"Grounding" tropicals in colder climates

Motor_City_Zach

Hi guys,

Curious what the consensus is (if there is one) for beefing up a tropical (ficus toolittle) in colder climates (Michigan). About 6 months out of the year, the weather is too cold to have this little ficus in the ground outside. Has anyone ever done an indoor grow box? It seems to me it would be very difficult to give an appropriate amount of natural light, unless I put the indoor growth box next to a south facing window AND michigan weather cleared up a bit more from October to May.

Could I just get a significantly larger pot and reap similar benefits to the practice of sticking it in the ground?

Does anyone have any input on how many lumens for what duration of time would be necessary to replicate a growing season indoors for these tropicals in Michigan? (I know this is not a good solution but if I can help things along by supplementing the natural window light with additional light fixtures, I would consider it).

Thanks,

MCZ

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waltr

The very general rule for tropical is NOT below 50°F. That means inside during the cold weather. Supplemental lighting is recommended for best growth during the short daylight hours of winter.
Check into the indoor forum for massive amounts of info.

Motor_City_Zach

Thanks - I'll check that forum out. I should have done a better job searching before posting, but I kept trying different variations of grounding, stick in ground, grow box, ficus, michigan, and didn't get the strings I wanted.

STA4

Sticking a tree in a pot/box significantly larger than it was in before will not get you the results your looking for. The soil will stay too wet and the trees' roots could rot. Instead you you should scale up the pot every year during the heat of the summer. Ficus too little being a dwarf is also slower growing compared to a regular Benjamin ficus. Tropicals do benefit from a domarcy also- so you'll do better by giving them some rest. By doing so you'll be rewarded with more growth in the summer. In the winter I trim them heavly and cut all med & large leaves in half. This helps build ramification and the openess discourages scale and other pests. I also stop fertilizing from nov thru march.
See http://www.bonsaihunk.8m.com/ , Jerry has some articles on light and is a top source for indoor growing info. You'll see in one of the articles the difference between a flourescent & a MH bulb. I upgraded to MH 4 years ago and would never go back.

PatArizona

"...See http://www.bonsaihunk.8m.com/ , Jerry...".

I resoundingly second that motion!

Pat

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