Long time no see Morden Man (and it shouldn't be so long). I appreciate your comments on this rose including taking the time to post those wonderful pictures. Even if Queen of Sweden has a few prickles, compared to my Tamora it will be considered thornless by me (grin)......I just noticed last night while looking over the Roses Unlimited catalog that they carry Queen of Sweden. With a container rose (which is what I'm planning for this one) I definitely learn towards own root, so that could work out well if the rose is vigorous enough...I know DA likes to plant his roses in multiples, but I never cared for that for a number of reasons, one being increased disease problems in our hot humid climate where air circulation is so important. But if this is a healthy rose then that problem might be lessened somewhat.....And Kate, what you said about subtle pastel colors blahing out from a distance holds true here also. Those pastels can really glow in climates like the PNW or England where the sunlight is of a more gentle sort and often partially obscured by clouds. Up close and personal via a container on a walkway or entryway is a way to appreciate some of these subtle beauties......Now I just have to figure where I can possibly put two other roses since RU has a 3 rose minimum....Thanks to everyone for thier experiences.........Maryl

A lot of the cost is 1) what you are growing in it 2) how well it is constructed, and of what 2) the fuel type and your fuel costs 3) the proper sized heating system and distributon 4) the orientation of the house and microclimates. Actually, although it sounds hokey, the larger the g'house, the cheaper it can be it heat it per square foot of bench space. I think the most crucial factor in the total expense of heating a g'house is the needed temperature rise. I have long since (unless absolutley necessary to push a crop) stopped running my winter houses at the higher temps. This is referred to as the degree or temp rise . That's the temperature your heating unit has to strive for over the outside ambient. It's not a straight line, for every degree over 55 you demand out of your furnace, the amount of fuel it must burn for each degree temp rise increases. IT costs me a lot, lot more to run a small easter lily house at 72 for instance than a large bedding plant house at 55. I have my polycarb house with heat sink flooring and it gets a decent amount of solar gain, but once the sun it down........if a heater fails one can be in real trouble in about three hours. That's how quickly a house looses the stored heat. I'm not trying at all to discourage you. I think it's great and you'll love having a g'house. But, get ahold of a sales engineer at a greenhouse production or distributing company (somebody like Crop King who sells to the public as well as to the trade) and talk to them about your heating questions. They have all the formulae to hit it pretty much on the nose about costs. You won't regret it.

Hi Like mike I use a conversion bulb, works just fine for me too. All that humping boxes in and out sounds oh so familiar to me..LOL...I used to do a lot of that. "If I start growin in January and get one 400 watt hps how many plants do you think I can grow big. do you think that is better than twice the number of small plants." Thats depends on what you mean by big!!! If its just for say twelve inch plants to go outside, the 400 watts will cover effectively ten st ft maximum in theory. I use mine however over a larger area of about 15ft sq (3' x 5'), an oblong with shade lovers furthest from the light in back (pubescens, tepins etc). The results have always been fine for me. I can fit about a hundred (4"-6") pots in there and have benn known to practise a two shifts of 12 hrs system, but thats just like lumping boxes in and out again. The 12 hrs is not enough continuous light per day for best growth of the plants either. If you are wanting to grow plants and mature fruit indoors you will get a lot less plants under the lamp perhaps six to eight would be OK. If you can plant out early June then I guess its best to start in January, for chinenses and baccatums in any case..perhaps the pubescens a bit earlier still and annuums in the first half of February. It depends what you want to grow. All the best Guy

Rebecca, That's great to hear. I'm feeling content with our purchase so far, but I haven't started using the light yet. I'm planning on installing it today as a matter of fact. For some reason I dragged my feet about getting those adjustable hangers, more because I just got busy, so today I'm just going to hang them with S hooks and chains so I can get started sowing seed and I will order the adjustable hangers today as well. I love hearing about the positive experience you've had with them. I have never liked having to adjust the chains in the past. You're right, you have to hold the light up to adjust the chain. And the S hooks - if you leave them all the way open to make it easier to adjust, then when you try to move them the S hook keeps slipping off. We're going to tighten the S hooks into a closed position at the top of the chain where it attaches to our metal shelves and leave the S hook that attaches to the light fixture loose. At least I think so… [g] I was thinking of sowing onion seed, but I'm wondering if I've waited too long? Maybe I should just go with sets this year and use my space for other things. I'm starting out slow and sticking with the one four foot, four bulb light this year, but if it goes well, I may add another. What kind of bulb do you use? In the past, I think I had one cool and one white in each fixture. My husband brought me home all the same bulb and they all look like bright white. Wondering if I should take two back and exchange for cool bulbs? Thanks for your post and the photos. :-)