FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Been a while since I posted here...

Anywho,here is the results of how indoor growing has been going for me in the last year.

I have a 100 watt light setup (LED) with 22 LEDs being full spectrum (380-840nm, 3 watts each) and 14 blue leds (450nm, 3 watts each) and my plats are growing 12 inches from the lights. The terrarium's humidity is 40 to 65 percent with the venting fans on. Here are my results:

Normal vft's: They get too little light. they widen their leaves, grow close to the ground, but somehow color up a LOT.

All Green Goddess (South African cultivar): It grows fantastically. Upright, no coloration, large/medium traps and divides readily.

Sundews (most of them): ... My goodness, the coloration!!! they grow well, dew up a LOT, respond well to prey, got great roots...

Nepenthes (Dubia, red belle, ventricosa x burkei...): They also grow well, and color up a LOT! I do sometimes get the feeling that the light is a *little* too intense for them though...

Mimosa Pudica: They grow fast and seem to love the light. their leaves react quite fast.

All my plants flower a LOT in my setup and i would have thought that by now my venus flytraps (the non all-green ones) would be growing much better...

Any advice guys? How would another terrarium with 250 watts (actual wattage) of cfl lights do compared to the LED setup?

NOTICE!: guys, I KNOW that plants apparently grow better in the sun so please do not mention it because in my area (Not yours) the plants all die outdoors. We ALL live in different climates and growing is very different in every climate.
I live in south africa, a dessert with VERY aggressive sunlight and very dry winds and we are in the middle of a drought.
Respectfully, keep replies related to indoor growth and not outdoor growth
Thanks.

LEDs are actually better than growing in the sun because they don't emit harmful UV rays that can burn plants. I've found that my neps redden up a decent amount under mine, but that's fine, they actually do in the wild too. See for instance this Hamata:


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I run a mixed bag of different lights. My most powerfull and most effective lights are my MarsHydro 300s. They draw 127 Watts actual power. They are almost too strong for some plants. I keep them 12 - 16 inches away from my plants. One light illuminates a growing area of about 20 inches by 20 inches. Within 12 inches, you can feel heat but beyond that, they run nice and cool. I'm quite happy with them.

They are available at eBay and Amazon. I believe you can buy them direct also.

A couple of my Flytraps, an FTS Maroon Monster and an Akai Ryu are showing signs of coming out of dormancy. When I'm certain they're waking up, I'll rearrange my grow area and put those Flytraps under the MarsHydo 300s.

Good growing,
Mike

I'm curious, why did you chose to go with white + blue LEDs? Most people (and commercial fixtures) tend to lean more towards red since it's more photosynthetically efficient. I'm wondering if the issue with your typical VFTs is too much blue light?

I personally just use white LEDs around 4000k color temperature. I've been happy with the light output but it's hard to get even coverage with single chip (COB) LEDs. Just recently I assembled some LED light bars which provide very even coverage and am waiting to see how the plants react.

nimbulan wrote:I'm curious, why did you chose to go with white + blue LEDs? Most people (and commercial fixtures) tend to lean more towards red since it's more photosynthetically efficient. I'm wondering if the issue with your typical VFTs is too much blue light?

I personally just use white LEDs around 4000k color temperature. I've been happy with the light output but it's hard to get even coverage with single chip (COB) LEDs. Just recently I assembled some LED light bars which provide very even coverage and am waiting to see how the plants react.

Mars Hydro uses red, blue and some white. That's the most efficient combo


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But yes, more red and blue than white should be used.


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nimbulan wrote:I'm curious, why did you chose to go with white + blue LEDs? Most people (and commercial fixtures) tend to lean more towards red since it's more photosynthetically efficient. I'm wondering if the issue with your typical VFTs is too much blue light?

I personally just use white LEDs around 4000k color temperature. I've been happy with the light output but it's hard to get even coverage with single chip (COB) LEDs. Just recently I assembled some LED light bars which provide very even coverage and am waiting to see how the plants react.

I have no white leds. only full spectrum (No, not white, white lights are not full spectrum.) Which looks more red ish and blue leds.

blue is for vegitative growth. red is for flowering. Though, if it is true, then why are all the light setups which are prebuilt almost solely focussed on giving red light?

by the way, to anyone else... I did not buy strips. I bought he individual LEDs, drivers and whatnots.

Gry wrote:

nimbulan wrote:I'm curious, why did you chose to go with white + blue LEDs? Most people (and commercial fixtures) tend to lean more towards red since it's more photosynthetically efficient. I'm wondering if the issue with your typical VFTs is too much blue light?

I personally just use white LEDs around 4000k color temperature. I've been happy with the light output but it's hard to get even coverage with single chip (COB) LEDs. Just recently I assembled some LED light bars which provide very even coverage and am waiting to see how the plants react.

I have no white leds. only full spectrum (No, not white, white lights are not full spectrum.) Which looks more red ish and blue leds.

blue is for vegitative growth. red is for flowering. Though, if it is true, then why are all the light setups which are prebuilt almost solely focussed on giving red light?

by the way, to anyone else... I did not buy strips. I bought he individual LEDs, drivers and whatnots.

White light is a mix of colored light so people tend to classify it by kelvin rating in order to give more info about the warmth (how much red is in it) or cool color (how much blue) in it. Like nimbulan, I also thought you had white lights based on your first post.

But you seem to distinct it as different from white light. Can you clarify? Some people refer to a full spectrum light as including uv and IR but you didn't mention that in your original post.

Crystal
grow list: http://www.flytrapcare.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=32983

coffeenflowers wrote:

Gry wrote:

nimbulan wrote:I'm curious, why did you chose to go with white + blue LEDs? Most people (and commercial fixtures) tend to lean more towards red since it's more photosynthetically efficient. I'm wondering if the issue with your typical VFTs is too much blue light?

I personally just use white LEDs around 4000k color temperature. I've been happy with the light output but it's hard to get even coverage with single chip (COB) LEDs. Just recently I assembled some LED light bars which provide very even coverage and am waiting to see how the plants react.

I have no white leds. only full spectrum (No, not white, white lights are not full spectrum.) Which looks more red ish and blue leds.

blue is for vegitative growth. red is for flowering. Though, if it is true, then why are all the light setups which are prebuilt almost solely focussed on giving red light?

by the way, to anyone else... I did not buy strips. I bought he individual LEDs, drivers and whatnots.

White light is a mix of colored light so people tend to classify it by kelvin rating in order to give more info about the warmth (how much red is in it) or cool color (how much blue) in it. Like nimbulan, I also thought you had white lights based on your first post.

But you seem to distinct it as different from white light. Can you clarify? Some people refer to a full spectrum light as including uv and IR but you didn't mention that in your original post.

Crystal
grow list: http://www.flytrapcare.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=32983

Lol, its alright. let me send you a link to the full spectrum lights I'm referring to...

Here is the full spectrum LED I am referring to (Mine's shape is just a little bigger, rounder): http://www.topledlight.com/3w-3-watt-fu ... p2312.html

And here is the blue leds I use. except, mine is 3 watts per Led, not 5: http://www.topledlight.com/5W-5-Watt-Ro ... p2309.html