Plants Under Lights or "Who Needs Natural Light!"

I must say, without any heir of boasting here, my plants look better this year than I think they have ever looked in the past and I'm growing at least 50% more this year than in previous years.  Perhaps it's the realization that I must stay on top of the general grooming/care.  You know, watering them when they need it, feeding them when they're hungry and grooming off unnecessary leaves/suckers before they become a problem.

I believe I've mentioned in past blog posts that I mat water 100% of my collection.  Living in Denver, CO where the average humidity is about 20% (on a good day) the added humidity mat watering offers certainly doesn't hurt.  I did also add a rather nice humidifier to the plant room back in March which keeps the humidity at a constant 45%.

The material I use to mat water is the same material used to line the inside of ski boats.  It's an acrylic based material that is very durable, about 1/8" thick and is capable of holding sufficient water for 3-4 days during the hot summer months.  In the winter, I can normally get away with watering on a weekly basis.

Here are a couple of pictures of one of my many fluorescent stands (it's actually four tiers but only three are pictured in the one picture).