Depending on provenance (area from which the genetic material of the plant originated) some (but not all, varieties) of F carica can be grown indoors under lights all winter. That said, it's not likely that a tree that does well or is from genetic material that does well in your zone will tolerate a lack of a chill period and/or the indoor stay. Just growing the plant under lights may not be enough, and certainly, humidity should be a consideration. Plants that are grown in marginal conditions may be tolerating continual decline and showing a net loss in energy reserves during the duration of exposure to the conditions. A steady decline over winter can leave the plant weakened and with little in the way of energy reserves to fight off disease and insects. Forward thinking, advance now - further along in the growth cycle, should leave us with the general feeling that an indoor stay was not nature's intent, and that nature has honed the survival mechanisms of your tree over eons through natural selection. Short answer: You can probably make it work to varying degrees depending on the tree itself and your abilities to provide cultural conditions the tree would prefer, but your tree will assuredly show a greater gain in biomass (showing that it would be stronger and grow better) if you allowed it a period of dormancy followed by quiescence (more quiet/cool rest) until danger of frost is past and you can put the tree outdoors come spring. Al

It depends upon the plant. I'd never use terra cotta for something that liked more moist conditions - the terra cotta wicks away too much moisture. For Mediterranean herbs like sage and thyme that prefer more drained conditions, I would. But it all depends upon what I have on hand in the long run. ;) FataMorgana

Thanks, Flora -- I really appreciate your thoughts here. Yeah, I just don't know what's going on. The leaves of the outdoors basil plant that I took these cuttings from were all were perfectly formed, not puckered or gnarled. It's only the plants grown from the stem cuttings that have leaves that way. And many of the leaves on these indoor plants are fine, but a good number of them look eaten and gnarled. The puzzling thing is that there are NO insect eggs to be seen on the underside of these eaten-up-looking leaves, either the arugula or basil. Every time I see one of these leaves I check it, but there's nothing to be seen. Here's a photo of one of the eaten-up-looking basil leaves. It certainly does look like insect damage but I just don't see any evidence of insects on the leaf. I know nothing about this, but I imagine it is possible that slugs or snails could have somehow made it into my house and up the stairs to the second floor, but...? I'll check under the pots tonight. Thanks for the info that basil, thyme and oregano grow in the wild in alkaline soils. I hadn't been aware of that. So your guess is that pH 9.1 water should not pose a problem for growing the domesticated versions of these plants? I'm as puzzled as ever, and learning a lot through the adventure.

What are the plants going to be growing in? How many plants? I wouldn't recommend the Aerogarden (unless you don't like gardening). It's very small, and you can do something similar that will work better. What is the space like that you're growing in? If it's a closet-like space, use a closet rod and some chain to hang your lights. If you've got the cash, there are devices that replace the chains to make raising the lights easier. If you're doing hydroponics, hang your lights, and always keep electricity above water so that you don't kill yourself if something leaks. If you don't have lights yet, you can grow very easily with some fluorescent lights. CFL or tubes can both work well, but which you choose depends on your setup as fluorescents have to be very close to your plants to be effective. Many small plants = tubes. Taller plant(a) CFLs. Don't forget to buy reflectors for the CFLs!