Are those special plant bulbs or just regular 23 watt bulbs? How big are your plants? It would seem pretty easy to get a few desk lamps or something. I do have a lamp with a low separate bulb. Wonder if I can just slap a cfl in there.

I thought the light would have to be spread out more to cover more of the plant.

In a white closet closet. with a tall desk lamp.

Steve

Just regular cfls. Their not big trees, two feet wide by two feet high. Bigger trees would need much more light. Jack

Under a basement stair case. out of the way, space is close-able with white sheets, area retains heat, and wife is kept happy.

Could you post pictures of your trees. I would like to see them.

My wife has inherited a lot of family memories as sibling clean out their junk. The garage will be full as another sibling lets loose this Christmas. My goal was to house the plants in the basement in a 10 foot cubed grow box. I had to put them outside for good and build a GH for them. Is a greenhouse an option for you. It sounds like your kitchen is in Queens NYC. Probably not Much room if any outside.

Steve

When you say 'cold, dark basement', how cold? Because citrus really do not mind being a bit cooler in winter -- like around 60 degrees. It compensates for a lower humidity.

Also, you did not say which varieties you are growing. I'd think limes might like it warmer, satsumas cooler, etc.

Are you only planning on having 2 trees or getting more later? I have a 1000w hps and I can not say enough how happy I am with year round growing of 9 citrus 2 avocado some crillo cacao seedlings, a tiny cinnamon tree, and three pepper plants. I plan on getting 3 more lights and dimming them to 600w. I own dimmable ballasts and have a 10x12 room to try to light up without the help from the sun.

Obviously I have a lot but if for say you want 4 trees total it would make sense to get a 400w or better hps light.

Are you only planning on having 2 trees or getting more later? I have a 1000w hps and I can not say enough how happy I am with year round growing of 9 citrus 2 avocado some crillo cacao seedlings, a tiny cinnamon tree, and three pepper plants. I plan on getting 3 more lights and dimming them to 600w. I own dimmable ballasts and have a 10x12 room to try to light up without the help from the sun.

Obviously I have a lot but if for say you want 4 trees total it would make sense to get a 400w or better hps light.

The back area of the basement, the floor can be quite cold as it is tile and there is an exterior drain pipe that runs beneath. I guess the front of the basement would be warmer but there is absolutely no windows and it would be a bear to get the tree down there. I have 2 meyer lemon trees and a banana. The banana did fine in fornt of the windows upstairs last year but the meyer next to it did not (completely died back including all branches). Electricity is expensive so 1000W seems like a lot (that would be about $70/mth if my calculation is correct). Probably no additional trees as my wife hates when i have to keep these inside as we have no good corner to put them in.

Could i purchase some 5000K CFLs and put them in the clamp on reflector type lamps? Or but a 2 lamp 4' T5 fixture and mount across a pole and cover both plants? I would like to try and stay under $50 if possible.

1000w would be extreme for 2 trees but 250w could be reasonable.

I don't know if you care about growing indoors or just overwintering.

Mr. kitchen

------------I would like to try and stay under $50---------------

No problem reflector clamp lamps 5.99 X 5 of them = $30
23 watt CFL's daylight. 5 of them at $2.5 each ======$7.50
Taxes====================================$12.5

Total======================================$50.0

You will have enough light to get your garden starts for spring. building something like a small box like mine will only take a little room and work wonders on 5 daylight CFL's of 23 watts. You probably have seen my pics. This is a link to give you access to every picture in order of my uploading. Check out for any ideas that may help. These grow boxes can hang from the joists a not touch the cold ground. 99% of the fun is setting them up for indoor growing.

Steve

Here is a link that might be useful: http://s1094.photobucket.com/user/wreristhechimney/library/?view=recent&page=1

Thanks all. Just want to overwinter and keep alive. Steve no real space for outside and won't have room for a grow box inside.

Here is a pic of the two trees. They get some decent light here since it is a south south west facing window with no trees blocking. It still was t enough last year and I don't know that I can keep them there all winter.

pip13, what is "1000w hps"? Please provide more info on your grow light setup.

