I want to start growing under grow lights - right forum?

Hi.
I live in an apartment and get very little light indoors. Plus, where I live is not a great place to container pot (thieves!) outside my apt. So...I have decided to start growing indoors. I purchased one of those five shelf storage racks, and have two 4' T-12 (holds two 4' flourescent bulbs). I have one hanging from the top rack and one hanging from the second. I plan to add more as my budget will allow.

I did start this in February but have not really started growing anything except cyclamen. (I'm still "unpacking" from my move, lol. I'm learning to "let go"....especially books!! Do I get a chip or something?) Anyway, Cyclam - I have a pink and a white one. That was an "oooh-that's-pretty!" purchase. I did not know that they exhaust themselves and quite blooming! Mine have been blooming since I bought them, and I was actually ready to repot them in one big pot because they are rootbound. I'm sure it will die now since I have aquired this knowlege, lol! I also bought some AV's which only one blooms, and a couple have double crowns, and another (I think) might have cyclamen mites OR ph problems, AND I still don't know what parts are what on an AV (what does a petiole look like? where will this sucker be? And how did I end up with double crowns? Yes, I get an F in AV's!). I'm not giving up on them though - I just need a book! Seriously, I cannot find a diagram of an African Violet on the web. Photo's can be confusing. I need a drawing with parts listed, hint hint. And Finally, one needlepoint ivy doing so-so (and I'm stunned by this. I look at it sometimes, and wish it could talk and tell me what I'm doing right for a change. I think it's just a very determined plant with a wicked sense of humor.)

I've done a small reeftank (soft coral only) on a shoestring budget, and it did very well (it can be done!), but the salt creep and lugging gallons of RO water up two flights of stairs got OLD. So here I am - a total plant newb. But if there is a way, I have the will to try it, and you guys seem to know your plants!
Any imput is great!
I really want to do Ferns, and things with unusual foliage color. I'm not sure I want many flowering plants - but I'm still very open! Okay, and truthfully I don't want to do the standard "houseplants". I can still see my mother's dumb cane (with the christmas wrap still on it) gathering dust, as well as her very leggy pothos ivy. I've also seen pittiful Spathylium? plants in people homes begging for death. I would like to try something different than those.

So, if there is anyone who knows what is possible - to "I'm sorry - you are wasting your time" plants grown indoors under lights. Slap me, encourage me, or make suggestions. I'm excited about this, and anyone's experince is welcome!!

I don't usually do forums because I can be shy (I know what you are thinking, "Really, Chatty Kathy? You seem to babble on and on to me!" Yes, lol, I have my moments!)

Sincerely,
eponagrrl

Eponagrrl: Welcome to the Garden!

LOL, you sound like you would fit right in over on the AV forum! That's where I spend most of my time and we have a blast over there, chatting laughing, showing our pictures (not always AV's!.) Most of the ladies grow AV's and Streptocarpus which are gesneriads, but some grow other plants on their light stands too. I have had a hoya or two growing under lights and they seemed to do well. I also love terrarium growing and have a 10 gal aquarium that I turned into a terrarium that has bits and pieces of a lot of different plants.

You really should try one or two of the Gesneriad plants! They are really beautiful and some are very easy care plants. I think sometimes they get a bad rap about being "difficult" when they really aren't. I am not having a lot of luck with AV's right now and every Streptocarpus I've tried has died on me. But, Chirita's and Episcia's seem to do really well a long as I remember to water them. ^_^ I have many, many plants but most of mine are out on my porch and deck and stay outside year round.

Please, pop into the AV forum: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/874599/ and introduce yourself. Post your question about what kinds of plants to grow on light stands and I bet you will get lots of suggestions.

There's a new thread every month where folks post photo's of what's they have blooming. I sometimes get carried away and post all kinds of different plant pictures! We just chat and have fun even if we have no pictures to post. So, stop by and say hi ... you will find the ladies over there very helpful and friendly!

Again, Welcome to the Garden!

Lin

Lin!
Thanks for such a warm welcome. I really do appreciate it. I don't do forums because I get nervous.

And I did post on AV, and I was surprised (and kind scared, lol!) by how many people actually responded! Everyone was nice. I bet you know Celene and Kim. They gave me links to exactly what I needed, drawings with arrows, lol!

I will check out your terrarium, Lin. I remember my mother showing me how to to do one. She also showed me how to pot a plant as well. I think I was around nine or ten. I remember the terrarium being the only thing we could keep anything alive (pepperoni plant, nerve plant, ect.).

I also distictly remember the first (and last till now!) African Violet I tried to grow. I'm pretty sure "purple" was the only thing around, and whispers of "wicking" floated in the air like some magical incantation,...and there was no internet. Well, I grew up in West Texas, and it got HOT next to a window! That poor African Violet lasted about 24 hours! I think it died of boiling. I gave it lots of water (all over the leaves of course! What else? Plants love showers!), and that windowsill probably reached 125 F. at noon. I was that AV's Marquie de Sade and didn't even know it.

