Which led for plant growth?

What Color Light is Best for Plant Growth? Violet-blue light in the 400 – 520 nanometer range encourages chlorophyll absorption, photosynthesis, and growth. Red light in the 610 – 720 spectrum range promotes flowering and budding.

When it comes to growing plants under lights, gardeners have SO many options. Are you a DIY-er looking for just an individual bulb? Are you looking for a standalone lamp that is both stylish and powerful? Or are you seeking an all-in-one grow light stand to maximize your indoor growing? Let’s shed some light on our full suite of grow light options.

Complete grow light systems offer gardeners a whole host of benefits, such as built-in trays to catch water spills, adjustable bulbs that can be easily raised and lowered as your seedlings grow, and modular design capacity, so you can expand your indoor garden over time. Plus, most of these models are just plain attractive! No need to hide your seed-starting operation away in the basement anymore; these are made to be displayed.

For gardeners interested in a DIY approach, or dealing with space constraints, individual bulbs and fixtures are a great low-cost option, allowing you to retrofit existing fixtures, or install single grow lights where you most need them.

Ideal for single houseplants that require additional light to promote healthy growth or flowering, standalone grow lamps and fixtures provide dedicated full-spectrum light in a variety of designs, including desktop, hanging pendant, and floor models.

Shop all bulbs and standalone fixtures

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Purchasing an individual bulb is a great low-cost option for gardeners interested in a DIY grow light system. Retrofit an existing shop light fixture with an LED grow bulb or install a simple hook and chain fixture and hang a bulb anywhere in the house. If you plan to use a fluorescent bulb, be sure to match up the size of the fixture with the correct bulb size; for grow lights, these are generally T5 or T8 (the “T” stands for “tube” while the number indicates the bulb diameter in eighths of an inch).

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Need a little extra light for your precious houseplants, but don’t want to sacrifice style, space, or a good reading light? Whether a desktop, pendant, or floor model, a standalone fixture provides full spectrum plant-growing power in a compact and classy design. These are ideal for single (or multiple!) houseplants that require additional light to promote healthy growth or flowering.

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Once you’ve settled on your grow light setup, be sure to add the right indoor gardening accessories to help lighten your workload and ensure your indoor growing success. Timers help you grow more effectively by keeping your plants on a pre-determined lighting schedule. Trays keep your grow setup neat, catching soil and water spills. Humidity covers help speed up germination rates, so you can grow larger seedlings in less time.

Fluorescent bulbs are an excellent choice for brand new gardeners or gardeners looking for just a few weeks of grow light use per year (seed starting, for example). They’re super affordable and have moderate lifespans (typically around 10,000 hours). Fluorescents come in an assortment of shapes from traditional “bulb-shaped” compact fluorescents (CFLs) to tubes.

For an illuminating deep-dive on grow light terminology and technical specs, check out: Grow Light Basics, Explained

LED bulbs have exploded in popularity over the last several years. They typically cost a bit more upfront, but growers may find that their longevity and energy efficiency are well worth it. LEDs can have a lifespan 3-5 times as long as traditional fluorescent bulbs, and specific “high output” LEDs deliver even BRIGHTER light for each unit of energy they consume. Below, we compare the 3 main types of grow light bulb.

Indoor gardening has never been easier. Grow lights for indoor plants allow you to cultivate a wide variety of plants at any climate during any time of year. These growing lights are specially designed to substitute natural sunlight, stimulating photosynthesis and providing the right color spectrum where the plant can grow and flourish. With the right fixture or bulb, you can have delicious tomatoes in the dead of winter or award-winning violets year-round. Shop for indoor grow lights.

There are a number of types of grow light types available, each with their own strengths and characteristics. Here’s a guide on how to choose the best growing lights for your situation, as well as how to properly set them up.

Should you swap out the bulbs in an existing light with special grow bulbs, or should you buy a brand new fixture with built-in lighting? It all depends on what you’re looking for – convenience and cost or specialized quality.

Grow light bulbs are the cheaper option. For most people, it’s easier to use as well. Just take an old lamp or ceiling light that needs bulb replacement, and pop in a specially-designed grow bulb.

Grow light fixtures are more expensive, but they offer a more holistic solution. A single fixture can provide the illumination for multiple plants, dispersing the lighting evenly throughout the space. Because these fixtures are specifically designed for grow light purposes, they tend to provide a fuller light spectrum range than cheaper light bulbs.

