Can I use a reptile basking light for light for plants coleus, Persian shield, Angel wings, devil's ivy , Lucky bamboo, and I am rooting some plants too.. if any one knows a web site to teach me about proper light that would be awesome. I really need to start at the beginning with this lighting because I know so little it's scary to me. And I'd be very upset if I burn up my plants.
My angel wing was broke down into 3 plants from 1 and the leave's are turning yellow. I used Miracle grow quick start. it wasn't a very healthy plant. I took it out of full sun to inside my home.... it wasn't doing well outside either.
Are these early signs of over lighting?

Can you take additional photos, perhaps close-up of the plants? Can't tell anything from these, can barely make out that there are plants in the shot.

I have an angel wing plant my daughter had in her flower bed in full sun zone 6 b. obviously the plant didnt thrive there and struggled through summer as 1COULD ONLY watch. As always my daughter wouldnt listen to me if her life deepened on it. anyways she will be moving soon and I ask her for the plant.I brought him home got the plant out of the pot and down to tubes. seemed like a nice healthy plant SMALL but ok,,,, so I made 3 pieces of theses tubes. The main tube is one plant now and 2 other plants were from the main tubes growth tubes. idk what there called but anyways things were ok the first 2 days and now .... see pics please. yellowing leaves quickly geting worse it seems!! please help

Pamela, these are Caladiums, a tropical foliage plant that grows from a bulb or tuber. Is that what you meant by "tubes"? They are probably going dormant now, and you need to let them be cool-ish and not too wet for a few months before you wake them up again.

Mine here grow in the ground year 'round but they are frost tender so you will need to keep them indoors through the winter. Once it's warm - night temperatures above about 50 - next spring you can put them outside again and start watering them. Once you see new leaves you can give them some fertilizer and you'll have several months of beautiful foliage again.

I answered this in your other thread about the "angel wings" - they are Caladiums and nothing you do will make them keep growing right now. They need to go dormant and be kept cool and barely damp for the winter. They will grow for you next spring when it's warm enough for them to go outside.

As far as the reptile basking light, it's most likely more for heat value than lighting. You need to use Daylight fluorescent lights for indoor supplemental light, or a bulb specifically labeled as a "gro-light" to get enough of the right light for plants.

Pamela, your Caladiums would be prettier if you had them all in one pot - they look better in multi-bulb settings. The pot size you have each one in would be big enough for all three. I think I have about 10 bulbs in a 12 inch pot.

The best way to overwinter Caladiums for those of us who don't live in Florida (Hi Elaine ) is to dump them out of the pot and store them in a cool place (bare root) in damp sawdust or newspaper (operative word 'damp'). In the spring, you can plant them up and enjoy them for the summer.

If you are lazy (like me), leave them in the pot and store it someplace cool. Keep them BARELY damp. You don't want them to dehydrate but you don't want them to rot either. I water mine at the end of summer as they start to go dormant and that's it until spring.

As you just potted them up, I would unpot them and wrap them up and store them away in the produce drawer for the winter. Wet the bulbs and wrap them loosely in newspaper then in a plastic grocery bag. Leave the bag open so the moisture doesn't build up but just open enough to allow for respiration. Check on them periodically to make sure they aren't dehydrating or rotting.

That is a really pretty leaf pattern. Mine are mostly red with a small amount of green. It was supposed to be a mixed bag but it was a mixed bag of red with a little green.

Caldium were my very first plant as a teen. I was so proud of a large pretty pot sitting on my window sill. Suddenly, they started to die. Of course, I had no clue what they were or how they grew. I trimmed back the dead leaves expecting them to come back. When they didn't I tossed the whole pot of them out. Had I known about those tubers, how to store them, I would have had a beautiful pot of caladium come spring. Live and learn!

Cheryl, I did the same thing with my first pot of Caladiums, and my first pot of calla lilies. When they died back, I thought they were dead and tossed them. Live and learn!

Well obviously I have no clue what Im doing but I refuse to give up . Lol I have enjoyed gardening so much all summer it's been relaxing and creating these beautiful plants has been more than a Joy!!
So I am going to remove these from the very large pots they are in lol and place them in a bag keep an eye on them till spring make sure they stay damp not wet! not dry! Thank you all so much!!! I appreciate it alot. Im not trying to lose another plant. I lost 99 percent of my black eyed Susan vine to shock I believe. I wouldn't have that but a baby grew by himself in another pot that was with the vine! I hope I can get him enough light and everything he needs inside. Im struggling with the light I need inside. So if anyone knows a web site that can help me figure out exactly what lighting I need for my indoor plants , Im propagating coleus, Persian shield and lucky bamboo. I do have roots on coleus and the Persian shields so far and those I understand I need to keep warm but I have yet to find a web site to help me in learning what each plant needs as for light. Thanks again everyone for you help. I couldn't thank you all individually ATM kinda busy but you all have helped me so much!! Ty ty ty

I searched for these lights at Lowe's, home depot and a pet store. I believe the problem is Im looking for the bulb in a normal size bulb when I need a long bulb. Like a shop light? But I don't have a fixture for that type of bulb....
I believe I have to go buy the entire set up Because I can't find the correct light in a standard house bulb size. I hope I am making sense ... http://garden.org/users/profil....... I have taken your advice and I will be removing the tubes / bulbs from the pots today and storing for winter. Thanks. Million!!!!! Everyone who answered ty ty ty. I plan to respect to everyone as soon as possible.