Oh! I got my first real look at a Gesnarid last night (kim's link), and the one I saw was so pretty! And, hoyas...are they succulent looking? Okay, Lin...Botany fear is sneaking back up my spine. Oooh, and I KNOW what a petiole is! The "AV Posse" really helped me out. They really did help me out.

I will check out your pics ;). I'm repotting my 4 AV's today, so I will be posting.

Thanks again, Lin

I look forward to seeing your AV pic's. I only have a couple of AV's still alive and they look so bad I could never post a picture of them, LOL.

I think Celene is new on the AV forum too, so I don't know her real well, but I do know Kim. I haven't met anyone on that forum that I can say I don't like! I lurk on some of the other forums and post occasionally but the AV forum is "home" for me! We do get carried away posting pictures and chatting about other plants besides Gesneriads too!

Dave's Garden is the very first forum I had ever heard of or joined! I had heard of "chat" rooms but never checked any out because I just didn't feel I could chat on the internet. I had seen the DG site a few years before joining when I was searching the internet for information about a particular plant. Never paid too much attention about a subscription until about two years ago when I decided to try it out. Best gift I could ever give myself. So much information and folks willing to help with identifying plants, tips on care and culture etc., not to mention the fun swaps and trading that goes on.

I was told about a couple of other free gardening type websites and signed up for two. I had a heck of a time navigating, finally told one to cancel me. The other is Epiforums and I never remember to check in there. This is my on line Garden of choice!

We have a few ladies from Texas who post over on the AV forum too. I hear them talking about how hot it gets and I know it gets hot down here in Florida but at least we have the breeze from the Atlantic Ocean!

Well, I'm heading back outside to transplant a couple of things in the yard but I will look for you on the AV forum.

Have a great day!

OMG! Lin! Wow! I'm just amazed at your garden! I love your choices, and style...
I laughed when I saw the number of pics (Thank you Jesus I don't have a camera!)...and then I started looking and was very impressed, and by the time I got to the bottom...I think my jaw was on the floor. No joke. I was wishing I had you on the phone! I hate typing!! Man, your plants just took my breath away! (Although - I don't think I saw a ges. ?) OMG...here are my comments (I had to finally get REAL choosey because there were so many I loved, and I got sick of writing down the names, lol!).

Lacunosa breviata - favarite hoya

What you did with the Varigated Cuban Oregano basket - the pale silver right next to the well - kept (!!!!) Wandering Jew ( punk rock points for you! THAT is what you do with such a great colored plant! I grew to hate the Wandering Jew because people never tended it, and it became yucky to me. I take it back. Excellent use, girl!) then the coleus tied it all together.

Aeschynanthus mircranthos

Your lipstick plants was enormous

Rosary Vine - the photo really showed off the soft purple

Moses in a Basket (could I do that?)

Okay, and you had in your yard something that made my heart pound. You are probably going to think it's dumb. Your False Shamrock. I once killed a "fire fern". It was ten years ago, and oddly, it was on a revolving plant rack with AV's. I knew myself to be a Plant Assasin, but I had never seen anything so beautiful (at the time) and had to have it. The stems were thread thin with bright red foliage. Yeah, I killed it...but I made sure I carefully saved the parts, and ended up making putting the fragment between several layers of glass (5" x 5" peices) that gave a really cool 3-D effect. I gave it to my oldest sister for Christmas.
Yours is equally Magnificent to me! Almost black. I gotta try it. I know it might not work, but what a gem.

Your terrarium was so nicely done. You have an artistic side to you. You use shape and color very well.

Okay, there were so many others as well, and my list is too short.

Okay, your AV pics...is that what they look like now? I'm gonna guess not. If that is "bad" to you, but they looked far, far, from bad. I know you do a lot of work to keep your plants looking so nice. My AV's are shadows of their former selves. I'm still have plenty of space for them right now, but that will change. I want certain textures, and colors. Only if I can get one to thrive, and a container that will "work it". I think you would be the perfect person to ask that question, too.

My sister wants to see your plants pics :)

I will chase you down later,
eponagrrl (cleo)

My sis was blown away, too! She "ooooh'ed" at the same ones I did! Some jump out at you.. I got a second look at how well you display certain plants - I don't know all the names, so I will call them "awkward" - the "awkward" ones so they can be appreciated for thier unusual beauty. You have a real eye, and the skill to bring the "vision" to life! Just so cool, Lin.

God I hate typing because I don't "write" well. I don't want sound too "over-the-top".

cleo

LOL Cleo, I just answered your d-mail.

I am blushing at all the comments! Not embarrassed at all ... but Thank you for the kind comments. I have no idea what pictures you were looking at of my AV's? I have very few AV's left and they are not looking too great. I guess I should try to find the thread where you saw those pic's. I know you are talking about some that are in my pool area. I have really taken a liking to Hoyas and only have the common ones found at Wal-Mart and Home Depot - for some reason they have not carried any this year!

My terrarium, LOL ... it used to have some order to it but I am so bad about pinching something or if a leaf breaks off something ... I just stick it down into the terrarium. There's a mixture of so much stuff in there right now. I love planting in glass jars or other terrarium type containers. Don't have to water often, if at all ... things just do so well under glass. I have a few glass jars with plants in them, some that have been planted up for about 4 years.