Does anyone know if cacti/succulents will grow under florescent lights during the winter indoors???? And how much light would be too much?

they will, i've done it, but you still want to "shorten" their days to match that of their native areas. so if a "normal" summer day is 15 hours, and a normal winter day is 12, then that is the difference you are going for.

Most cacti want to rest in the winter so they can bloom the following year. Shorter days, cooler nights, drier soil is what they want. I keep most of mine under lights all winter, I just shorten their day-length, like Jiffymouse said, and cut back on the water. In general, most succulents are the same. There are, however, some strict winter-growers. They want the same daylight, temp changes as summer-growers, but they want to dry out in the summer and get watered in the winter. I have a few aloe that like it this way, an aeonium, and a few odd others that wait for the brutal summers to pass and the winter rains to come. One's an othonna, whose genetic origin is southern Africa, and it just won't switch round up here.

Well I have so many any more, and I had a few on my enclosed back porch (unheated), but now that the temps are getting cooler, I need to move them into the house, but no more room on the window sills where most of mine live year around. I do have two empty shelves with lights on them, and have moved some there, the lights are on 8-12 hours a day, when ever I remeber to turn them on when I get up and when I go to bed I turn them off.

Anyone know if the Carrion Flower needs to come inside during Winter?? I have it on my porch to protect from frost, it isn't cool enough for freezing here, generally. I brought everything else inside and am slowly finding room for them all....

Here is a picture of what I just put on one of my shelves, there is a poor pale aloe, which never gets any light and thought it might benefit.

Click for larger picture:

I thought I should explain, about the wire that you might be wondering about...I took some fence wire and cut it to size and attached it to the front and sides of my shelves to keep the cats away from my plants, each shelf has a separate wire front that opens downward for easy access.

i like that idea! thanks for the heads up!!!