Flourescent lights on seedlings vs plants

This is my first year starting plants before Spring arrives and I am having a great time growing plants from seeds and propagating some plants under fluorescent lights in my attached garage. I have been wondering about the lights though. The lights should be just a couple inches away from the seedling, but as the seeds become plants I'm thinking the lights don't need to be so close to the plants. I'm growing impatiens from seed (which are doing really well) along with some Begonias and Angel Trumpets. Since they all grow at different rates and are different sizes the light source will be farther away for some plants and not for others. When does the seedling become a plants and is it OK to keep the lights further away for plants?

Thanks for all your help as usual.

After your seedlings become plants that is when they are almost full grown, you should still keep the lights about three inches above your plants they can still get leggy, when they are outside mother nature takes care of this but while they under your care underlights keep the lights at least three inches above them. If you need to because you don't have enough lights for the different heights you can put some books or something else under them so they can be closer to the lights, I hope this helps :)

My lights are on chains.I just raise the lights as the seedlings grow.

I agree, keep your lights around 3" above your seedlings/plants. If I have plants of different heights I raid my husband's workshop and use pieces of scrap 2x4's or other wood. I try to keep plants of similar heights together under each light.

I think I must havae a hundred books holding mine. I do have the shop lights with a chain, but I always have so many different sizes that if I adjust for one size the other is either too tall or too short. So off to the book cases I go.

You would understand what a seed addict I am if you knew what a book nut I am. One of my kids came by and couldn't believe I was using a book!!!

My mom and dad never threw anything away so I put a lot of old phone books under mine with tin foil under them, I think they had every phone book they ever had in this telephone stand when I looked at it lol

Thanks for all the great feedback. I do have my lights on chains that I move up as the plants get teller. I had planted some Impatiens (for the longest time I literally thought they were called Impatients), Angel Trumpets and Whopper Salvias in the same flat and they grew at different rates. They have since been potted in to their own individual pots so it's not such an issue now. It's one of those things that I thought about once the seeds started to emerge. I have learned so much from these forums. Thanks everyone.