Your location (PNW), your location (indoors) and the mid-winter season all ensure that the light bank will be the primary illumination for months to come. The good news is an 8-tube bank is better than adequate. Run-time should be at least what keeps the plants healthy (~12hr) up to possibly 16hr especially if there are Catts too that also need light. Since tubes are hardly too much light for the catts it is difficult to recommend giving less to the paph, I would just throw them all in under the same light. It won't be the same everywhere under the tubes anyway, closer to the center will be brighter and it will dim towards the ends. You can move plants around so no one plant sits forever under the tube ends (catts) or not but when a large group of identical plants are grown under tubes and are not moved around it is clear after time that those in the center grow faster and better than those at the ends. H

Calvin I also dont care for Oncidiums. I dont understand them. I try to like them but every time i look at them im just like eh, Phrag Besseae I like, but paphs make me think of flies! Also im Very afraid of spiders! so i dont like paphs big pouches a spider is going to get in there and get on my face when i bend down look at the flower i just know it will happen so No, No Pouches! Im also not a fan of Disa and Zygos, bulbos,or dendrochilum Harlequin Phals or ones with a bunch of spotting. Peloric anything. Im starting to loose my love for Floofy ruffles On Catts gravitating to examples of the species At whitecat those flower buds scare me! look like thumbs but then they turn into some kind of bug. ~Sam

that is phragmepedium. it is probably an intermediate temperature grower and should be water and fertilized often.i should tell you a good rule of thumb is to keep water and feed high and every thing else is an in between. but if your not sure alway err on the simple side. only repot once it is too big because its roots are sensitive and when it is repoted always get one that is atleast 2 sizes up. but of courase get others oppinions as well...

Hi lwowk/Larissa: My pair of 27w CFL's are about 2 ft away from the paphiopedilum x maudiae. The back-of-the-box info says a 27w CFL (=100w incandescent) has 1750 lumens. Note that I flower phalaenopsis equestris and amabilis, and Amesiella monticola under identical light set up. And these generally require more light than paphiopedilums which generally live on the forest floor. 55w CFL would be very bright by contrast. I would experiment and see how plant responds with growth, leaf color, etc. The only downside is that paphiopedilums are slow - and it could take weeks for an inciting event to express itself in plant growth. But if it burns, it should happen within 1-2 days. Play it by sight/ear. My 2 new growths that came out in August are still growing, slowly. Your plant is new(?) and probably spending its energy acclimating to your environment than into keiki growth - so don't worry. Plus it's winter. Do watch watering in winter. SCALES: I use Q-tip with 70% ethanol, checking 1-2 times a week. Persistence is the key. My Q-tipping rate eventually overtakes their multiplication rate and they disappear. Scales are cunning and hide in the most unlikely places. I have no experience using Neem or Safers on paphiopedilum. Check the link. Good luck, alvin