AusBonsai

Hey all,


I got some interest about how my indoor growing setup for my tropical looks, so I thought I would post here with pictures and techniques.

I grow my tropicals next to a large bay window in my dining room. I have one greenhouse and two aquariums that I use to keep the tropicals humid:


Here's a closer shot of the greenhouse. There is a light with a built in reflector on top that has one cool and one warm CFL in it. I will occasionally stick a humidifier in the greenhouse if aerial roots or the likes are needed/wanted (the humidifier can sort of be seen at the bottom right of the picture):


And here is a close up of one of the aquariums. I have a flourescent light on top and the tank is covered in plastic wrap. There is a layer of gravel at the bottom of the tank so taht the pots do not sit in leftover water. I leave the humidifier on in this tank for several hours a day:


The results I get from leaving gravel at the bottom of the tank:


And this is the other aquarium, which I use just for rooting tropical cuttings:


A shot of the hose from the humidifier going into the tank to supply humidity:


Hope this was interesting to some of you!


Ryan

Hi Ryan
You must really love figs to got to all that trouble. Here in Brissy I don't have to do anything special and it's prime growing conditions for about 9 months of the year. Thanks for a look at your set up

Tony

Nice setup Ryan and thanks for showing

Just the same, I am glad i live here
I keep all my figs out side all year with no probs, and get continued growth all that time

Ken

Thanks guys. It must be nice living in down there in Australia where I'm sure it's warm most of the year, I'm very envious

What a waste of a perfectly good fish room

Looks good, look forward to updates.

I've revised the $#*! outta my setup since last posting.

I've added two four foot, four bulb T5 lights and also built an indoor greenhouse. Below are pictures of what I did. Feel free to leave comments.

T5 lighting for figs, sorry for my disbelief mate, we have it too easy here obviously, keep up the good work. How cold is it there???

VelvetSicklid wrote:

T5 lighting for figs, sorry for my disbelief mate, we have it too easy here obviously, keep up the good work. How cold is it there???

Yep, it's can be a bit rough during the winter months

We're in spring so daytime temps are around 65F (18.3C) and nighttime temps are still going down to around 40F (4.4C). Cannot wait for summer

The Ficus Guy wrote: Cannot wait for summer

I bet lol

I admire your dedication to keeping tropical trees, what variety of ficus is it?

VelvetSicklid wrote:

The Ficus Guy wrote: Cannot wait for summer

I bet lol

I admire your dedication to keeping tropical trees, what variety of ficus is it?

Thanks! I've got Ficus salicaria, Ficus microcarpa, Ficus benjamina, and Ficus Ficus burt-dayii in here.

The Ficus Guy wrote:

VelvetSicklid wrote:

The Ficus Guy wrote: Cannot wait for summer

I bet lol

I admire your dedication to keeping tropical trees, what variety of ficus is it?

Thanks! I've got Ficus salicaria, Ficus microcarpa, Ficus benjamina, and Ficus Ficus burt-dayii in here.

i look forward to updates.

By the look of the frame, I thought you were going to use it as a Coffee table too

Awesome setup and thank to the maker, I do not have to worry about that sort of thing!
About the coldest it gets at home is about +1 Deg C and next to the walls of the house it would rarely get below 5. I leave all my Figs outside all year

Ken

Hi nice setup and nice timing for me. I usually just bring my best figs in for Winter while the others take there chances in the shade house. I am thinking about getting a light for them this year to see if I can get continued growth through the winter. Could you recomend a small light for one tree.
Thanks
Brett

Aquarium T5 lighting might be the go Brett, although buy the bulbs from the big green shed as appose to an aquarium with their mark ups It will have the specifics as far as spectrum of colour on the packaging for the bulb. Hope this helps.

Thanks I will look into them but I was thinking one of those round globe types