Live plant problems.

[Oski]

Hi there im having problems keeping my plants alive and have done a small fortune on Fiscus etc, they keep dropping their leaves,I honestly have brought so many now, its starting to get silly lol.

I think the problem is they dont have enough natural light? as my panther setup is near the window and his umbrellas tree's are fine,
My female used to be there and her pothos etc were fine, now they look not very good since moving her from near the window, as they get a bit of natural ight from there.

I know that i have not watered them enough as the soil was very dry in my last batch of Fiscus that have dropped their leaves, so other than water a bit more, im thinking of buying a grow light/daylight bulb?

Do these work well? and also would you go for a linear tube type one or a normalbulb type?

I was thinking of doing this, and having a few on rotation so say have them in the setups for two weeks then swap them for the ones outside the setup etc?

Also do the grow lights produce alot of heat? or cause any problems that i should know of? and would they need a reflector etc? thanks

 

[Miss Lily]

I've never had much luck with ficus either. I don't bother with them now - I just stick to the trusty Schefflera and Hibiscus, lol!

 

[Olimpia]

I have a 6500k daylight linear fluorescent bulb and it works super well. It's relatively inexpenive, at $7 the bulb and $7 the fixture at Home depot or Lowes. And mine only produces a few degrees of heat, nothing that alters the heat in the cage very much. Perhaps a couple degrees.

 

[Oski]

I've never had much luck with ficus either. I don't bother with them now - I just stick to the trusty Schefflera and Hibiscus, lol!

Lol i must have shares in B & Q the amount of money i have wasted on Fiscus, would you say the umbrellas are alot better then?

I only have very small ones but they seem good, but have seen big ones in another shop, i may buy a load and try them i did have some medium ones but my female snapped them all she is to heavy to sit on them lol

And Hibiscus all the garden centre's near me still have none and i cant find any big pothos anymore, im not having much luck with them at the moment.

 

[Oski]

I have a 6500k daylight linear fluorescent bulb and it works super well. It's relatively inexpenive, at $7 the bulb and $7 the fixture at Home depot or Lowes. And mine only produces a few degrees of heat, nothing that alters the heat in the cage very much. Perhaps a couple degrees.

Hi thanks , do you use a reflector with it? and also how long do you keep them on for? i heard they can be good for your cham too as they produce a natural different source of light?

 

[Miss Lily]

Yeah, Umbrellas seem to be so much better imo! I still have an umbrella plant of Lily's - it must be over 2 years old now. Hibiscus are usually available during the summer - if you have a Thompson's garden centre near you, they have quite big ones for £7.99.

 

[Olimpia]

Hi thanks , do you use a reflector with it? and also how long do you keep them on for? i heard they can be good for your cham too as they produce a natural different source of light?

No, just the fixture. It has no glass or plastic or anything around the bulbs. I have it on the same timer as the other lights, so it's on 12 hours. I don't know if it has any benefits for your cham, but I don't think there are any negative effects. At least I have never heard of any, and it's great for my plants. Mine used to die all the time as well!

 

[Oski]

Yeah, Umbrellas seem to be so much better imo! I still have an umbrella plant of Lily's - it must be over 2 years old now. Hibiscus are usually available during the summer - if you have a Thompson's garden centre near you, they have quite big ones for £7.99.

Thanks i will look into that i have never heard of them, but i have loads and loads of garden centres around here spoilt for choice, but i have tried a few a couple months back no luck will try again weekend i thinks as summer is on the way,

 

[Oski]

No, just the fixture. It has no glass or plastic or anything around the bulbs. I have it on the same timer as the other lights, so it's on 12 hours. I don't know if it has any benefits for your cham, but I don't think there are any negative effects. At least I have never heard of any, and it's great for my plants. Mine used to die all the time as well!

Thanks im definately going to get one, as to be honest my males setup is a bit dark as its very big, but in one corner of the room not near any windows etc, and im sure thats the problem,

 

[Miss Lily]

I have a feeleing that I didn't find any hibiscus until late June/July time. I am going to a garden centre on Wednesday to look for a mulberry bush/tree so I will see if the hibiscus are out yet and let you know if I see any! They are usually in the houseplant section rather than outside. Interestingly I have never seen any hibiscus in B&Q.

 

[iLik3LIzards]

Some people have green thumbs some people have black thumbs.