I'm looking for information on growing tropical plants indoors with grow lights. I have found a good amount of information about planting them in containers and wintering inside your home or garage. I haven't been able to find much information about keeping them growing through the winter or having some plants inside through the whole year.
I've found this video which is very inspiring -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0h79QNk838 The author shares some good information and tips in the comments. He pointed me to this forum and here I am.
[edit - he has a thread with additional information here -
http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=8861.0, I'd recommend reading that and the YouTube comments to get the most information]
In May 2015 my wife bought me a 1-year old Meyer Lemon tree. I've always loved citrus and wanted to grow my own, but I didn't really think it was an option in Ohio. I set the tree outside for the summer, checking it almost every day but it didn't really thrive. It might have grown an inch but didn't sprout any new leaves or branches. I brought it inside as the temperatures started dropping and set in front the window in my office.
Unfortunately, the tree wasn't getting enough light. We don't have any good southern exposure windows so I went to the local hardware store and asked for a plant light. I came back with blue tinted incandescent bulb and a reflector. Set that up on the tree and it loved it. Everything perked up and I think it actually looked better than it did outside. I did some research on grow lights and discovered LED. I bought a $30 bulb from Amazon and combined with the other light the tree started growing new leaves and even flowered.
I loved bringing the tree to life and helping it thrive. I wanted more! Fast forward a few months and now I have:
A happy Meyer Lemon
3 Figs Trees (Turkey, Little Miss Figgy and everbearing Italian)
6 Pomegranites, all 3-4 years old (Angel Red, Grenada, Sweet, Utah Sweet, White and Wonderful) - All bareroot arrived last week of Nov.
Garden Prince Almond - 3 years
Bonanaza Dwarf Peach
Pineberry
Miracle Berry
Cavendish Dwarf Banana
Tangerine
Valentia Orange
Arbequina Olive
4 different Rasberries
7 different Blueberries
My growing setup is now my office closet wrapped in mylar with a 150 Watt hanging fixture and 4 of the $30, 6 Watts. I have a 150 Watt CF plant light from Appollo arriving next week.
I'm currently battling fungal gnats. I ran across a lot of tips on the internet but nothing as comprehensive as this one -
http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=16330.msg208015#msg208015. Earlier in the week I did the first Neem Oil treatment which seemed to help. The order of beneficial nematodes arrived today and I'll be applying those tomorrow evening. I'm happy to be armed with many other great suggestions in that post if I need them.
So far things are going pretty good. The fig trees, pineberry, banana and Meyer Lemon are all actively growing. Everyday there is something new happening to them.
The Tangerine, Orange, Olive and Miracle berry plants are surviving. They look good but I haven't noticed any new growth yet. They are recently repotted so I'm hoping they just need more time to settle.
Everything else is dormant... which leads me to the main question I'm trying to answer.
How do I wake them up? Is there anything I can do? Or do I just have to wait until Spring next year, move them outside and let nature work its magic? In particular, I want to wake up one or more of the Pomegranate trees. Watching them come back to life again is going to be a lot of fun and help me get closer to the day I'll get to pick and eat my first one.
I'm eager to learn more. What is the optimum amount of light for the Lemon tree to grow vs. the figs? Can I trick the Blueberries into fruiting at different times of the year? The questions and opportunities are endless and I'm amazed at how little information I can find. If I was growing Marijuana then there are encyclopedias of information available... why not for a Pomegranate?
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