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advice for Adenium & other succulents

hookilau
9 years ago

So I have adenium & various other succulents that I've brought in for the fall & winter.

I have 2 shop lights (double ballast) from last year & was going to just replace the bulbs, but now I'm wondering if I should upgrade to a ballast with 4 tubes.

I have them on a couple of shelves in a south facing room that gets filled with light when it's sunny. No biggie if I don't have them under lights, they go semi dormant, but I'd like to see if I can get enough light to them to keep them compact & happy.

Should I consider something other than florescent? They spend the spring & summer outside, so it's just for the fall & winter.

Comments (6)

  • Pyewacket
    9 years ago

    When you say "double ballast" do you mean there are 2 ballasts, or 2 lights per ballast?

    Are they T8, T12, or T5?

    How far apart are the bulbs spaced?

    If non-magnetic ballasts, have you considered overdriving the bulbs (if they're not already overdriven)?

    I think fluorescents could be fine - I'm growing curry leaf plant under fluorescents - but you may need more of them, or to overdrive what you have, or both.

  • hookilau
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    They are T8 and double ballast was a bad choice of words 8)
    It's actually 2 tubes that are 4' long on each ballast.

    They are metallic, & I have them hanging on cup hooks under shelves attached to the wall.

    I can fit 2 ballasts side by side for a total of 4 T8 tubes on each shelf, which is what I'm leaning towards.

    Thanks for your input. Can you tell me about overdriving?

    I had been reading other posts & figured I couldn't go wrong with the shop lights for now.

  • Pyewacket
    9 years ago

    4 T8 bulbs is pretty good lighting, depending on the bulb. You want a 6500k daylight bulb - I'll post a link at the bottom to the ones I use.

    You won't get flowering or fruiting at that level with most things but that'll probably be enough to overwinter most plants without them getting too leggy. Larger plants typically do need more light. I currently have 4" to 5" citrus plants under 4 T8 bulbs but they'll need more light than that soon - they are actually growing as opposed to mature plants that just need to overwinter.

    Just make sure the shelf you are hanging them from is WELL supported/sturdy so the weight of the lights doesn't pull them down! Are the shelves actual wood or are they composite?

    Here is a link that might be useful: 4 ft. T8 32-Watt Daylight Deluxe (6500K)

  • hookilau
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks for taking the time to reply and helping me work through this =) Unfortunately, I tossed the packaging & neglected to note the wattage =/

    The shelves are the generic type that are on runners. I don't think it's wood, (probably melamine covered mdf). The lights are really light and the shelf itself, definitely outweighs the ballast with tubes. To reiterate, these are generic wallyword shop lights (T8) I got for under 10$ each. There are 3 in total & one above each shelf of plants. Two of those fixtures will fit side by side on one shelf (for a total of 4 tubes) if need be however, the third has a wider profile and will only allow 1 fixture per shelf.

    You can't see the actual shelving in the pic, but I'm sure you know the kind I'm talking about, well, you can sorta see them =)

    The tubes are warm (not by design, DH didn't notice when he bought them) & I'm not expecting the adenium to flower, just keep a momentum until Spring. Same with the other assorted succulents. Mostly aeoniums, echeverias, & assorted crassulaceae. Many are sparse in the leaf department because I defoliated in order to treat for a sneaky mealybug infestation.

    Today in NY, it will be warm, though windy & I plan to treat them all systemically before the cold weather really sets in.

    (below)Even though it doesn't appear that way in the pic, the lights are about 4-6" above the tallest plant

    This post was edited by hookilau on Mon, Nov 24, 14 at 9:29

  • Pyewacket
    9 years ago

    The wattage and make/model of the bulb will be printed on the bulb at one or both ends. You may need a magnifying glass to read it, depending on how decrepit your eyes are. Mine are decrepit enough that I keep an Opti-Visor around so I can read stuff like that because I can't see it any more, even with my glasses.

    Those melamine shelves will not last supporting any weight to speak of. Remember its not just the weight of the lights, but also of the plants on the shelves. Assuming the uprights are screwed into STUDS and not just the wallboard, that component should be fine. But when you find you need to replace the shelves themselves - and you will, in a year or maybe 2 at the most - just get cheap 2x lumber and use that for shelving. It may bow or twist because 2x lumber really is cheap crap these days - but while inconvenient, it will still be strong. And it will likely be cheaper than replacement melamine shelves.

    Remember that dimensional lumber is actually smaller than the nominal sizes. For instance, a 2x4 is actually 1.5 x 3.5. I'm not sure how deep those shelf holders are by looking but if they're very wide - say over 8" or so - you could go with 2 boards per shelf, screwing them together with a piece of scrap lumber or plywood on the underside in 2 or 3 places so they are more stable.

    I would suggest moving all your shorter plants onto the same shelf, ditto for the taller plants, as much as possible. And keep the lights within a couple of inches of the tops. If you sort by size it will be easier to keep the lights close to the plants.

    I know its inconvenient for watering, but its better for the plants. You can always just lift the light up by moving the chain up a notch or two. Or use this:

    Here is a link that might be useful: Pulley system to raise and lower fluorescent strip lights

    This post was edited by zensojourner on Tue, Dec 2, 14 at 0:14

  • ellenr22 - NJ - Zone 6b/7a
    9 years ago

    Hookilau -
    I am "green" with envy. :)
    A beautiful collection!

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