As a succulent Gardner you need to concern bunny ear cactus light requirement. You can find out more detail about bunny ear cactus light requirement in this article.
How much light do Bunny ear cactus need?
Bunny Ear cactus would prefer to have bright indirect sunlight at least for about six hours in general if you grow them in outdoors.
If they run short of sunlight, it will be difficult for them to grow. Consequently, it will make the stunt growth of the plant.
On the other hand, if you add them as indoor plants, I recommend exposing them for about 14 hours of sunlight.
In case you find it difficult to provide sufficient sunlight, you could provide them with artificial sunlight to supplement.
They will be more like natural sunlight for them. For example, fluorescent lamps, fluorescent bulbs , LEDS would be great artificial lights.
Before we proceed further, Bunny Ear cactus belong to the family Cactaceae. You could easily identify them by their segmented pads as it is one of their main highlights of the Bunny Ear cactus.
In fact, those segmented pads mimic the look of bunny ears. Further they will be covered with bristly hairs which you could call glochids.
They are endemic plants to Northern Mexico. They would grow up to 16-24 inches when they are fully grown. Polka dot cactus and angel’s wings are some of the common names of them.
Different light condition for Bunny ear cactus
Low light
Bunny Ear cactus have strong demand when it comes to sunlight.
Hence, they cannot thrive in low light. It is vital that you fulfill their sunlight requirement as only then they flourish and grow to their best potential.
If they keep growing depriving sufficient sunlight levels, it will have a great impact on the health and on the well being of the plants.
Having said that if you need to supplement the plants if they get low lights, you could grow them under grow lights.
Moreover, you could commonly experience this condition during dark rainy days. If they run short of sunlight for extended periods, it will make them etiolated.
Literally they will bend towards the best possible light resource they can receive and consequently they will become leggy and misshapen.
Hence you need to ensure that you grow them in the brightest sunny spot in your home so that you can prevent this condition.
Medium light
Bunny Ear cactus will grow well if you expose them for 6 hours of bright indirect sunlight when you grow them outdoors.
If you grow them indoors, they need to have more sunlight. Hence, medium sunlight level is not healthy for the plant’s vigorous growth.
Instead, you need to provide them with high sunlight. However, they can survive at medium level during winter.
High light
Bunny Ear cactus grow in desert growing plants.
Therefore, you need to provide strong high sunlight as much as you can for them. However, this would be an exception during winter.
During winter, they can perform well given that they get full sunlight and partial shade evenly.
Artificial light for Bunny ear cactus
Bunny Ear cactus want to have sufficient sunlight particularly if you grow them as houseplants.
If they are deprived of sunlight for prolonged periods, they would find it difficult to survive. In this circumstance, artificial lights would be quite useful here.
Further when you plant them as indoor plants, you need to be mindful of where you plant them too. If you wish to add them as houseplants, choose a windowsill where the plants can gain sufficient sunlight without any obstruction.
However, if they still lack sufficient sunlight, artificial lights will come to rescue the plants.
Fluorescent Lights
Bunny Ear cactus growth would be benefited if you could provide fluorescent lights.
Besides, you can use them along with bulbs which have red wavelengths. Red lighting is crucial for the root production.
You can use these along with the fluorescent lights. I suggest you use these lights since they do not produce heat.
As such you can place them closer to the Bunny Ear Cactus as well. This is a quite famous mode of supplementing artificial lights for the plants among the succulent enthusiasts.
Moreover, anybody can afford buying them as they are not costly. If you are using the fluorescent lights, can place the cactus about 6 inches to one inch below these lights.
Moreover, the white fluorescent light would be the best option for them, and you can make use of it for about 14-16 hours on a daily basis.
Incandescent lights
Incandescent lights can provide the red wavelengths of the light spectrum.
You could use these lights together with fluorescent lights to further supplement sunlight . Incandescent lights produce more heat when compared to the fluorescent lights.
Hence if you use the Incandescent lights as an artificial light source for them, you need to keep them a little far from the plants.
LED
This artificial light also generates low heat. This is one of the latest modes of supplementing light.
What is more special about these lights is that you have the option of customizing them and using them.
If you wish to supplement the Bunny Ear cactus with both blue and red wavelengths of lights, LED would be quite handy.
Besides, you can use these lights for a longer period as they have a long durability. Apart from that , they are affordable for anybody too.
Halogen Lights
If you want to supplement the Bunny Ear cactus with a full light spectrum, Halogen lights would be quite useful.
However, they are not that great when it comes to energy efficiency. Literally they generate plenty of heat also. If you still wish to have them, you can place them far from the plants.
However , when considering the above, I recommend using the fluorescent bulbs as they will be quite productive for the Bunny Ear Cactus.
Light Requirement of baby Bunny ear cactus
Indoor Lighting Requirements
If you are wondering where to place your precious Bunny Ear Cactus, you need to pick the brightest sunny spot at your home.
Bunny Ear Cactus is a typical cactus, and they prefer to have strong sunlight levels.
Hence, windowsill would work well with them as they are the brightest sunny spots at your home. Alternatively, you can place them in an open terrace also.
Once you grow them in these spots, it will assure that they get sufficient sunlight levels. Further you may shift them outdoors for some time to further enhance sunlight.
Moreover, you can use one of the aforesaid artificial lights also so that it will supplement the sunlight. Growing them closer to grow lights would be a fine idea particularly during dark rainy days.
During winter , you need to shift them to a spot which is slightly cooler and where they do not get direct sunlight.
In case if you do not adhere to this step chances are that your plants may even perish and not survive till next spring.
Outdoor sunlight requirements.
Bunny Ear Cactus would perform well outside as they can gain natural sunlight adequately.
If they can gain as much sunlight as they want, it would be a great spot for them. However, it would be somewhat tricky to shift them indoors when you grow them outdoors during winter.
However, you can plant them in a pot and grow them as outdoor plants and bring them indoors when the temperature reduces.
Ideally you need to place them in a cooler area during winter as they will be in dormancy. There should be less sunlight during winter.
If you follow these guidelines, chances are that they will produce flowers in yellow which would be so pleasing to watch.
Does Bunny ear cactus like direct sunlight?
Bunny Ear Cactus can grow well in direct sunlight, and they would love to have as much as sunlight they can have.
They would love to grow in places where they can gain 14 hours of sunlight each day. However, during winter, they can thrive with partial sunlight only. Bunny Ear Cactus are light lovers.
Hence, they would love growing in sunny locations. However, do not expose them to direct intense sunlight at once as it would be unhealthy for the plants.
Ideally you need to slowly accustom them to direct sunlight particularly if you had grown them indoors for some time and wish to bring them outdoors.
How many lumens does a Bunny ear cactus need?
Is LED light good for Bunny ear cactus?
As explained in the above, Bunny Ear Cactus can survive with LEDS as well. However, it would be better if you could use the fluorescent lights instead due to the advantages mentioned in the above.
Should I rotate my Bunny ear cactus?
If you had grown them indoors and if you feel like some part of the Bunny Ear Cactus is depriving sufficient sunlight, you can rotate the cactus. It will ensure that the whole plants get sunlight evenly.
Alternatively, you can bring them outdoors for some time and bring them indoors when the temperature decreases too. That will allow them to absorb the sunlight they want during the daytime.
Can Bunny ear cactus grow in low light?
Bunny Ear Cactus cannot thrive well in low light. Ideally they need to have at least 6 hours of bright sunlight for their survival.
Having said that you could consider growing them under grow lights to supplement the same.
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