Indoor Growers Thread

Hi,




Just thought I'd start an official thread for those of us that must bring our tropicals inside during the winter months. It'd be nice to exchange ideas with each other and see how others do it. I'm trying to rethink my indoor methods for this coming winter. I've got 3 T5 fixtures, for a total of 16 T5 bulbs, here are two fixtures (not pictured is the one in use):



So, how do you grow your tropicals over the winter?


*NOTE: Please don't comment if all you're going to say refers to moving down south, or not having to grow indoors. Trying to exchange ideas *

This is my first year having to bring anything inside, so id like to see what this thread brings. Also, I have some seeds id like to grow (I know, I wont ever see them as an actual bonsai). They are Brazilian rain trees. I don't have to wait until spring to plant them since they are indoor, do I?

Bonsaiboy said:

I don't have to wait until spring to plant them since they are indoor, do I?

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Nope you don't.

I started with a 2' t5, and not a very bright window and my plants struggled through winter, but survived. Last winter I experimented with some LED options and I know it is the future but it takes a lot of tinkering and a little bit of solder to get it working right. Now I have a couple 4x2' t5s and 2 50w LEDs over a 15 gal aquarium. I repot my tropicals into as small a pot I can get them into when I move them in for the fall and stack them in the aquarium where it heats up to 80+ degrees from the passive heat sinks on the 50w LED micro chips. I do have a little USB fan I run on the inside of the tank to distribute the hot spots. Most live the high heat and humidity in the tank but a couple bigger guys never took off so I put the under the non enclosed t5s with the Mediterranean types where it is cooler and dryer.

If I had to do it over again I would get the 4x4' t5s now that I have some more space. I would prob get 100+ watt led microchips and mount them to CPU coolers w fans like the reef guys, and just get some sort of heating cord or mat for gentle bottom heat. I'm also dreaming of expanding my shed with some sort of lean to green house, but that might be a couple years.

I have three tropicals I bring into my office in the winter. I simply have them in front of two bright windows and they do fine. They slow down a bit, but they actually grow. Remember guys lots of non bonsai people have ficus in the house and they are there for years. Growing up my mom had a Ficus in front of a window for 20 years. No special soil and no special lights.

jkd2572 said:

I have three tropicals I bring into my office in the winter. I simply have them in front of two bright windows and they do fine. They slow down a bit, but they actually grow. Remember guys lots of non bonsai people have ficus in the house and they are there for years. Growing up my mom had a Ficus in front of a window for 20 years. No special soil and no special lights.

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Well yes, but those are normal people, and the usual Ficus houseplant is just a benjamina. You hardly ever seen the more bonsai-able microcarpa as a houseplant. Benjamina can handle low light levels a little better, that's what makes them suitable for just sitting next to a window.

Plus those benjaminas slow to nearly a stop in those low light conditions. I like being able to work on some plants throughout the winter, and the lights provide enough growth to be able to do that.

In my garage, I have 7 x 4 foot x 2 bulb (56 total bulbs) 6500K T8 purchased in Walmart and seems sufficient to help 30 of my tropical plants survive winter (about 4 months). I run it for about 16 hours a day.

I've built a frame to support my lights and have just about finished lining it with mylar to reflect the light instead of just letting it escape:





They won't be fully enclosed and they won't be surrounded by humidity, summer taught me enough

Here is the link to my setup. It's a 4 bulb 2-ft t5ho. Last year I put the trees on top of a shallow pot filled with soil, to try and keep humidity up from the watering. The roots ended up escaping into the soil which I actually think is a good idea for bulking up the trunks and branches. Shohin and mame trees work best.

Tropical Enclosure/

Scratch my above setup, after reading what my friend Steve does:

Steve Moore's Setup


I'm going to recreate that (but maybe just a tad smaller).

Redwood Ryan said:

Scratch my above setup, after reading what my friend Steve does:

Steve Moore's Setup


I'm going to recreate that (but maybe just a tad smaller).

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I would love to see you do this. I would love to have a heated greenhouse one day optimally though

tmmason10 said:

I would love to see you do this. I would love to have a heated greenhouse one day optimally though

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That too would be my goal, once I get my own house.

I'm not too crafty with wood though, and wouldn't want to risk having my lights inside the actual enclosure, so I'd probably make a smaller "crate" with lights sitting on top instead.

well i have a very newbie setup so far.. just a single BIG light bulb that gives og 2,5 k and a home made reflector over my benjaminas.. so far the light is on a 14 hour on 10 hour off cyclus.. dont know if i should lower the light circle to simulate winter ?

Anyway.. when i get a new appartment and get next years vacation money i am planning on doing major upgrades to my setup something along the way of ryans set ups but also adding some humidifiers all around to and have it all on timers

AlBooBoo said:

well i have a very newbie setup so far.. just a single BIG light bulb that gives og 2,5 k and a home made reflector over my benjaminas.. so far the light is on a 14 hour on 10 hour off cyclus.. dont know if i should lower the light circle to simulate winter ?

Anyway.. when i get a new appartment and get next years vacation money i am planning on doing major upgrades to my setup something along the way of ryans set ups but also adding some humidifiers all around to and have it all on timers

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I'd shoot for bulbs in the 6500K range, much more usable for plants.

My (smaller) crate construction has begun:

How about humidifiers ? do you use them ? seen some that looks helpy and good on kaizenbonsai..

Poink88 said:

In my garage, I have 7 x 4 foot x 2 bulb (56 total bulbs) 6500K T8 purchased in Walmart and seems sufficient to help 30 of my tropical plants survive winter (about 4 months). I run it for about 16 hours a day.

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No wonder your garage stays warm enough in the winter. Good god that's some bulbs. Snap a pic of this if you can.

Redwood Ryan said:

My (smaller) crate construction has begun:
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You have very nice and understanding parents. They are probably like "well at least he's not on drugs" if I proposed doing this to my wife she would just look at me and shake her head.

Has anyone tried one of these? Says at 60 inches it can cover 12 square feet. Cool led.
http://growace.com/grow-light/led-g...-spectrum-quad-band-led-grow-light-panel.html