hiya grrrnthumb yes i know that they are one in the same but i got the queen of the night variety and dint know it until i tried to get a day blooming one for a friend. is your red epi a daybloomer? and if so what would you like for a cutting? please send me a email with information. thanks whisst

Sorry, have no idea about growing under lights because my collection of orchids is "outside" all year....in glasshouses, or a shade-house or a few at various places as Garden plants. The problem i have is not heating enclosures to that mythical temp of about 55F (12C) minimum at night during winter. There are some "Vandas" that do not need all that much warmth and that might be better for your culture. Look for hybrids that have Vanda coerulea influence (many are blue) Or Rhynchostylis coelestis such as Rhynchocentrum Lilac Blossom where the flowers are coloured as per name and are not blue. Avoid the types with terete leaves as they are high light orchids. Hopefully, some of the under lights growers will add to this and recommend some good orchid nurseries in the USA. The thing about the red cats is that yes, some of the hybrids with a strong Sophronitis influence do like it a little bit cooler but there should be some over there that will grow well in general Cattleya conditions.

If your looking for a hanging/mountable fixture I would recommend something like this from catalina aquarium. http://www.catalinaaquarium.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=71_136&products_id=1638 A bit over your budget but if you call them (ask for Jim) he will hook you up with a discount/extra features for free. He can build you any kind of light you want (whatever length, however many bulbs within reason, one switch for the whole fixture or a switch for every single bulb independently). I own many fixtures from CA that I lit very densely planted aquariums with. These fixtures are noting like the fixtures at Lowes/HD. They have highly polished individual reflectors that easily double if not triple the output of traditional fixtures. Been running one of their lights for about 5-6 years ~9 hours per day, over a fish tank, been dropped more times than i care to admit to and have still not had a single failure of components. T5ho bulbs/fixtures run cooler than pc (power compact) fluorescent fixtures, have a longer useable bulb life, have about any color of light (K rating) and are relatively inexpensive. Just to put it in perspective, the entire fixture below (3x24w or 72w total power draw) uses about as much energy as one of the 100w incandescent comparable spiral pc bulbs! ;) Here's one of my tanks with a 3x24w 30" fixture hanging about 2' above it. You can kinda see the brightness of the fixture here. Im looking for a better one.... Here we go.

In Feb. of this year, I ordered a 10 pack of "Medium" hybrid Phals from this eBayer. I emailed the buyer prior to the ordering asking what size pots they required and the Seller responded 4 inch pots. What I rec'd were very small phals that could have been potted in 2 inch pots. Looking back at the auction page the picture does appear to be accurate (the pictured plants look like they are in 2 inch pots) but I wouldn't have described them as "medium". That's my only gripe. I was pleased with the transaction, espedically since I received 12 plants altogether (2 extra) and only one has died so far. As an newbie, I look forward to "raising" these plants and seeing what flowers I get if I can keep them alive that long :)