Basement hibiscus

[helixturnhelix]

Hi everyone!

I think I have enough photos and blooms to conclude that it is possible to grow hibiscus and have them flourish under 100% artificial light.  What I found most interesting about my experience using artificial light is how little light is actually required to get flowering.  Some of the plants that are budding and blooming are a few inches to the side of the T5 light fixtures and over a foot below it.  It is pretty interesting to say the least!

Specs:

2 4 tube 4 foot T5 fixtures, using 6400K bulbs (bloom bulbs in the 5000k spectrum are not needed to get lots of blooms from hibiscus)
2 clamp on lights with basic daylight bulbs you can get at any hardware store

Photoperiod:

14 hours of light 10 hours of dark

Nutrients:

Epsom salts (1/2 tsp per 1 gallon pot) once a month
1/2 tsp of Foxfarms Biogrow hydroponics per gallon for every watering

Temperature and humidity:

It varies from 68-72 night and day. 
Humidity hovers at around 60%

Pest management:

The occasional spraying of hort oil to control spider mite breakouts. 

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do on a daily basis!

[farmer d]

Looks fantastic Chris!  Great job and enjoy it every minute you can, I know I would be living down there most of the time if that was my digs....

Farmer D

[helixturnhelix]

Thank you Darren,

I wish I had a nice big yard to plant my hibiscus in the ground, but this satisfies the obsession for the time being   It is nice that you can control most of the parameters in an indoor setting so no worries about crazy weather.  However, I will never be able to get large sized plants with tons of multiples like you have in your yard

Here are a few bloom pics from today,  Arabian Princess was unbelievable,  I can see why Charlie loves it so much.

[roadrunner]

Wow Chris, that is incredible.  How many plants are you growing under lights in your basement?  Those blooms are beautiful.  I wonder if a variation of your setup would be practical for overwintering some of my collection in the house.  I have too many plants and not enough windows so many of the plants get a bit leggy by the time it's warm enough to move them back outside.  I need to come up with something to supplement the natural light which apparently isn't enough for many of them.

dave

[helixturnhelix]

Hi Dave,

I think that T5 lights are a great investment to overwinter your plants.  I have found that my plants are very compact (nutrient regime is in low nitrogen), while still seeing lots of nice blooms. The 4 foot 4 bulb units are only 150ish and very energy efficient.  

[Charlie]

Chris, thanks for posting your "artificial lights" only technique. I'm sure there are other people out there who either are or could be growing hibiscus this way.

Charlie

[helixturnhelix]

I am glad that the indoor "growing" industry has taken root, as I could not have hoped to achieve positive results like this without advancement in these technologies.  I hope that they will continue to thrive under these conditions. 

[Mike]

Chris
The T5 lights that you are using are they the High Output ones or are they the standard T5s . The High Output ones are 55 watt per bulb where the standard ones are about 32 watts . I have some high output ones , they put out quiet a bit to heat if I run them all day , mine have 8, 4 foot bulbs .
The reason I asked is because I took some of my plants in and have them in a spare room the temp. for the next week or two is 100 deg. or higher and some of them don't like it .

[Charlie]

Mike, I have a sealed room that has about 40 of the old style 4 foot fluorescent fixtures with 2 bulbs per fixture. You wouldn't say by touching them that any one of the fixtures puts out much heat but I have to run 2 air conditioners in this room to keep the temperature from hitting 115F which is enough to kill young hibiscus. The ACs, which have thermostats, keep the temp at a steady 80-85F all the time. I never have to add extra heat even when it is 35F outside due to the heat from the fixtures.

Fluorescents are much cooler than Metal Halide and HP Sodium lights but are still warm enough to need some cooling in certain circumstances.

Charlie

[helixturnhelix]

I would love to see some pictures of your grow room charlie!  Is this where you strike cuttings?

Three podmates all budded up at the same time and bloom on the same days,  pretty interesting how these three are all in sync.  

[helixturnhelix]

Good bloom day today in the grow area!

[Yashodhara]

Whoa Chris... It's Bloomapaloosa at your place! Awesome!!!  

[Darkhorse]

Nice, Chris!  I love your fish curtains.  Haha.

[Cindy]

Wow, Chris, gorgeous!!!! I was so busy updating the store on the 4th that I didn't see this post. Very cool what you can do with grow lights in a basement these days!
Cindy

[helixturnhelix]

Thanks Cindy, seems to be a great environment for growing and blooming.  I never expected to get as many blooms with good size indoors with no natural sunlight. 

A picture today, It's a Wonderful Life  and Silver Dragon taking center stage.