The Phalaenopsis orchid shown above is one of a number of plants I have succeeded in blooming under lights in the basement of my home near the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, USA.
Please be advised that I am a novice grower and that nothing offered here qualifies as expert advice. The information on this site is for beginners from a beginner who wishes he had had access to something of this sort when he realized he was running out of windowsill space and needed a means of growing additional plants indoors.
My collection consists of about 100 orchids. About half of these are Phalaenopsis and Cattleyas. The other half includes Paphiopedilums, Dendrobiums, etc. I have not bloomed all these plants. A few are seedlings, others have died and some have only recently been purchased, sometimes in bloom. But, unless they have bloomed for me under the lights in my orchid room (or in a few cases, out of doors), they are not pictured here. In short, what you see is what you may be able to get with perseverance and a little luck.
I have been using the system described in the accompanying pages for about a year (as of November, 2000). The light garden has worked well throughout the year except during the summer months, when temperatures rose almost to 100 degrees. This proved to be too warm for all but the Phalaenopsis. (See the last paragraph on the "lights" page highlighted below for more on this.) Next summer I plan to move all my plants outdoors.
There is nothing novel about growing orchids under lights. Many enthusiasts around the world bring these plants into bloom using artificial illumination. If there is anything noteworthy in the setup I have devised, it would be the lights I use and the simplified design of the light stand on which my Phalaenopsis and other low or medium-light orchids are placed. Most of the materials for this stand can be purchased at stores such as Home Depot, Builders Square, Lowes, etc. Orchids requiring more intense light grow under my companion HID system, which is straightforward, but worth a look. Also, I have included photographs of grow-room incidentals (my humidifier, watering setup and so forth).
Visitors may want to take a look at my resources page. Here I have included a brief list of periodicals, books and Internet sites I have found useful.
Also, take a moment to investigate the simple and reliable shareware database program I use to keep my expanding body of orchid knowledge organized and accessible.
Finally, the question of why one might go to the trouble and expense of building an orchid light garden in his or her basement is a good one. In my case, the answer is simple, and you will find it here.