worse as the spectrum gets warmer but should not be *that* bad for LED which doesn't have much far reds anyway..
But you are in even more serious trouble if the deep / far reds are present/intense compared to the regular utilized red wavelengths, that produces the most stretching in plants of all.

All in all... my preliminary conclusion is that if you upgrade your lighting at some point for more adolescent or mature ones you can grow some lophs alright especially when grafted but with weak PAR / photosynthetic efficiency lighting they will grow slower and they will still have a limit at which they etiolate.

Trichs you better invest for in more serious power. They grow more vertically and faster so more sensitive IME and their proportions will be so indicative of lighting... what i will say is that it's much easier to get into dangerous waters with regard to their shape.
From what i read, growing trichs really well can demand quite a lot of power of lighting much more powerful than a bunch of '~seventies' and at some point with more penetrative power.


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My trade lists:
  • Fungi - Edible / Gourmet
  • Fungi - Medicinal/Insecticides/Bioluminescents
  • Fungi - Actives
  • Fungi - Old Exotic Spores (Actives)
  • Fungi - Misc Hunted Mushroom Spores
  • Plants
  • Other items - Supplies etc.


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    Re: Lighting for various cacti/succulents [Re: Solipsis]
        #25721497 -

    Light from the side, not the top. For trichos.

    Plants have a circadian rythym. They're used to resting during winter.


    --------------------
    "Well it sounds trivial, but the key insight is . . . . . you don't know shit"
    ~Dennis McKenna

    "There is more to human existence and to reality itself than science can ever give us access to."
    ~His Holiness, The 14th Dalai Lama

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    Re: Lighting for various cacti/succulents [Re: El Torcho]
        #25722175 -

    Great, thank you all for the info. I feel like someone who has been unknowingly neglecting their pet. :blush:

    I have moved my collection to the north side of the apartment (they were previously next to a south-facing window) where it is dimmer and much cooler. They were near a radiator before which I guess was a terrible decision in hindsight! Hopefully they can get some rest before spring and in the meantime I can read up more on correct lighting. It seems to be a challenge finding powerful enough lighting even at plant shops here - if anyone could throw me a link to some proper lighting I would be forever grateful! There are so many options online that I'm a bit overwhelmed/confused.

    On a different note, should I wait until spring to start some seedlings? I have a heat mat and the LED but I'm thinking maybe I should wait to take full advantage of the summer sun. Not sure how much timing matters.


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    We're a long way from Texas

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    Re: Lighting for various cacti/succulents [Re: Theral]
        #25722229 -

    Seems to me like you would be late rather than early because especially with a heating mat it probably doesn't matter so much in what season you start but it might matter more when they reach like a 9-month point and start growing faster / need more space that may not fit on the heating mat.
    More importantly: you can't really put young seedlings directly in significantly powerful sunlight either so again: you would need to plan that the months or seasons in advance. Being in summertime, if you can benefit from it, may just be too early for your seedlings in 6 months but it may be okay in 9-12 months which is why i think you'd be late and not early right now.

    But ultimately if you grow indoors under rather controlled conditions like a well insulated apartment rather than a leaky unheated shed it shouldn't matter so much I think that it would be critical.
    Although it does depend on how much you are planning to rely on the sun or plan to buy lighting.

    In my experience the effects of wintertime on air humidity or dryness is also one of the biggest thing to consider.


    --------------------
    My trade lists:
  • Fungi - Edible / Gourmet
  • Fungi - Medicinal/Insecticides/Bioluminescents
  • Fungi - Actives
  • Fungi - Old Exotic Spores (Actives)
  • Fungi - Misc Hunted Mushroom Spores
  • Plants
  • Other items - Supplies etc.


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    Re: Lighting for various cacti/succulents [Re: Solipsis]
        #25722610 -

    Aha, I see. I was planning on starting them under the lights I do have and adjust according to colour/signs of etiolation. I will also invest in some new lights at some point once I figure out what I'm doing, haha.

    I am going to use the little greenhouse in my initial picture to start them, seal them up with adequate humidity and see how that goes. I have quite a lot of seeds so if my plan fails then I can always try again!


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    We're a long way from Texas

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    Mushrooms, Mycology and Psychedelics > The Ethnobotanical Garden
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