In my estimation, Jefe's post (a couple or so upthread) is right on target & worth reading a second time. Poor soils that remain saturated for extended periods cause a cyclic death and regeneration of roots that start with the finest roots first. The longer the cultural conditions remain unfavorable, the larger (incrementally) the roots are that succumb to saturated, anaerobic conditions. Often, so many roots die that the plant is virtually a large cutting. The lack of roots and compromised root function/metabolism makes it impossible for the plant to absorb enough water to replace transpirational loss, and leaf margin/leaf tip necrosis is often a primary symptom with low humidity contributing to symptoms as a secondary cause. In the case where high levels of salt in the soil are causal, the salt makes it difficult for the plant to absorb water. There MUST be a higher concentration of solutes in the water inside of cells than there is in the soil solution or water will not pass through cell walls (osmosis) into cells; and, again the plant would be unable to move water sufficient to replace transpirational losses. Leaf margin and tip necrosis would again be one of the primary symptoms. Prevent the saturated soil AND salt build-up by using a structurally durable and well-aerated soil that allows you to water often and profusely. Al

Honestly I find the more I remove myself from the care of my plants the better they do. I've tried so many things like humidifiers, heaters, grow lights, I even bought a misting system for amphibians and built a glass case for some plants. It all got to time consuming and costly to keep up so finally just went with the room at its normal light, temperature and humidity. I devote one morning a week which is Sunday from 6AM to 9AM to watering, if I have time I water a few plants again on Wednesday. I use a pump sprayer to water so I can control the water flow. I like to spray a small amount of water over a longer period of time instead of dumping water into the pot and having it spill right out the bottom. I feel this gives more time to let the roots soak up water. For plants in standard pots I will even put my finger over the drainage hole for a minute to be sure everything is saturated. MOunted plants and plants in baskets I will soak in a bucket of water for 5 minutes or so. You have to change the water between plants to prevent spreading bugs or disease. I use the waste water for my dirt plants. For plants that don't like to be dry I use semi hydroponic pots with hydroton as a media, I also have switched some plants to hydroton as the media in regular pots. Sometimes its hard to find good potting bark, I find a lot of places store their potting media outside where it gets wet and breaks down so if the bag isn't clear I don't buy it. As for suggestions on fragrant plants I like Zygopetalums are great, the scent can fill the room. I like the BLC Tangs and LC love knot are good because the bloom a few times a year. Brassavola Nodosa and Angracums are nice because they are fragrant at night. Check out the Oakhill gardens site. They have a list of fragrant plants , I also see they have a Angracum Sesquipedale in seedling size. Good luck

I couldn't agree more, John. Thanks for bringing this up again. CJ's point about the numbers being masters was very well taken, I thought. Also, I actually felt all the greenhouse envy seeping out of me when I read CJ's post. And if you don't know, I've had a severe case of GH envy since my days with tropicals, long before orchids. What's hard for me about indoor growing is the decisions-under-risk that have to be made all the time, every day it seems: is this too much shade? Is 95 too hot for them? Will they burn at 11:30am on July 10? Can I take the shade off at 3:30 or should I wait til 5? Should I turn the heat on now the night temps are hitting 60-61? etc etc etc ad infinitum. You solve one dilemma and another is waiting for you, or it's back in another guise a few days later. Nothing is ever clear and labelled for me. Makes my poor head hurt. You have to just grit your teeth and choose and risk being wrong. I always imagine a greenhouse as a sunlit paradise. To realize they have the same dim days each winter (Duh!), find out they have the *same decisions* to make: How much shade, how hot is too hot, should I turn the heat on, etc etc opened my eyes to a little reality. Every generalization has to be turned into a specific choice by the grower, every day. *Plus* add the worries about systems going out on a freezing night... This is what drove catt hybridizers to CA and FL in the first place. The December issue of the Oak Hill newsletter was all about trying to keep a furnace from breaking down on a cold night. Not much to envy there. I admit I do love to splash water all over, and a greenhouse is great for that-- but so is the concrete floor in my basement, or my deck in summer. So thanks CJ (and John). Now I can relax and enjoy what I do have instead of spending all my energy on what I don't.

"How much do you have in those LED lights? Be honest now :-)" Probably about 26 square feet of plants. Most young, mind you :) There's a ~85W veg chamber (1000 blue LEDs, 100 red, 100 orange, all xmas-lights) and a ~110W grow chamber (100 blue and 100 orange LED xmas-lights, plus a UFO) Or did you mean price? About $110 for the veg chamber and ~$155 for the grow chamber, thanks to diligent ebay-watching. Sure, it's "ghetto" (wood lattice covered in aluminum foil with foil drapes, hanging on clothesline from plant hooks), but hey, it works. :) Here's one week's worth of growth on two pumpkin plants in the veg chamber: The tray behind those pumpkins was put into the chamber right before that first pic was taken; it had been under a single CFL, and had gotten pretty leggy. But even the leggy stuff has been recovering under the LEDs; check out the leaves on this lettuce after 8 days (note the pre-veg-chamber leggy stems): When they went in, they had only one tiny set of true leaves and were lying flat on the ground. I'm documenting the process over on the Growing Under Lights forum; if you want to check it out, head over there.