Question
Spring will soon be upon us and I am looking to expand my indoor tropical and sub-tropical sundew collection. I have been growing two cape sundews in a windowsill with two 23 watt/ 100 watt equivalent CFL'S, and they have been doing great!

Now, there is no more room in the windowsill, and I am looking to get some Pygmy sundews, and a D. aliciae. I will also be purchasing an "all red" Cape sundew from you.

To provide the strong light needed for these plants, I am looking at a 4 foot long, 4 bulb T5 fixture with a total lumen output of 20,000. The spectrum will be mixed 6500k and 3000k.
Is this enough light for my plants, and if so, how far away should they be so they don't get burned. T5's do run relatively
cool.

I know this is probably overkill, but the 96 lumen per watt efficiency is hard to beat.

Thank you for your time,
Connor

Answer
Hi Connor,

This is a great light fixture, and will provide plenty of light.  Do be cautious at first, however, because they are much warmer than a typical T-12 fluorescent tubes.  Start with about 8 inches away, see how the plants do.  I've had plants within 3 feet of a 1,000 watt High Pressure Sodium, as a comparison, and those are quite hot.

Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com