Phoenix Ryan, I love your set up! I even have sets of those shelves, but the chances of being allowed to use one for plants, no way its going to happen, LOL. What do you have on those shelves? Cannas? Gingers? And you have plants in hydroton. Are you growing your hippes hydroponically? Anna, my recommendation is start simple. If you have fluorescent tube fixtures from your basement or garage, use them. (I just pulled a working one out of a garbage can a week or so ago. Along with a couple of nice planters.) You want to use the cool bulbs and have them close to the seedling tray. If you go into a hydroponics store, you can get a pair of yo-yo looking things and adjust the lights: pull them down over the plants, then adjust them up so you can see the bulb babies. The spiral CFLs are available cheaper down here. You can put them in a round aluminum reflector from home depot. The reflector and bulb are on a clamp -- a cheap work light that you can move around. But if you're going to set up a permanent area, then just set up tube fluorescent shop lights. You can leave the lights running 16 or even 24 hours a day for seedlings. G

That is a 90 watt LED grow light that is supposed to be effective or cover a 5ft x 5ft growing area. As you can see in my picture, I hang it higher (3 ft above plants) so it would cover a bigger area. And the hippies seem to be ok with that. I repeat, this set-up of mine is done not to MAXIMIZE my plant's growth. This is just to get my hippies, ones that I don't want to rest, going during winter. One 48 inch shoplight/flourescent fixture uses 80 watts (40watts/flourescent)and can only cover around 1ft X 4 ft growing area. It is not the best for your hippies too but get them by during winter. I have 2 set-ups of these to which I use with the seedlings (5 seedling trays). The trays had to be switched around as the ones in the end really suffers with very little effective light reaching them. It is also not the best for the seedlings as you can see how their leaves elongate and reach for more light. But they survive in it during winter. So to sum this up, here's the math: 1 LED grow light.....90 watts....25 sq ft growing area 2 shoplights.........160 watts...8-10 sq ft growing area For those who would like a good indoor set-up that will maximize your Hippies performance during winter, go for Sir Hans or Laurier's set-up. They are the best that I have seen or read about and have seen very good results from.

Yes I've heard of this theory and though I don't subscribe to it (I leave the scape on so as to follow the natural process, not to bring unused nutrients back into the bulb), it never hurts to leave the scape on (in the case of a healthy, rooted bulb) but in this case, the bulb will quickly adapt. I'm surprised it hasn't rooted, actually. Though it is really hot in Phoenix I would imagine the roots wouldn't have to suffer as much. Then again, a pot sitting outside all day is likely going to raise to that hot temp anyway. This article is for bonsai... but it applies to ALL plants as far as I know Ryan

Priceless is right! What a wonder nature is... all it takes is one tiny spark of life to light that fire! You're very lucky to be in a climate where hippeastrums can be planted directly in the garden... that looks like a xJohnsonii bloom... a bed of those in full flower would look wonderful! I do hope they bloom for you in the future!