Well...this is why I ordered four more. (Ooops - Guilty face). I realized some of them will simply not perform and I will eventually have to eliminate them. Now that I figured out the stand and the fluorescent tube, I have space for a few more. Hopefully, 2 will always be in bloom to decorate my living room table against the Bay window. I have only had 6 so far, but out of these 6...two of them seem as if they will never bloom or look good again. OI might toss them soon. They were the ones might husband tended to over-water over the summer when I was away, they were over-potted at the time, and he also failed to fertilize for 2-3 months in a row. They haven't bloomed in almost half a year now, the plants seem stunted (remained small) even though it's been 2 months since I fixed the problems they faced over the summer; the leaves are quite hairy, small and curled inwards. I will keep them around just to see the evolution in time...but I am ready to move on. Si I placed my first order ever for 4 AV-s from an online store (Lyndon Lyon). So far, all of my AV-s came from either the grocery store or Pikes - and they were all pretty usual/basic. I have seen some really gorgeous cultivars on LL so I finally indulged and ordered four (Witch Doctor, Timeless Memory, Red Summit and Live Wire).. Hopefully I will always have one in bloom out of 10 now. I absolutely adore the AV blooms but it frustrates me to see that all I manage to do is have some green leaves just sitting there. :-) As for what aegis said earlier... ... This is why I asked that question in my other thread. Do many people actually manage to get "everything right" at home and get blooms like those artificially induced by stores? When I first got into AV-s, I was hoping I would be able to maintain lots of blooms at home...enough to make a little substantial bouquet with them (not a sporadic flower once every 3 months). But then people suggested that if I want something like this, that means I want a show-worthy AV...which is apparently not easy to pull off. Will keep trying. :-)

I would look into a true 150w or higher LED panel. Go find yourself a WRX-C150, or an EGL-300, or maybe even the BS-29 or BS-43.

If I was trying to grow wildflowers in this relatively small area I'd probably start with plants for most species, and seeds of only a couple species. Scatter seeds of a few very easilt grow plants to get the ground covered and discourage weeds and to provide some first-year color, then little by little add in other plants. You should decide how you want to treat the area before deciding of you want to amend the soil. If you want to treat the area like a wildflower "garden" where you'll pull weeds, perhaps mulch, and generally put a little time into maintenance, then you can amend the soil. However, if you prefer to make this area semi-wild and not put too much time into maintenance, then don't amend the soil. Digging up the soil and adding oragnic matter will make plants grow better, faster, larger, but it will also greatly encourage weeds. On the other hand, a lean, unamended soil is better if you want to put minimal time into maintenance. Yes, wildflowers will grow slower in poor soil than they would in amended soil, but weeds will also grow slower, and the effect will be more pronounced in weeds, so on balance you'll have more wildflowers and smaller, fewer weeds if you don't amend the soil. I'd scatter seeds of Clasping coneflower (Rudbeckia amplexicaulis), Black eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), a grass such as little bluestem, and only a couple others if there is something you particularly like. I'd probably place plants (instead of seeds) of other species, especially plants that spread vegetatively such as Wild Bergamot (Mondarda fistulosa) and Mountain Mints (Pycnanthemum species). I"d add Nodding Onion (Allium cernuum) and Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa), although butterflyweed also grows easily from seed. I'd add a wild sunflower to the back of the border (Helianthus divaricatus, H. microcephalus, etc.) because I like them. I'd expect asters and goldenrods to show up on their own, or collect them locally. This time of the year you should easily find wild sunflowers, and soon asters and goldenrods blooming all over the place. It shouldn't be too hard to find a clump you like, get permission from the bewildered land owner who won't understand why you want some of his weeds, and divide the clump, taking a small rooted portion and leaving the rest. This way you'll get a nice local plant without disturbing the wild population too much. My rule is that anything hardy enough to form a healthly clump on a roadside will easily recover from me taking a small piece. There are other ways to go about starting a wildflower planting, but thats what i'd do.

If you're getting 2500 - 3000 lumens per square foot, that should be plenty. Keeps the plants within inches of the lights.