No worries, Pamela. We all enjoy helping a new gardener get going. That's why we hang around on the Ask a Question forum.

I'm thinking you may be stressing too much about the lighting. Don't you have a windowsill that gives good natural light, where you can park your plants? Some plants might not like direct sunlight through a window, but most will do just fine there during the winter months.

If you're sure you need supplemental lighting, then you're right in thinking what you need is a fluorescent ballast set up. They are pretty inexpensive and easy to come by at Lowe's or Home Depot. Just hang it up, plug it in, and put in your T6 fluorescent bulbs. If you're really advanced, you'll get a timer to put on the plug-in end, so that the light will turn itself on and off. If the plants are near a window, then you probably only need an extra 4 hours or so of light from the fixture.

I saw those single bulb gro lights- specificslly marked as such - plus the daylight cooler K light that we use in lamps at local hardware stores.. We have Town and Country chain....in many states. Maybe you have or similiar?

You want a T5HO fixture/bulb, like this.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AKKUD3Y/



I use these for house plants, Hoya, Spiders and Snakes. I have them in my outdoor shelter for my succulents. My plants like the light and there is very little heat generated. Set them up on a timer and run them year round.

Wow ladies your awesome. Honestly I have been a google gardener since 2nd week of June . I obtain about 20 different plants, flowers from my mother in laws. She bought them for her yard didn't have time for them so I took over I am so very happy I did . It makes me so happy and that's not easy to do. Lol ! Funny story but I love them all so much and I have so much time in them. At the end of summer I had beautiful healthy plants and flowers. Just stunning Persian shields , coleus , too many Putunias they bloomed by the doZens! It was so pretty. I can share some pics if anyone would like to see some. I was too proud. So propagating was going very well with the very healthy plants I was working with but now things aren't going as well as I wished
.

Pamela, it is Fall. Lots of things slow down, go dormant, die back or simply die if they are annuals (like your Petunias). Most plants have a dormant season unless they are real tropicals. Do not stress yourself about plants that are just doing what nature intended.

Most of us adjust to the cooler seasons of winter by growing "other" plants that do well indoors, or here in FL for me, I can grow annuals that like cooler weather, like Nasturtiums outside from now until about May. You need to "go with the flow" of the seasons to become a real gardener. Don't try to fight Mother Nature too much. But for instance, if you'd like some gorgeous flowers that will bloom outdooors through the fall and sometimes even survive winter, try fall Pansies. They should be on sale at your big box stores about now, or better still, try a good nursery near you for better selection.

If you'd like to share your pictures, there are lots of forums here especially for that and you'll get to chat with lots more gardeners if you make use of the other forums, too. This forum is for specific questions and answers.

Lovely to see someone so enthused by their first gardening season, that's what a lot of us have been gardening for decades :)
Do post some photos and best of luck through the winter.
(I find Caladiums very hard to find over here in the UK.)

You can keep a running catalogue of your blooms here and notes for yourself...not in ask a question forum but ..we'll explore the site because you know what you want to keep and record ..even if just photos.

Before you spend a lot of money for a new light fixture...

I picked up an old desk lamp at a yard sale ($2) and purchased new fluorescent bulbs, one daylight and one grow light.
I used the lamp to start seeds for several plants (note: the lamp should be closer to the plants to prevent "legginess" of new seedlings).


This, plus my kitchen ceiling fixture, provided enough light to keep all these plants (75) happy for the entire winter inside my house.


Good luck and happy growing!

Wonderful! Ty you all!! Oh the desk lamp! I thought of that but I ask my sister in law for her desks lamp she had for nail tech tables. They would have been perfect! It's the same as desk lamps though. I looked for one this past week I'm hoping to run across something from a friend or something of that idea I didn't wanna pay too much for the light and I really want the light for rooting not so much my indoor plants although I thought while I had it some of the plants may like it too? Unfortunately I'm not understanding the lighting for some plants like I have a Cassandra I'd love to take in, he is beautiful. I read he would do well inside with well lit rooms. I can not give them a well lit room Id call it slightly lit because they are in the basement and there is not alot of light it has 2 small windows . Although they do get light. So idk if the Cassandra would be ok also I have a penta very pretty but same thing I read they need good bit of light . So Idk what's a good bit and what isn't. Lol