Growing under lights: confusion--Thanks
 

In article ,
wrote:

I'd like to add growing lights to my orchid room to encourage Phals and
Mini Cats to bloom. I have about 30 plants in 4" to 5" pots. (The
dendrobiums seem to do fine without it.)

I'm looking at a catalogue from Charlie's Greenhouse, and I'm confused
about what to buy. I'm not sure whether I need fluorescent lights with
two adjacent tubes or four adjacent tubes--or if four are better than
two. They also have HID lights, but they come in all sorts of
intensities. Which is best for indoors for a small area? For about
$500, can I buy lights that will make a difference in my orchids'
flowering?

Thanks for any input that you can provide.

Thanks to all who responded. I think that I'm going to start with a
small 400 Watt HID light and see how it goes. If I migrate orchids to
the basement, I'll go with an array of fluorescents.