Proper Indoor Lighting

I've had a few people ask me about artificial
lighting

for indoor plants . There are two methods that I
recommend :
The Sunblaster T5 Florescent lighting Tubes ( link
on sidebar) or
shoplights ( Ott grow light florescent tubes ) hung from
chains.
Lights should be placed about 6" above the
plants.

It is a common misconception that the winter sun
is strong

enough for plants indoors .

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Here's a photo showing my grow
lights.

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If you have only a few plants on a table then you can

get a desk lamp that produces day light

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The lamp in the background is a simple desk
lamp
with daylight bulbs
I purchased from Home Depot.
Or you can buy an Ott daylight lamp which will work

the same. I use these lamps for the lower plants
because

they don't receive as much light. I layer plants
from low
to high levels.

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I placed Herb Seeds under my Aero garden lights
and

within 1 day the sprouts emerged.

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Years ago when I first learned about grow lights
I

couldn't keep a Gardenia alive indoors.
Now

you can see in this photo that blooms are
emerging

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Here the Buds are forming. I've had this
Gardenia

for about 6 months now and that is the
longest

period ever.
You can replace the bulbs once a year,
even if they still light up they lose their strength after
10,000 hours of usage.
I also keep lights on every
day for 14 hours, except for succulents which
need 7 hours.