Although I haven't grown papilios indoors I grow many outside. (see photo below) What you may do is gently lift up on the bulb to see if the roots are rotted off. This species does best with very good drainage, I have one mounted on a board as like a staghorn fern. It does like regular water, again with good drainage. They will always shed their leaves when the roots are disturbed.

This is my first year as well growing pumpkins. Out of 5 plants, I have two growing pumpkins. I've just encouraged support roots to grow this week, hoping it would help the plant. I have a lot of female flowers that are near blooming like the picture I've attached, but they usually die off before the flower opens. This female has looked about the same size and with the petal portion looking the same for about a week. Looking at time lapsed pumpkin growth videos, it seems like this stage should only last a day (or so) and a week seems like a long time. I'm worried the unpollinated fruit with die off before the petals open so the many bees in my garden can pollinate it (and I'll attempt hand pollination as well just in case). Why aren't the female flowers opening up? I check them every morning around 6:30 am. (BTW I've had some ants in the patch so that brown bit in the picture is cinnamon to dissuade them).

What look are you trying to go for? Are you cabinets sleek and modern or more traditional? Do you have pictures of kitchens that you love? All of this will help with your backsplash choice. As far as color for your walls...is your kitchen open to any other rooms? What colors are you using in the rest of the house? Is your oak laminate dark or light? Does it have red tones or is it predominantly brown? Knowing the answers to these questions will make it easier for people to give you suggestions. You are almost finished! The paint and backsplash are fun parts!

I grow a variety of herbs and other plants indoors under lights-specifically t12-without any growth issues. These are mostly plants that require full sun such as basil, rosemary and agave. That being said Japanese Maples do not require as much light as those full sun plants and in fact leaf scorch can occur if given too much light. I grow Japanese Maples in my garden and most are in mostly shade positions, so I would assume that the seedlings require the same growing conditions as their parents. So, I would not overthink the lighting if you want to grow them-I am sure they will be easier than you think.