Your FLF is not going to like that spot. They like a lot of light. I have mine in West-facing window. My suggestion would be to put it in that lovely window you have on the other side of the room. Make room for it.

I'm not really sure that a grow light would work because there is so little space above the tree to hang one and anything else would be from the side which it isn't really going to love either.

it needs to be in the window to get any usable light. ..

it get no light from that window..

can it go outside for summer.. full bright shade...

many plants can cope with lower indoor light.. if they have a few months outside to soak up the energy they need to cope with the lack in winter. ...

lights would need to be inches from all leaves.. which might be very problematic on a 7 foot tree.. though i am sure it can be done...

ken

Every plant has what is termed an LCP (light compensation point). Basically, the LCP is the point at which the plant is able to create exactly enough food/energy (plants make their own food, sugar/glucose) during photosynthesis to replace that which is burned during respiration. Respiration can be thought of as the exact opposite of photosynthesis. If a plant is consistently unable to create more energy than it uses, it dies. No organism can survive long term without creating more energy than it uses. And unfortunately, what parts the plant spends it energy on are organized in a pecking order. When energy is allotted, it first goes to maintenance of living tissue, followed by production of fine roots, then development of blooms/seeds/fruits, then primary growth (more leaves and branches + extension of existing stems/branches), secondary growth (thickening), and finally to synthesis of defense chemicals. Mother Nature might have better thought thinks through and arranged for the plant's defenses to be closer to the top of the pecking order rather than at the bottom, but who knows what the world would look like if every plant had an infallible defense system ....... so that's what we're stuck with.

Your plant will easily tolerate full sun, and be far better for it. I would need to be gradually acclimated to greater light intensity and/or duration, or you can place it in full sun where the leaves will burn, fall off, and be replaced with branches each of which will sport their own foliage perfectly adjusted to the light levels where the tree is sited. I don't expect you to do that, but that's what I do when I bring my 45 or so ficus up from the basement around Memorial Day and put them directly in a full sun spot. For anyone considering doing this, it should only be done if the tree is healthy as it requires enough reserve energy to push at least a few leaves to the point where they are about 75% mature, the point at which they become net producers (instead of users) of energy.

Typically, the acclimation period should occur over a 2-3 wk period, during which the plant receives more light every day. If you want basic information about how to maintain your tree in a pot over the long term, you should find this very helpful.

Al

If an artificial lamp were placed not above the plant but one that is at the height of the pot and projects it upwards, what would be the effects on the plant?

@tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a), do you use artificial lights in your basement?

Thank you all for your kind responses! Unfortunately, I really can't move it anywhere else, even temporarily (the window section is my office and there is nowhere else for that), so it looks like I'll need to invest in one or more grow lights to ensure it has enough light to stay healthy.

If anyone is a position to comment on these, I'd be enormously grateful, as I really don't know how strong the light/s would need to be.

First option would be strip lights like these on the wall on either side of it.

...But it looks like all of those might be designed for smaller plants?

If so, any thoughts on something like this or this?

If anyone has any experience of these types of lights and what strength might be appropriate based on my photo, I'd love to hear from you, and thanks again!

The superior surface (top) of the leaf contains most of the plant's photosynthesizing machinery, but some of the light energy striking the inferior side of foliage can be utilized during photosynthesis. There would be a significant difference in how much that impacts the plant between species and the growth habit within the species, E.g., a low growing plant with the same ability to utilize light striking the inferior surface would have an advantage over a tree, if only because of the distance between the reflective surface and the leaf due to the fact that light diminishes by the square of the distance from the source. That's why light 1 mile from the sun's surface is about 8.65×10¹⁵ more intense than light striking the earth.

The effective strategy of covering the soil of small pots with a pressboard divider, then adding white granite chips (7 o'clock below)

helps to increase photosynthesis in the lower branches enough that the plant's chemical messengers aren't telling the plant the branches need to be shed. You can imagine how much that contributes to the plant's salability. I think almost everything that comes from Iseli Nursery in smaller pots comes with a crushed granite layer above the soil.

I have 64 square feet of grow space in the basement (2 sheets of OSB covered with white FRP panel)

There is a hole in the center of the OSB and the FRP panel. The framing is built so it slopes gently toward the hole through which any spilled water drains.

The lights in the image above are 40W fluorescents, 5500K, but I changed to LEDs about 10 years ago after a lightning strike blew all the fluorescent bulbs. Each of the 2 4x8 grow tables utilize 12 - 4ft LED shop lights, 6000K, 5,600 lumens each. Humidity is controlled by a homemade humidifier wired to an electronic control.

I have a small RO water system, so I can used water from that, with 0 PPM dissolved solids, I add a couple of TBSP of hydrogen peroxide per gallon of water and I don't have to clean it all winter ..... until the plants go outside around Memorial Day.

Al