Any impressive orchid display does not happen overnight. You can start to experiment with easier and less expensive types or jump right into the deep end of the pool with pricier ones that require more care. An orchid display, such as this one at the New York Botanical Garden,is typically temporary - because different orchid species require different growing conditions. They won't necessarily grow like this together or bloom all at once.

Experimentation is always part of the fun. While orchids used to be significantly less available and far more expensive, today’s market offers a bounty of options at very reasonable prices.

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Ultimately, the type of grow lamp lighting you will need depends on the types of plants you are growing (leafy, flowering, or fruiting), the number of plants you will be growing, the size of the plants, and the dimensions of your growing space. The more plants you intend to grow, especially if they are larger plants, the more grow lights you'll need (or more powerful HID grow lamps) to grow them successfully. Individual plants can often be growing using just one small LED or CFL.

Don’t base your lighting decision solely on the number of electrical watts the lamp needs. Watts are an input requirement of the lamp, not an output of resources for your plant.

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Love interesting foliage? Then you'll love Rex Begonias. While these plants are typically easy to care for, you can have trouble with them if you are overly-loving when it comes to watering. Begonia plants need to dry between waterings (just like many succulents) and can rot quickly if you leave them too wet too frequently.

Make sure the soil in your begonia plant pot is dry to the touch before watering again, and always keep water off the foliage, as it can cause spots on the leaves as well as fungal issues. Make sure your plant your begonia in a container with drainage holes, and use a water catch to trap the excess. Begonias like medium light conditions.

Some of the dual-band or multiband LED fixtures are zoned so you can turn on only the color or mix of colors you want, depending on your plant’s stage of growth. This is handy when you have a small growing space and cannot move plants to different lamps between the vegetative and flowering stages.

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Chlorosis can appear as an overall yellow cast to the leaf, or interveinal chlorosis (yellow between green veins) as shown in the photo – due to a lack of chlorophyll. Chlorosis signals potential nutrient deficiencies (iron, manganese, zinc); it can also signal poor drainage, soil compaction, or high soil or water pH.

To prevent cholorsis, feed your seedlings once per week at low doses, or every two weeks if you have bumped up to a stronger feed.

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When you decide to grow tomatoes indoors, space is a big consideration. Vining, or indeterminate tomatoes, can grow 25-feet tall! I'm guess you don't have that kind of space indoors. Be sure to look for "bush" tomatoes, also called determinate tomatoes.

Determinate tomato varieties are shorter and bushier, growing to 3 to 5 feet and putting on most of their fruit at the same time. Determinate types, like 'Homeslice', are better suited to normal indoor growing spaces. Many new dwarf and mini-tomato plants are quite compact, making them perfect for container growing.

New BOOK! Gardening Under Lights: The Complete Guide for Indoor Growers

Growing in a hydroponic system requires different media. Expanded clay pellets, known as hydroton, are often used as a supportive substrate in hydroponic and aeroponic growing systems.

Hydroton is usually held in baskets that are suspended in water, or in pots where water is recirculated. They hydroton creates a support structure for the plant roots as they are bathed in water from the hydronponic system.

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If you're a budding plant collector, you might soon find that your'e running out of prime window real estate for your plants. As you move away from the window, your plant collection ever-expanding, light levels will decrease. That means you may run out of room to keep the types of plants you want to keep, or be able to encourage flowers on your blooming plants in lower-light areas.

Most succulents won't thrive long-term in a standard windowsill, as they typically need brighter light. Creating an area where you can add grow lamps - say a shelf in your kitchen or guest room- can help you deliver enough light to your favorite plant companions. I created this shelving area in my garage to house an overflow of my houseplants and bloomers. I use an 8-lamp HO T5 fixture that hangs above the area, lighting assorted orchids, African violets, succulents, herbs, and more. I can rotate these plants back into my living space when they are blooming, or harvest herbs indoors all winter.

If you start seriously collecting certain types of indoor plants or you want to enter specimens in flower shows and plant competitions, an indoor-light setup will be necessary to stimulate production and force flowering on a schedule.

New BOOK! Gardening Under Lights: The Complete Guide for Indoor Growers