There are no hard and fast rules and it's never just one thing. Seedlings grow just fine for me with natural light in a south facing room. There are plenty of windows. A small ficus calls this room home and is very happy. I've grown aquarium plants in this room with no artificial lighting as well. Along with lighting considerations, care must also be given to avoid over watering. Keep the sterile seed starting mix moist but not soggy. Also, apply dilute liquid fertilizer only after the second set of true leaves are formed. Some other things that are frequently overlooked -- seedlings tend to be less leggy if there's some natural breezes and good air circulation. My winters aren't too harsh so I set seedlings out on a bench in bright partial shade to keep them pre-hardened during daylight hours. Wind hardening is part of the overall picture. If I didn't have this well lit room, I would use cheap shop light fixtures with full spectrum (natural sunlight) bulbs (5500-6500 Kelvin). I'd run them on a timer for 12 hours on and 12 hours off to simulate a normal day at the equator. And I'd run an indoor fan periodically.

Hi Cole, The segments turning purple has nothing to do w/ watering, it's usually a reaction to stronger sunlight & does not harm the plant at all. I believe the thinning segments have to do w/ improper drainage, is that the mix they came w/? Is it possible it has hardened off & become impossible to rewet? In that case the water tends to run down the inside of the pot, right out the bottom & doesn't get into the rootball. These plants are best NOT potted up, they tend not to want it, have small roots & don't need the larger pot until the plant is much larger. I have some for several years in their original 3 or 4" pots. Also overpotting them can lead to overwatering & subsequent rot. Generally they benefit from withholding of water for about a month after they bloom, then resume watering somewhat & in Spring when you see lots of new growth, that's the time to resume watering more heavily. In the meantime, I'd take a pencil or stick, poke some holes in the top of the mix around the plant & then when you water, water down into these holes in hopes that the water will go right into the rootball where it can do some good. Additionally, there's lots of info. here on these plants. Pls. search around here for the link about Holiday cacti. It's very useful & chock full info. HTH = hope this helps.

diane nj, Thanks for the response! So sorry I haven't been on for a while, I've had the flu. I called J Perkins and spoke with someone there, again, about this problem. They are not aware of any problem with the mini Feisty rose. They suggested I have my soil tested. I am sending out soil samples this week and will anxiously await the results. They have offered to replace the roses if the soil testing and amending (if needed) does not work. I told them I would be happy to send them one or more for them to see the roses in person but they said it was not necessary at this time. In answer to your questions, I think the soil quality is good, at least by appearances. The soil in the bed is newer, from bags, and doesn't seem to hold too little or much water. The other plants in the bed seem to be doing well. I am quite sure I don't have spider mites, there are no pepper spots (I've seen them before) anywhere near these roses. I used two different kinds of fungicide sprays, one in a seafoam green bottle from Home Depot (can't think of the name) and the other was a Bayer brand. I don't have the bottles anymore because I used it all up last summer. I am familiar with the fertilizer, I'll give it a try, as long as my soil test results allow it. I've tried other products from this company with great results so maybe this is what I need! J Perkins says the roses should be about 2 - 3 foot tall by now and full looking so there's definately something wrong. I'm trying to be patient but after so many years it's getting tough! :) Nope, no rabbits! Our worst pests here are Japanese Beetles but they don't seem to bother with these roses. They sure love the fragrant antique roses though! If you have any tips on that I'd REALLY love to hear them, it's our biggest problem! They eat up the buds before they ever get a chance to bloom, and besides they're just plain disgusting! G.O.

Thanks so much for the suggestion! Yeah I suspect light might be the case. As you said, it's sort of a pick between the light and the sunlight because putting the light bulb very close to the seedlings (which is what I've done so far) blocks out much of the sunlight. I think I might switch to a brighter bulb-maybe a 100W equivalent CFL instead of the 60W equivalent CFL that I currently have. Should I be fertilizing the seedlings at this stage? The seed starting mix doesn't have any nutrients in it, which is why I'm using a very diluted fertilizer solution, but perhaps I shouldn't be doing that until true leaves grow. I am also having a hard time telling whether I'm under or over watering, especially since "watering from the bottom" doesn't seem to work (water just stays in the dish under the pot and didn't seem to be absorbed) and watering from the top results in water just sitting on top of the starter mix. I definitely have a lot to learn!!