Question
Hey guys,

I just had one, major concern. I am currently growing two venus flytraps
and a cape sundew and want to try a nepenthes sanguinea and I was
wondering, I bought a "plant light" from Lowe's and was wondering if it
would be safe to use on my plants as I am unable to grow my nepenthes
outside. The voltage/output is 1600lumens and I have no idea if that is
strong enough? The bulb also does not say whether it is incandescent or
florescent and the employees there all told me "here's your plant lights for
growing weed bro" lol so they were of no real help. Also, the bulb is a
flood bulb and puts out a small about of heat so this also scares me.

I look forward to hearing your opinions from you guys, thanks!

Brandon

Answer
Hello Brandon,

The Venus Flytraps are full sun plants that will need to be grown outside during the growing season, and then either mulched and tarped during the Winter if left outside, or placd in a cold window or garage with a window where they will not totally freeze dry. Temperatures of about 35-50 degrees would be fine over winter to keep them dormant yet protect them from freezing solid in pots.

The Cape Sundew and the Nepenthes are tropicals that can be grown indoors all year long under artificial and window light.
Lumen intensity is the amount of light hitting an object one foot from the source. The sun puts out up to about 50,000 lumens that actually make it to the surface of the Earth. 1,600 lumens would be inadequate for most plants. Plant lights themselves are just overpriced and really do no better job then a cheap set of 40 watt shop lights hanging over your plants. Shop lights are what I use. A small Nepenthes and Cape Sundew might get by with a 100-150 watt equivalent florescent spiral bulb, the replacements for incandescents you find in stores. As your collection grows or as your N. sanguinea gets over 6 inches tall/wide you will need bigger lights to cover a larger area, so shop lights would be the best overall idea. Get the twin mount 40 watt cool white florescent shop lights that are four feet long, use T-12 tubes, and can be hung from chains over your plants from a shelf or other arrangement. I have a couple of Nepenthes that are getting beyond the two foot growth mark and I have three twin mount shop lights over them putting out 18000 lumens about 8 inches over the top leaves. The light stays on for 12-16 hours a day according to season. If the light stays on for less than 12 hours a day, the plants will begin to slow in growth and fail to pitcher. If the plants get too little coverage area from not enough light over a larg enough area, the same will happen. Larger plants simply need more light hitting from different angles and over a larger area. The main thing to remember is that as you place lights, look for signs of plant health or difficulty from coloration, speed of relative growth, and trap development over time. Good light results in vivid colors and well developed traps, too little light results in less or no coloration, just green leaves and traps parts, and even no traps or deformed traps. If coloration fails to develop over a couple of weeks, add more light or move the plants closer to the light a couple inches until you see proper development in the plants.

Christopher