PLEASE HELP!
I have a Fukien Tea that iv had for a year now and seemed to being doing really well is now suffering through what I think is poor lighting. Its leaves keep turning yellow and dropping but its still growing new ones. Is it the time of year coz it seemed to flurish through summer? Was wanting to get a light refector and use cfl blubs but don't no which one is best for bonsai's. There are 125 to 600 watt? and red or blue specturm I'm completely confused about which blub is best.
Anyone that can shed some light on this matter I will be so grateful, thank you
Welcome shona,shona3289 wrote:please help! My bonsai that iv had for a year now and seemed to being doing really well is suffering through poor lighting. Its leaves keep turning yellow and dropping but its still growing new ones. Is it the time of year coz it seemed to flurish through summer? Was wanting to get a light refector and use cfl blubs but don't no which one is best for bonsai's. There 125 to 600 watt? and red or blue specturm I'm completely confused about which blub is best.
Anyone that can shed some light on this matter I will be so grateful
First I'm going to assume that we are talking about a Tropical or Sub-tropical plant such as a Ficus or similar here. If you have a Temperate tree it will suffer indoors and needs to be out of the house in order to flourish. A picture would help us further in that regard.
Having said that, I use fluorescent light exclusively and find it works well and runs cool enough to where I can let a tree's leaves get with inches of the bulbs or tubes without worrying about burning.
I use 4' shop lights on my Bonsai stands but I have quite a few plants and it works well for me. If you just intend to light one tree I recommend a very nice and inexpensive alternative.
Go to Home Depot, in the electrical department and pick up a single bulb shop light, into which you can screw in a compact fluorescent bulb just like the ones we are now using in homes to replace incandescent bulbs.
The fixture will cost you less than $10 and has a clamp on it so that you can attach it above the tree and within 4" - 6" of the top of the tree. This should be adequate light for your tree.
The bulb does not have to be of any particular color spectrum. The "K" rating is more for the user's eyes and what they like. The plants don't care what they are being lit up with. If you like a more mellow, yellowish light get a lower "K" rating such a 2300K. The higher the rating the more white the color. I try to go middle ground with something between 4700 and 6500K but as I said the plants won't care.
You want to get a bulb that is the equivalent of a 100w incandescent bulb for best results.
This whole thing will cost you less than $15 and if you have an 'indoor' bonsai tree will make it happy.
[url=https://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c145/djlen/Bonsai%20Pictures/IMG_2626.jpg]Here's A Pic.[/url]
In this case the fixture is clamped to the pole of the stand.
hi len!
Thanks very much for your reply. It is a tropical plant to the best of my knowlegde, it has very distentive white flowers. I live in scotland so putting it outdoors is out of the question, it wouldnt last too minutes. It seems to be doing ok but not flourishing as well as it was. The only thing I can think thats change has been how much light it's able to get due to the time of year. Have got a light just like the one in your picture but don't think the bulb I'm using is right so will try and source one.
thanks again
shona
Thanks very much for your reply. It is a tropical plant to the best of my knowlegde, it has very distentive white flowers. I live in scotland so putting it outdoors is out of the question, it wouldnt last too minutes. It seems to be doing ok but not flourishing as well as it was. The only thing I can think thats change has been how much light it's able to get due to the time of year. Have got a light just like the one in your picture but don't think the bulb I'm using is right so will try and source one.
thanks again
shona