I’m trying to decide which fixture to order for my trees - I have 3 medium/ large trees to uplight and trying to decide which fixture and how many to order. The tree on the right has two Single Spot Lights, the one on the left has just one Single Spot. Should I upsize to the Top Dog Scotty for my trees, and if so, should I still use two per tree? Thank you!
Hi Houston. Full disclosure, I’m a fellow landscape lighting enthusiast and I don’t work for VOLT. What I think is important to remember is that there’s no one single perfect way to light a tree. IMO, a good way to start the decision-making process is to ask yourself questions like, what kind of statement do you want to make, what is the ambient light like at night, and what perspectives will the tree be viewed from. In theory, you could create the same effect with mini fixtures as you can with larger fixtures. If you want to fully illuminate a medium to large tree from top to bottom as efficiently as possible, you might choose two or more of the regular TopDog Scotty. If you want to go for a more subtle and warmer look (where maybe the light only reaches most of the height of the tree), you might go with a similar number of mini fixtures. I routinely encourage people to use different lighting techniques to add interest and complexity to a landscape lighting plan. Uplighting, sidelighting, and backlighting are three different lighting techniques and you wouldn’t necessarily use the same number of fixtures to create each of these effects. Before you make your decisions, I think it’s also a good idea to consider what options are available for each type of fixture. The regular Top Dog Scotty is far more customizable than the mini version but if you don’t need color changing bulbs or very high lumens, or very wide beam angles, then you might want to stick with the more compact fixture. HTH
