Uh, oh, ya caught the bug! You have the first symptom, wondering about space....

I have AVs in both windowsills and under lights. The plants under the lights bloom much more consistently than those on the window sills. The lights are on timers, and I can ensure that cloudy days don't affect them. They bloom all year long. And, they don't need to be turned as much as windowsill plants.

When considering a light stand, keep in mind the availability of fixture sizes that have plugs. Forty-eight inches is readily available and pretty inexpensive. One of the least expensive setups that many of us use is the metal wire shelf unit on wheels that can be had at Cosco and Sam's Club for under $80. You can get 4 shelves and have two left over. Remember to figure in your distances for spacing between shelves. Standards should be about 10-12 inches from the light bulb to the top of the plant. Minis and semis should be about 6-8". Wire shelving also works well and is easy to install.

Barbara

I did not see this before I bought my lights, the costco shelves sound good and reasonable.
I bought two, 4 foot fixtures by Hydrofarm,(to be delivered hopefully next week) they come with this deal that suspends the fixture and it can be raised and lowered.
I actually have a two shelf metal stand for a 55 gallon aquarium that is 4 feet long, I had planned to put one fixture on each of the 2 levels.

I had planned to buy egg crate and fix up trays with a community wicking system until I saw a post saying that root mealies can be spread that way. What do you think?

Sounds good to me Lucille.
Fred in NJ

I much prefer the lights, I can have more violets, they look healhier all around. I never got the hang of wick watering. My plants died when I tried that so I water mine with a turkey baster. Anyway, I like fussing over them and picking off the spent blossoms and such. Just my opinion. Whatever works for you, enjoy.

A little OT, but I wanted to get a turkey baster a few months ago to get water out the bottom of the layer of leca in some terrariums I have(someday I will install little powerhead pumps)
I went to both Kroger and Walmart and I could not find a baster. That is sad.

Why do some people's plants die if they wick? I do not want that to happen.

Hi Lucille,
YOu may have to wait until Thanksgiving for a baster. More likely than not wicked plants die simply becuase the mix is too heavy.
Fred in NJ

I have had light stands, but all of my plants are in the windows now. I have about 50 plants, mostly violets, in 4" pots on square food-container wick waterers. Most of these are pint size. I also have 3 small fish tank terrariums and 3 plastic prop boxes made from recycled plastic domes that came packed with supermarket cookies. In addition to the violets, I have a begonia, some columneas, ivies, ferns, and mini sinningias in the terrariums. All of these plants are thriving. The sinngias, etc. are not planted directly into the glass terrariums. They are in individual pots (with little wicks) standing on a piece of blanket material to serve as capillary matting in the terrariums.

Most of the plants are in south-southwest facing picture windows with lace curtains to filter the bright light. Some are in an east window, and some are in a north window for the summertime.

Plants grown on wicks do well provided they have a very light potting mix, such as 1-1-1 peat-perlite-vermiculite. I add about a tablespoon of dolomite limestone per quart of peat in the mix. I feed with about 1/4 tsp. of Osmocote 14-14-14 per pot every 4-6 months.

The main challenge to growing under my conditions is making sure the plants have enough bright light without getting too hot. I move plants around the house during the year to take advantage of the different exposures and temperatures. In the winter, my back room is too cold, so I put more plants in the parlor -- on a glass table next to the window and above a radiator.

When I grew under lights, I had 4 flora carts going with 3 shelves apiece. It is easier to get uniform results with the flora carts because the light is unvarying and hopefully the temperature is steady also.

However, I gave up the flora carts for the following reasons:

1) The carts were expensive, clunky, took up a lot of space, and added nothing to my decor. I much prefer the sweet, old-fashioned look of violets in a lace-curtained window. Also, I love sunlight streaming in on the flowers on a winter's day. Changes in the natural light are beautiful, and I enjoy observing these changes closely so that I know when my violets are happy.

2) Like many with the violet bug, I tried to grow way too many plants. Growing in windows means I have to face the fact that I don't have room for everything. I choose only my favorite varieties that also love windows. I carefully groom the plants that I have. This helps keep the bugs away, too.

2) Electricity is expensive; sunlight is free. For me, growing in windows is an exercise in being "green" and cooperating with Mother Nature.

Enjoy your violets!

QC

I like your reasons, QC.
I wish I could use more of my windows, but the kitchen one is pretty much the only one the cats can't get to that is in a room everyone can enjoy. They are not very obedient cats. They are probably not going to change their ways.

But you make a good point about restraint and enjoyment.
I'm getting my leaves and 2 fixtures and I think I will stop there until all the leaves are grown out.