Did you know that increasing the amount of light your plants receive can positively affect their growth in several ways? This is called light increments.
One of the ways to increase the amount of light your plants receive, especially in indoor gardens, is by using grow light.
Grow lights are a fantastic addition to your indoor garden. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced gardener, grow lights are your secret to indoor gardening success.
They can effectively help your seedlings sprout ahead of their ideal planting season, as well as help plants spring up quicker, flourish, and stay healthy, irrespective of the season.
With grow lights, you can be sure that your indoor garden will thrive and provide fresh herbs all year long, even without sunlight.
If you are dreaming of a lush indoor garden but are limited by natural sunlight, here is a list of the best lighting increments that work for most plants. Read on.
Best Grow Lights For Light Increment
Here is our top pick based on their setup, effectiveness, design, brightness, and value:
LBW 150W LED Grow Light with Stand For Indoor Plants
The first product on our list is the versatile LBW 150W LED light. It cost about $30 on Amazon.
This product has full-spectrum lighting (380nm-800nm) and it comes with both timer and dimmer settings. It also comes with hanging hardware (adjustable tripod and arm) in case you want to hang it.
LBW provides the necessary light increments for various stages of plant growth – from seedlings to mature plants, and is suitable for most plants, such as tomatoes, basil, onions, and spinach seeds.
Whether you are practicing container gardening, raised gardening, or a hydroponic system, your indoor garden can benefit from this grow light.
Leoter 40W 80 LED Lamps With Full Spectrum And Red Blue Spectrum
Here is another full-spectrum lighting suitable for sprouting plants. It offers nine dimmable modes and a USB connection.
Leoter comes with four light heads, each mounted on a long gooseneck that can be adjusted in any direction. It also has a timer and a remote for easy control of the lighting.
It is effective at growing indoor plants at all stages, but we wish it has a longer interval beyond 12 hours. Also, Leoter gives off a purplish glow, which may not appeal to everyone.
AeroGarden Trio 15W Grow Light for Indoor Plants
The last product on our list is the AeroGarden Trio LED light. It generates full-spectrum light that can help your indoor plants stay and grow healthy.
It also comes with a sleek and compact design, which makes it a good choice for gardeners who love plant styling.
However, AeroGarden Trio’s three adjustable arms are short and can only accommodate houseplants up to 12 inches tall.
This lighting has a connected app that is somewhat confusing to set up. Thankfully, the app is not necessary for the product to work.
Despite these drawbacks, the lamp has lots of standout qualities, such as a convenient 10-hour timer and four modes of operations – full spectrum, cool, warm, and white.
Indoor Gardens And Grow Lights
Not everybody has an outdoor space or conducive all-year-round weather for gardening, which makes indoor gardens the perfect solution.
However, to have successful indoor gardening, there must be an adequate supply of light. But what would you do where natural light is low? That’s where grow light comes in.
Grow lights are special lights designed to mimic natural sunlight. Hence, they stimulate photosynthesis and provide the right color spectrum needed by plants to grow and flourish.
These lights help gardeners to cultivate a wide variety of houseplants in any climate during any time of year.
Amazingly, these lights can enable you to grow tomatoes even in the dead of winter.
Benefits of Grow Lights
Increasing the amount of light your indoor plants receive can improve the following:
Photosynthesis
Plants use light energy to produce their food through a process called photosynthesis. This means that an increase in the amount of light received by the plant would increase the rate of photosynthesis.
Plant Health
A plant grown in low light tends to have long and lean light green leaves, but a plant grown in bright light tends to have shorter and larger dark green leaves.
Plant Development
Light plays an important role in a plant’s growth and development. More so, plants need a different light spectrum at different stages of their development. For instance, a plant needs more blue light during the growing phase and more red light during the flowering phase.
Plant stability
Increasing the amount of light your indoor plants receive can also increase the plants’ stability.
What To Consider When Choosing A Grow Light?
Here are some important things to consider when choosing a grow light:
- Your available space: Check whether you have enough room to accommodate the grow light source. This will determine whether you should go for a light source that should be hung on the ceiling or one with a tripod stand.
- The size of your plant: Another thing to consider is the size of your plant. The light source must be taller than your plant. So, if your plant tends to grow taller, choose a hanging light.
- The type of bulb: LED lights are the most popular and most energy-efficient type. Fluorescent lights are pricier and more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs. Incandescent bulbs are the least energy-efficient and least expensive type.
- Light Spectrum: Full-spectrum lights are the best because they provide a balance of red, blue, and other wavelengths, which mimic natural sunlight.
- Light Intensity
- Lighting duration compared to the light cycle of the plant.
Conclusion
When it comes to growing indoor plants, it is important to provide an adequate light supply. Although natural sunlight is the best, grow lights can effectively replace (or supplement) sunlight for indoor plants.
In the post above, we have discussed the importance of grow lights and mentioned some of the best growth light options for most plants.
By carefully considering the factors above, you can choose the best growth light to ensure that your plants thrive.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
No, you can’t use any LED lights to grow plants. There are regular LEDs and there are grow light LEDs, specially made with broader light spectrum and higher intensity to meet plants’ specific needs.
This depends on the stage of your plant. If your plant is in its vegetative growth stage, 18hrs of on time and 6hrs of off time per 24hrs is ok. For flowering plants, 12hrs or less of daylight is ok.
We recommend that you put the grow light above the plant to prevent the plant from growing sideways.