FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Have many of you had trouble with T5 light fixures burning your VFTs?

I am running a 4ft x 4 bulb fixture, total wattage = 208. I put my flytraps under it last summer to try to escape the worst of the hot/dry summer here in North Texas.(shade cloth and lots of water didn't work that great for me). A couple of my plants did well under the light, but the majority became slightly stunted. I bought a new Low Giant a month ago and put it under the light (about 16-18 inches above the plant). The new leaves are not growing right - see the newest leaves at the 7, 9, and 2 o'clock positions? I have now moved the plant outside for the time being. I suspect the cause is the light, since the basil and pepper plants i grew under them got a bit funky as well: dark purple discoloration on the pepper leaves, whitish/yellow leaves on the basil)

I did a crude light intensity calculation based on the "Barry Factor" link posted previously in these forums. Seems like I'm running at 3-4 times the basic low-ish but ok light level he lists in his example, which I would have thought would be great.
Any thoughts?
Thank you

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipO ... C-NsDYQxxX

Hey CRS4,

Sorry to hear about the trouble you're having. Your photo link is not working for me so I can't see how they look. There should only be two ways your lights are causing problems: 1) Not enough light, 2) too much light.

It sounds like your output and distance are fine, but 5000k and above bulbs seem to work the best. You also mentioned they are old bulbs. Even though older bulbs look pretty bright, they can put out quite a bit less, especially in the blue range the plants use the most.

Intense artificial lighting can burn plants that have been growing in weak light, but I would be surprised if that was the case here and it should only be temporary. The new leaves that come up should be hardened to your conditions.

What I have found in Austin and DFW is there's some unseen assailant to CPs (it also gets my grapes, roses, and some other plants). I don't know if it's a fungus or mites that I just can't see, or something else. But the key for my plants has become regular treatment with Neem oil. This seems to keep whatever it is at bay and keep the plants healthy as long as I stay ahead of it. If you can get your photos up, it should help with a diagnosis. Sorry you didn't get any help yet. I haven't been here for months!

Sorry - I got it figured out now:

Looks great! What did you figure out? Interesting curly teeth on some of those.