Incandescent grow lights are the least expensive technology, but they are also the least energy-efficient and have a relatively high heat output.

Fluorescent lights have a low heat signature and produce a decent spectrum of light for growing. They generally come as tube lights or compact fluorescent (CFL) reflectors. Growing with fluorescent lights is a more energy-efficient option than growing with incandescent lights, but they tend to be a more expensive option.

LED grow lights offer the latest technology on the market today. Extremely energy-efficient, they have an ultra-low heat output and offer an ideal light spectrum range. Offering low energy usage, low heat, and color optimized for growth, LED lights are the most efficient, effective, and customer-friendly way to grow plants at home than growing with fluorescent lights or incandescent lights.

High-Intensity Discharge or HID bulbs produce light through an electric arc between tungsten electrodes inside a tube fused with alumina. These specialty bulbs have a very high light output level and are commonly used by commercial growers.

Metal Halide lights use mercury vapor mixed with metal salts to create a powerful light source. They use a special fixture and, like HIDs, are commonly used by commercial outfits.

Grow lights should provide the proper spectrum of light for photosynthesis, which key to plant growth. Before purchasing a light, be sure to check out the provided color spectrum. Lights that provide a full spectrum are the ideal choice for your growing space.

This is where LED lights come in handy. Most LED growing lights offer both types of color spectrum lighting, so you can get all the benefits.

How do you get sufficient light for houseplants and indoor garden areas? Here are 3 tips on how to best set up your space.

Hanging or placing lights over the plant beds or pots is the best arrangement, as it mimics natural sunlight from overhead and exposes all sides and leaves of a plant to the artificial light.

As a rough guide, incandescent grow light bulbs should be at least 24 inches over your plants. Fluorescent and LED lights have a lower heat signature, so they can be placed 12 and 6 inches over plants respectively.

Keep adjusting the placement of the grow light as your plants develop and mature to maintain the proper distance. Consult your particular model and type of design for exact specifics and directions.

And remember that the lighting level required for growth indoors depends upon the characteristics of the particular plant being grown. Depending on what you want to grow, you may need different lights set a different heights for specific plant areas.

How long to keep grow lights on plants depends on a number of factors.

Darkness is actually very important for the plant growth cycle. During the day, sunlight helps plants produce energy through photosynthesis. At night, however, plants break this energy down for growth and flowering in a process called “respiration”.

Check your seed packaging or plant tags, or ask at the nursery for specific suggestions. And make sure you turn your grow lights off every once in a while. No one likes to work 24 hours a day – even plants!

Not all, so it’s best to check out the color spectrum of the light you are considering. Lights that provide a full color spectrum are the ideal choice for your growing space.

If you have questions on how to choose grow lights, we’re here to help! Visit one of our Lamps Plus store locations to get help purchasing the best grow lights for your home, or contact us to speak with one of our American Lighting Association trained Lighting Consultants.

Photography Credits: Photo 2 – Potted tomato plants (Wikipedia), Photo 7 – thanks to Claire Barnes, Photo 8 – Herbs beneath grow lights (Wikipedia)

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Tested in one of our own homes, our pick for the best overall grow light is the GE BR30. This light offers an advanced red spectrum, ideal for growing tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, fruit trees, and flowers. At 120 volts, it conveniently fits into most standard lamps, which means you don’t have to go out and buy any additional accessories or equipment, and it should blend in pretty well with your other decor. Plus, we found that it requires very little setup (just screw in the lightbulb!). However, you do need to have a lamp on hand to use it, or multiple lamps if you intend to use more than one bulb.

We tested this bulb in a desk lamp and were able to adjust the neck of the lamp to shine on the plant. We found that the bulb gave off a nice, warm glow without being as glaringly bright as other options. The light was still plenty bright to give seedlings what they needed though, and we noticed rapid growth within just a few days. We also used it on a yucca plant and reported noticeable improvements after three weeks.

Unlike many other grow lights on this list, you will need to replace the bulb in a few months (depending on how often it is used). However, you can buy it in packs of four so you'll always have a replacement handy. Overall we think this is an easy, versatile, and affordable option utilizing what you may already have at home.

Price at time of publish: $56 (4-pack)