From one of my recent replies to a similar question:

Incandescent bulbs are ineffective at stimulating growth. Light diminishes by the cube of the distance from the emitting source. this means that if you measure the light output at 1 foot, at 5 feet from the source, the light striking the plant is 1/25 of that at 1 foot, and at 10 feet, it's 1/100. Incandescent lights are better at producing heat than light. For this reason, in order for the light to be of any value, it would necessarily be very close to the plant - nearly touching. Of course, the heat produced will not allow this light to be situated close enough for it to be of any significant value.

Al

Al, I haven't used incandescent bulbs in years..Again we disagree but in a friendly way..right?(S)
I found they did wonders on some plants..especially those placed in a lamp-like fixure..I grew African Violets which bloomed profusely, and they work great for seeds/seedlings.

Also, I used (can't think of the name, but will describe) a metal thingys, lol, where u place a bulb..it had clamps on the end, and a long long cord. I used them every winter..until we went to the store one night and our old dog bumped into it, knocking it on the rug..if we had gotten home 20 minutes later, our house would have caught fire..it burned through the rug, which was smoldering. My God, it was terrible.
That's when I stopped using these bulbs, (incandescent/plant bulbs) and noticed a difference in growth..
Back to the lamp type, heat from the bulb would help seeds/seedlings, and warmth loving plants..Toni

I just finished setting up my office with lights for my multitude of plants, and I am very partial to putting compact fluorescents in regular lamps that face downward. I found one at Wal-mart by Lights of America that puts out 2000 lumens and is kind of stout, so it doesn't stick out of the lamp the way most CF's do. About 8 dollars each. I do sometimes use the GE incandescent plant reflectors shooting towards the bottom of big plants, but when those bulbs blow I'll be replacing them with the CF bulb. I even got a lakeview jasmine to bloom !! Of course then the secretary decided she didn't like the smell and claimed she was allergic to it so I had to take it home again but that is a whole other story. Not everyone appreciates an office full of plants.

I bought a 28" Lights of America fluorescent grow light, Model: 7020. I must say it works quite well. I was skeptical at first, as to whether or not it would really supply my plants the light they needed to grow. Ever since i have set it up and used it, I have been very satisfied with it. My Mimosa tree i have underneath the light has really been taking off this past week. It's been growing very rapidly, and dosen't seem to be slowing down.

Wal-Mart also sells Lights of America grow lights in the 48 inch version. They cost around six dollars a piece. Wal-mart also sells the lamp into which these lights can be installed. it holds two 48" tubes, cost 8 dollars, and not suprisingly, It's made be Lights of America.

- Pete

Normal flourescent tubes are all you need, don't waste your money on so called "grow lights".

Tom

I see people using chains to suspend "shop lights" on the garden variety wire plant stands. I really want to do this, but don't know how I would make it all come together. I have the plant stand, but where to buy the hooded lights/bulbs and chains and how to string them up will definitely be a challenge. Anyone care to walk me through this, considering I'm on a budget? :)))) Thanks,

I'll post a pic of the stand I'd be using for the set up.

GH

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:109980}}

Sylvania does have 'gro' fluorescents - 40w ones with full spectrum bulbs - you just have to ask for those specifically.

To Growhappy,

Most boxed shop light kits contain chains and screws to suspend the fixture from the ceiling. Like i said in my first post, Wal-Mart sells Lights of America, 48" shop light fixtures for about ten dollars. From personal experience, they work really well, and I wouldn't know where you could get a diffrent fixture for the same price. There are slots on top of the fixture to insert the hook onto which the chain attaches. If i had your plant stand in my bedroom, i would take some of those cable ties that come in packs of 50 or 100 and insert it into the slot and then wrap it around one of the bars of the plant stand. It should be strong enough to support the lamp. The only problem is not being able to adjust the height of the lamp, in which case you would have to remove the cable tie and insert a new one. (assuming the plant stand is non-adjustable)

I haven't done it personally but, if you would like for the fixture to be hooded so as to direct most of the light on the plants, you could drill 2 small holes for some bolts at the bottom part of the lamp fixture. The best place for that (atleast on my fixture, would be where the housing for the contacts of the fluorescent bulbs are located. i went and took a look, and it is the area which has the most free space. Using some sheet metal, bend it into wherever you would like the light to be focused most. (E.g: bend it more outwards if you want to cover a larger area or more narrow for a smaller area) you may have to shorten the bolts considerably, so the nut takes up the entire bolt and dosen't contact the bulbs or make installing/removing them harder. I'm not professional or anything, but it should only take about maybe ten dollars or more and a few handtools to do the job. It will sure pay off rather than trying to find one at a jacked up price for essentially the same thing.

I'm not sure where you can find some sheet metal, perhaps the hardware store has some in stock. If it were me, i would just cut up some aluminum cans and then just tape or glue them together. It would be better than using aluminum foil, since it will stand up to more abuse and wont crinkle. If you do decide to use cans, be sure to bend the edges of them with a pair of needlenose pliers so it removes the sharp edges.

I would take some pictures of my light fixture hanging in my room and try to give you an idea of where the bolts should go etc. but, my camera is MIA at the moment. I hope this helps you somewhat, and if you would like more info, go ahead and post again

-Pete, 18

After much consideration, I installed two flourescent 28" fixtures side by side under the kitchen island cabinets. They came with warm bulbs already in the fixtures, and I replaced one of the warm bulbs with a cool bulb, I had read that the best combo for plants is a warm and a cool. The whole thing cost less than $40

BTW, There is a growing-under-lights forum on this site

I have a lot of tropical and other plants in my living room. They get some light from the sunporch skylight that is outside the floor to ceiling window in that room but its not near enough light for enough hours. I have track lights on the ceiling...3 lamps on each side of the plants with 50W Grow lamps in each socket. Since the lights are so far from the plants am I fooling myself that this is helping the plants? I leave them on 15 hours a day.

I need to winter my banana and plumeria that have been growing outside all summer in that room too and wonder if they will make it under those lights.

thanks

Terri

Growhappy, I used the directions from the website below to make my shelves. Scroll down a bit to find them. Even though it says orchids, the design works well for most other plants. Extremely clear for those of us who are not handy, and lists everything you need and what it will cost. They work great and cost much less than the fancy lighted plant stands.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to build an orchid shelf cheaply