what color light should i use for the budding part of the grow? i have a floresent light now and i would like to stay w/ floresent. i am useing a cool color
HPS or high pressure sodium. if you want to stick with the flouro' you can. The part of the spectrum best for flowering is the red-orange light. If you do get an extra light, keep the flouro' on the case as well.
Both Phillips and GE sell floros that are specific to growing plants. You can find them, along with the fixtures, at Home Depot or other similar large hardware stores. But if you really want to kick ass, check out the T-5 bulbs and fixtures. Fluorescent Grow Lights > Inner Sun T5 System - 4', 8 Bulb | Sun System=
My flouro claims on the box that a 250w flouro' grow light is equivalent to a 600w HPS. You can see my light in my gallery. I'm using it to bring the clones through.