I'll get on the case of some white paint / mylar and get the computer fans in there tomorrow, hopefully Edgar will survive! thanks for the input

She's probably pissed you named her Edgar. Not a very lady-like name.

well the donater was called edgar, im hoping to have to rename her Edgelina...

well looked at edgar again today, ive managed to get the temp to just under 80F, but still looking a bit worse for wear. theres what looks to be the start of new leaves growing further down the stem, and it might be just wishful thinking but they look a little bigger this morning. which seems odd as this is where previous leaves have fallen off.

would adding a very dilute fertiliser designed to help rooting and young plants to the next watering be advisable?

if it's designed for rooting and seedlings, probably be ok - plant certainly fits the description

I'll give it a try next time i water it.

Just took the foil down and the 100W CFL, still got the other 4 lights in there.

Would white paper work as apposed to painting the cupboard white?

white paper can work, i'm always on the look out for fire hazards though, aluminum foil painted white would be a great reflector

aluminum foil painted white would be ridiculous. First, the foil won't hold on to the paint for very long, if at all. Second, why in the holy eff would you paint foil? Just paint the walls of the box!

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A government big enough to give you everything you want, makes Santa Claus pretty much obsolete.

it's a stop gap, not a long term solution - it is definitely safer than paper
and i've used cheap walmart spray paint on foil, seems to stick just fine
it's the kind of thing you can use if you happen to have the materials on hand
my own preference for reflector material is the pre-painted white aluminum flashing available at the chain hardware store, very easy to work with, excellent durability and reflectance

well the CFLs got to 90F at their peak, and i can't see it getting much hotter than that in there after ive taken down the foil and put a fan in there. Is there much of a fire hazard to use paper? im going to work now and popping into the gift shop, apparently shiny wrapping paper is made of mylar, or performs like it, so il see the prices.

Is it possible that the plant is getting too much light? just been browsing different afflictions and causes, i think its either too much water, not enough nitrogen, too much light or its just got plant AIDs and its doomed like its siblings...

back in about 5 hours.

What kind of bulbs are you using? You mentioned taking down a 100W CFL and leaving four others? They look a bit far away (and pointing the wrong way) for CFLs.

The light from a spiral CFL is actually greater along the length of the bulb, as they're meant to be mounted horizontally and not hung vertically the way you've got them. (positioning them vertically can make them hotter and increase the fire hazard)

If anything, it's not getting enough light.

Move the bulbs closer to the plant and position them like this:

Attached Images

edgar_happy.JPG (64.5 KB, 9 views)

__________________
A government big enough to give you everything you want, makes Santa Claus pretty much obsolete.