Tired Cactuses in low light area

[omid373]

Dear Friends,

I am new to this forum and I hope I could find many new friends here. Recently I bring some little cactuses to my home.But after a week I think they are droopy.

Already I have not access to sun light in my home and I think this is why they are not succulent.

Now can any one tell me how can I provide artificial light for them? Is regular florescent lamps good?what about type (yellow(like sun) or white(like moon)) and power ?

and if not what should I do? Also I can add their picture if it is needed.

[Jeff Layman]

If your cacti are dry and droopy that should be ok. If they are wet and droopy they may well be suffering from root rot, and unless you can cut off the living part and reroot it, you could have lost the plant.

At this time of year most cacti should be kept absolutely dry and cool, on a light (south or west-facing) windowsill. But they should not be allowed to get exposed to frost when the curtains are closed.

As to light, you can spend a fortune on suitable lights. Commercial growers choose special fluorescent or other types of lamp. For home use, almost any decent white or near white fluorescent lamp should do. it should be kept as near to the plants as possible (a small aquarium with a light would serve for this purpose). But really there is no point in trying to push cacti into growth when they should be resting. In fact, unless small cacti get a dry and cold rest over winter, it is very unlikely they will flower. Give them the proper conditions, and you will be rewarded!

[Gunner]

With the priviso, It depends on the cacti and how much area they cover, lets start;

The bottom of this site has a bit of info on some of the common lights available, Metal Halide (MH), Higt Pressure Sodium (HPS) and Fluorescent (Fl)

the CFL such as here: would go w/ the HID for now, that will change in the future as LED and some of the newer super lights get in production.

I do not recommend a 2ft Fl, no lumens to speak of. 4 ft shop lights are ok, but at a basic level, the color is not really important, lower temp (yellow) is ok, bright white is alright also. Fl is my last pick unless it is a 4 tube or better T5HO. even then shop smart, the indoor garden stores are too spendy. Shop here:

For a small area and a couple of plants, a 68 W CFL such as you find here: on a spring clamp will do well. It has 4200 lumens, enough for a low light plant in ~ a 1.5 -2 Sq Ft area and you can put it close ( law of inverse square). I got one from HD in a bargain bin < 20 bucks, here is another As I said these works fine for a 2x area. just follow the plant's photo period

After the 68w-85w CFL range , any boost up in Watts ( w/ exceptions) is going to have a mogul base ( larger screw in ) and usually some sort of ballast or a self starting ballast, adding to the initial cost but now we are at the entry level for HID lighting. so really go HID you can use it for your orchids later. as you may have seen in the CFL link above, these are 80$ w/o shipping to 130$ at a store.

For the same price points Home Depot, many of the Ace Hardware chain, and Amazon have a 70w and a 150W HPS they sell as a security light. HPS has a spectrum advantages over MH and FL but new stuff is coming up all the time.

70W~ 6400 lumens : 16, 000 lumens : are affordable and provide the horsepower you need . Be warned you will have to configure a mount, adjustable is best and know the best height for you plant(s).

LED need to come in at around 5-10 W per LED and they come down in price. Many from overseas are nothing but cheap recycled traffic light. But know the LEDs do work for plants.

good luck

[Brooklyn1]

Most likely you've over watered them. Cactus doesn't like wet... maybe 5 ml of water every three weeks is plenty... use an eyedropper.