Hi, I live on the sunny side of Maui, and we have coconuts in the garden. I can't help you with indoor growing, but can tell you our winter temps are in the low 80's during the day and into the mid 60's during the night. Our humidity is usually in the 80% range. However there are many climate variations on the island and coconuts seem to grow everywhere except at the highest elevations. Good luck with your plant - have you got high ceilings? I hope so! I have just planted a dwarf samoan coconut in the garden which is supposed to keep low enough to be able to pick the nuts easily. We have to hire climbers to harvest and trim our other trees. Best wishes, Jenny

Coconuts need lots and lots of light and heat. They will not die just because of a few nights of cool weather, but they will languish or die if they have to live in day after day of weather like, say the coastal areas of San Diego where it's never frosty, but never really warm either. Many houses are like that too. If you think about it, you never see mature coconuts in San Diego, even with its mild, but clammy Pacific coastal environment. On the other hand, coconuts do well in Miami, even though it occasionally suffers from some really nasty low temp jags that are lethal to some ultra tropicals. They don't need great soil. Think about where they come from. Beach sand is NOT rich soil. One other consideration is that if you are successful, your coconut will be a disposable item, as they really do get quite big. When the thing is just starting to show a trunk, the crown can easily be 20 or 25 feet across, so you might want to be careful what you wish for! Anyhowz, good luck to you! Coconut palms, IMO, are truly beautiful for the way they look and the sound their leaves make when the breezes stroke them.

Is it possible to grow roses indoors? I'd say yes, with some major caveats. It won't be cheap and it won't be easy. I grow orchids, and I start rose cuttings with my orchids in orchidarium, which is indoors. I've grown those cuttings on, to some degree. The first hurdle is to provide enough light. When I mean enough light, I mean more light than even high-light cattleya orchids require. Keeping in mind that direct sunlight is 10,000 ft-candles, to grow a rose, you'd need to produce (my guess) at least 5-6,000 ft candles of light. This would be about 2 feet away from a 1,000 watt halogen bulb, which is about the size of a street lamp halogen. The new LED lights may be able to provide it at a lower energy cost. I tried one a few years ago, and it was a bunch of hype that didn’t work to grow even my low light orchids, but technology has improved since then. Okay, so this is roughly equivalent to shaded outdoor area, which as we know is enough to grow a rose (sort-of), but not enough to for it to bloom well. So you’d need to double that. I’ll let you figure out how much in your area that would be for electricity, because you’d want to run the lights at least 10 hours a day. Another thing to keep in mind is that the grow lights are of specific spectrum, so if you want normal colors you’d have to choose full spectrum lights. (Aside: this would include UV, which we know is part of tanning and promotes skin cancer and can damage the eyes, so you’d want to wear sunglasses and sunscreen, just as if you were gardening outdoors.) Then there is the issue of heat. The lights would generate heat, and the fans that are in many units help with that, which also would raise the temperature of the room. You might need some air conditioning in the room in the summer, or leave a window open in the winter, although you’d have to be careful not to let it get too cold at night. Having the days bright and warmer, and cooler and dark at night is good for orchids, I’m not sure if that is needed for roses. My roses seem to do best at temperatures lower, especially at night, than I typically keep my house and warmer during the day, like 50-60 F at night and 80F in the day. If you didn't want to induce dormancy, then you'd be best growing roses like Tea roses, which can grow in tropical areas. Something I’ve learned from growing cuttings indoors is that roses, like orchids, need air movement. Without it, too much light will burn the leaves, but perhaps most importantly they will be very prone to fungal diseases like mildew. So you’d want another fan to keep the air moving over the leaves. For a full size rose, you’d also need the space, and enough light units to cover the area of growth. Basically, you are trying to duplicate the conditions that the roses like, i.e. recreating the outdoors, but indoors. This would mean an appropriately sized room with full sun conditions, and air movement, enough root room (i.e. at least a 20 gallon container), certain humidity, watering and fertilizer. It’s doable, as you can see from greenhouse grown florist roses. You’d just have to have the space, energy and finances to create such a place.

You’re very welcome Violets N Bunnies! I think your violets may need more light. Are your LED strip lights grow lights, or are they regular LEDs? If they are regular LEDs, then they may not be producing enough light to grow violets. If they are grow lights, then they may be too far away. I’ve had good success with keeping the lights 10 to 12 inches above the tops of the plants. I have 4 violets, a pothos, and a bird’s nest fern under my lights, but I would say that you could keep 2 standard 4-inch violets well-lit under each individual light, or 4 minis per light. My plan was to have my violets rely solely on artificial light, but my windowsill was the only place where the clip would fit : ). My window faces east so the plants get a few hours of morning sun every day, but they could rely solely off the grow light as well. The light works very well for a small collection of violets, but the only problem is that it is an obnoxiously bright pink : ). I have the light on while I’m at school and turn it off when I get home. I got used to the color and the brightness after awhile, but I wouldn't recommend having it in a room that you spend a lot of time in. I hope this helps! damask_rose : )