Supplemental light in the dark months?

Discussion in 'Indoor and Greenhouse Plants' started by echoofformless, Oct 17, 2006.

  1. echoofformless

    echoofformless Member

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    Location:
    Philadelphia
    I live in Philadelphia, and naturally fall is in full effect. Currently I have a spider plant, a draceana magenta, jade, aloe and african violet.

    I'm aware that the african can be grown under artificial lights, so I was wondering if adding a fluorescent fixture over the other plants would be beneficial during the dark half of the year. I understand that my plants will do just fine without it, but will it help them out a bit...enough to merit the effort?
     
  2. Eric La Fountaine

    Eric La Fountaine Contributor Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Most homes are quite dark for most plants, additional light through the darkness of winter should be beneficial for almost all house plants. Fluorescent lights are gentle and can be (need to be) close to the plant. Be careful if you purchase some of the other types of plant grow lights that generate a lot of heat as they can burn plants if placed to close.

    Days are very short in Vancouver in the winter. I put some of my plants under lights for winter. It helps a lot.
     
  3. jenniflower

    jenniflower Member

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    Location:
    Burnaby, BC
    Hi Guys,

    Thanks for the tip on extra light. Is a regular light bulb enough or should I invest in some other lighting fixture. Right now, I have my jades under a powersmart compact flourescent bulb about 1 foot above the plant. I have noticed a new tiny leaf budding over the past month. I am quite excited! Also I put Starbucks and J.J. Bean coffee grounds around my jades just before I give them their occasional watering. They seem to like the acidity that the coffee adds to the soil. Are there other supplements I can give my jades. I just love them!

    Jenniflower
     
  4. Seamus

    Seamus Active Member

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    Location:
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    I am using compact fluorescents to grow my dragon fruit seedlings and I have used them as the exclusive light source for my other plants in the past and they're great. I bought my girlfriend a 45w middle spectrum compact fluoro and a reflector for her lemon tree when fall came around because it doesn't get a whole lot of light, its a great suppliment. I'd recomend lowering the bulb a bit, they're gentle but they're also fairly weak. With tube fluorescent I keep them only a few inches above the plants because the cool blue spectrum of bulbs which I find are best for leafy plants hardly generate any heat except for at the ends of the tubes. The compacts are a bit hotter but its fairly weak light so I keep it as close as possible, the bulb I have over my seedlings is only 3 inches away. Reflectors are great to use because most of the light is emitted out of the sides of the bulb so it will capture that light, turning the bulb sideways might also be an option. I wouldn't bother with any of the more expensive metal halide or high pressure sodium, they're hotand expensive. Even though they'd be great to have it would be like buying a Ferrari to go to the grocery store haha.

    Thanks for the coffee bean idea though, I think I'm going to use it to add some acidity to my girlfriend's Lemon.
     
  5. Rima

    Rima Active Member

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    Don't put your spider plant under the lights - it'll go all pale and sad (mine are happy in a place that only gets even medium light for a few hours a day).
     

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