1000w is the power level.

hps is the type of bulb. High pressure sodium. A high efficiency yellow color bulb.

You want about 50 watts for every square foot of grow area.

i don't have the lights anymore. Insurance reasons. I'm in an apartment owned by my employer.

This thread reappeared at the perfect time. I've been thinking of this to prepare for the winter. I have two locations where I will be putting my trees - both with decent window light (east-south). I have over-wintered my trees there the last three years and have had no big issues. However, this year I have more trees to worry about and some will not get the best spot by the windows. I cannot hang anything either. My thought was to buy some floor lamps and fit them with the grow bulbs (which type?) and angle them towards the trees. I will post a pic of the rooms in the next post. I tried from my phone earlier and the site deleted my entire post. The questions are:

1. What type of lightbulbs can I use with a regular floor lamp? Do you have specific recommendations? Intensity?

2. How many lamps do I need and how close to the trees should they be. Ideally, I would like to not just overwinter them, but promote some type of growth. As I will have decent window light, hopefully I will not need too much more artificial light?

Don't point lights up. Point them down. The sun never shines from the ground.

Yeah Pip, I may have not expressed myself correctly. I need to angle them down. Here are pics of my rooms...

I will move the books and chairs out of the sunroom to make space...

Pip

The New Zealand lemonade tree cuttings should be there Wednesday. I had a recent growth an I could find no large buds. I place small bud Scion wood in water for a few days and the buds swell. I have more success with these buds in grafting.Put them in the north window not in sun. Refresh the water each day or more.

Luxrite LR20200 (6-Pack) 23-Watt CFL T2 Mini Spiral Light Bulb, Equivalent To 100W Incandescent, Day Light 6500K, 1600 Lumens, E26 Standard Base, UL-Listed https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015G9N3S0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_x9Bvxb9Z2CW60

Will these work?

I have a 600w HPS (sometimes I switch with a MH)- have it on a wemo smart switch scheduled to part mid part low rate time of day during weekday n longer hours on weekend

Future Harvest Development Sun Blaster 26W CFL 6400K Lighting https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AKKU7SA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_ZyCvxb33F8N78Or this:.

Devsense, is that a lightbulb? I will need a temporary setup with floor lamps that I can tilt towards the plants.

it's a dimmable ballast with bulb in a reflector hanging from ceiling. heres a link to show as an example. http://www.bghydro.com/grow-lights/hps-grow-lights/600w-hps-grow-light-systems/600-hps-yield-master-grow-light-system.html. on a different note I would love to know if anyone had success with LED n if so which brand

That's a great setup, but it would not work for my room.

Sun Blaster 26W CFL 6400K Lighting----A realk waste of money. very over priced.

600 HPS Yield Master Grow Light System. good but not very attractive for living areas.

this looks good in basementMore basement equipment.Use 23 watt daylight flood light CFL's They will direct most of the light onto your trees. This may look nice in your living area. They can be cheep to very pricey. A regular CFL will send ligh all over unless you use a bucket/box light system shown above.

Thanks Steve! That fixture may work since I can point them in different directions. I may need two of them. I will look for those bulbs on Amazon.

any big box store carries these bulbs for a lot less $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ than amazon. The label "Grow lights" is a con job. There is no such thing as a glow light. A standard 23 watt CFL marked daylight is the best for growing plants. LED bulbs may work well. It is much easier to make a flood LED than a flood CFL and may be cheaper in the LED form

1) What do you think of this LED: http://www.amazon.com/LED-Grow-Light-Hydroponic-Combination/dp/B01BD6BN00?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

2) Any suggestions for how to hang CFL floods above trees?

3) How many 23 w CFL floods per tree and how close to tree?

Steve - thats right the HPS light is pretty harsh , for me its in a basement room with south facing windows it still lights up the backyard . I like the MH color better . Thats why am exploring LEDs much less power consumption as well.

