Hibiscus

[jamest0o0]

Can the Arcadia grow bulbs+ mega 40 watt jungle dawn spotlights provide enough light for these? The hibiscus have such perfect branches, leaves, and cool flowers. Would love to incorporate them more in my set ups

 

[Tygerr]

Short answer: probably not.
Hibiscus are full sun plants generally and they don't tend to thrive in cages.

That said, I kept hibiscus in my Veiled's cages for years. He loved to chomp on the leaves.

The real trick is to have more than one hibiscus and to rotate them in the cage. Inside for 3-6 months, outside for 3-6 months.
They need a reasonably large pot if they're going to get really bushy and flowery, so make sure the base of your cage can support it.

I had a big cage so I supplemented the light from the spot bulb and UVB fluorescent with about 8 regular CFL bulbs (about 15W-20W each, alternating warm white and cool white).

If I did it again I'd probably use those grow-light LED strips for the supplemental lights.

Either way, you're probably still going to have to rotate them out into sunlight for optimum health.

 

[jamest0o0]

Have you used the jungle dawn spotlight? There's a good chance you're right as I understand sun is something we can't entirely replicate, but these lights are a step ahead of pretty much every other grow light I've seen.

 

[Jared910]

Have you used the jungle dawn spotlight? There's a good chance you're right as I understand sun is something we can't entirely replicate, but these lights are a step ahead of pretty much every other grow light I've seen.

It's not about brightness, it's about the amount of the light spectrum that the bulb can replicate. I'm no expert, but some googling has shown that it takes LED lights to replicate the sun enough to allow a plant to grow healthily. Even then, theres certain spectrums and lumens that are better or worse, etc.

 

[jamest0o0]

Yeah i know that's what I meant when I said we can't replicate the sun, but I'm wondering if anyone has tried hibiscus under these lights. I have gotten more growth in one week from them than months under every other bulb I've tried

 

[Jared910]

Yeah i know that's what I meant when I said we can't replicate the sun, but I'm wondering if anyone has tried hibiscus under these lights. I have gotten more growth in one week from them than months under every other bulb I've tried

oh they are already LED, got it. They look like the real deal.

 

[jamest0o0]

Oh yeah, sorry I wasn't clear. They are the only lights id try a hibiscus with, but can't be sure because I'm not very experienced with them.