Steve, what devsense mentioned is something I've thought of....would the energy savings eventually make the LEDs cheaper? I looked into lamps with adjustable heads...I may head over to Ikea in the near future to explore there...

The big box store will often chose out an LED bulb to deep discount to bring r you into the store. These are the only bulbs worth while. otherwise the flood CFL's are your best bet. Since you have a lot of window space the cheapest bulbs (2700K) will do your plants justice. They go on sale much more often. I have seen them as low as $0.69 limit 10 with $40 purchase. It would not be hard to fine items worth spending $40 on for the house. Perlite, fertilizer, pine fines, insecticide, and etc. You might have to wait a half year but you don't need them for a half year. I do not have the window space so I need the daylight bulbs (5900K or higher).

Thank you Steve! Do you think the 5900 or higher would be too much for my trees though? I would love to have strong growth during the winter...

Steve, how many daylight flood light 5900K bulbs per tree (or per share foot)?

Laura

5900 would be great for your trees but they are rarely the bulb put on deep discount to draw people in. Depends on costs. The higher the k the better.

Vladimir

I use one bulb per tree inside an aluminum foil lined bucket light over the tree

One 23 watt CFL bulb in each. For the big box above the first level of light has 12 CFL's at 23 watts. they light the beats and warm the floor that the citrus trees sit on. the top has 20 CFL's of 23 watts. Basement temp--50F. Grow box ground at beet roots---65F. beets ceiling 75F. Citrus floor---80F. Citrus ceiling--- 95F These temps aren't totally accurate but close to the ratios to basement temperature.

Nothing you would want seen anywhere else but your basement 'OUT OF SIGHT"

Thanks Steve! For those of us who cannot have a setup like yours, if I were to get lamps with adjustable heads that I can point towards the trees (as a supplemental light source), about how many lights per square foot and at what distance do they need to be? Sorry for all the questions Steve!

Steve, my question is based on the assumption I will be using the stronger, 5900+ bulbs. I don't mind the extra $$ assuming I don't need to buy 30 of them ;-)

Laura

You have the best idea for your place and setup.

My goal is to get my tree from a small tree to a medium size tree in one summer followed by one winter in bucket lights then into the ground they go. I get three years worth of growth in a year and a half yeas this way. As our ants and uncles die my wife is saving memories (possessions) and I no longer have any room inside my house for citrus trees. Last winter they were on the bed in the extra bed room. My green house LEAKS water and memories can't be safely stored there

Pip

The scion wood should arrive today. Happy grafting. I am going to start grafting this weekend for both the Meiwa and New Zealand.

What are the differences between these two? I was hoping to go with the basic daylight bulbs in the first pic, but then I saw these in an article Vladimir sent me about the types of growing light....I'm all confused now. Lol

The last one is quite a bit more $$

Laura

the CFL bulb are 1/4 the price each and would look good in two floor lights of 3 bulbs each

Thanks Steve! That's what I was hoping to hear....

The advantage of LED's. light shines in one direction so if all the led's are pointed in a narow range forward, then most of the light will hit your trees. The life expectancy of the LED bulbs are 50,000 hours but the electronics in it probably won't exceed much over 6000 hr. You and I loose. The multi color lights is largely a gimmick. Single color bulbs are less efficient than all spectrum bulb. So lets put all the diodes in all spectrum instead of having a group of one color combined with a group of other individual colors. Citrus trees are slower in winter because of many reason with one being less light. trees are genetically coded to sow down to day length, decreasing solar angle, light wavelength shifts as the solar angle changes through out are seasons.

BR40 CFL - 23 Watt - 120W Equal - 6500K Full Spectrum Daylight

this is the best bulb for your trees and will look good in you living area. check out this company's link and check out Home depot or other for equivelent. If you value time and don't mind reasonable sipping cost than just get the above. Home depot may have a 6 pack going for much less. They may not. Kroger's will rip you off on these. No rush you have 5+ months left.

Thank you Steve! I so appreciate your time and wise advice. I will order now so that I can have them when I go looking for a lamp to buy. I can take one with me to make sure they fit properly.