What Growers Should Know When Choosing Grow Lights for Plants?

Viona Lynn
8 min readMay 14, 2021

With the fast-growing technology of the modern age, the growers shouldn’t be worried about the grow lights for plants.

But there are some aspects that every grower should know when choosing the grow lights for plants.

We’ll cover everything about choosing the right grow lights for indoor plants.

Some of you might think, what’s the difficulty in selecting the light bulbs for plants? Any led lights are good to go, right?

You might be wrong this time. Home or indoor gardening has never been a piece of cake as you think. It takes some effort and dedication to make your indoor gardening dream possible.

That’s why in this article, we’ll be covering the facts that every growing should keep in mind when buying the grow lights for plants.

Can Any LED Light Be Used As a Grow Light for Plants?

Well, this is the most common and frequent question asked by the growers and we have a blog post talking about it before.

If you are a gardener of anything you know about plants, you should be aware of the fact that every plant needs light for photosynthesis.

Photosynthesis is the process of converting light into carbohydrates. So, it means without photosynthesis, your plant cannot survive itself. That’s why indoor gardens need to use grow lights for plants.

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Now, back to your question. Can any LED lights be used as grow lights for plants?

In short, YES!

Because indoor plant lights are much more energy-efficient and release a lower heat level than any other lights. But there’s another thing you should keep in mind.

LED lights are highly customizable and available in lots of variations. As for the plant’s point of view, we need light bulbs for plants that produce a mixed wavelength of red and blue.

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White LED holds a good mix for plants so that white LED can grow your plants. But there is one problem with the available LED bulbs.

We don’t know how much energy or power they release. You need those grow lights for plants which releases adequate output to plants, and not every regular LED bulb does that.

Because of the absence of power potential for not precisely light the ideal range, most of the general LED bulbs are not definitive and effective for plants as particular ones.

Or somehow, you’ve managed to get an LED bulb that provides sufficient output in white color; they’ll work the same as specialized grow lights for plants.

What Type of Light is Best for Growing Plants Indoors?

With grow lights for plants, you can grow as many plants as inside your house. The primary concern is which type of light is best for growing plants indoors?

We’ve seen lots of discussion going around with the usage of available LED bulbs as well as grow light bulbs for plants.

We’ve already discussed that matter above. If you skipped that part, you may go and check that matter of indoor plant lights.

As you all know, grow lights for plants is ideal for seedling and ensures the plant’s growth. Light bulbs for plants are used as an alternative to sunlight.

Nowadays, the unavailability of sunlight is not a primary concern for growers, especially for those gardeners who are cultivating in the greenhouse.

Grow lights for plants is a breakthrough in the agriculture department. Now you don’t have to wait for the seasoning to flower.

Everything can be done on a single platform. You can harvest wintertime herbs, and green salad under the shades of indoor grow lights. Isn’t it a remarkable invention?

The indoor grow lights is said to be the best for growing indoor plants if it has the following capabilities:

1.Right Color

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Remember, we’re using grow lights for plants as an alternative to sunlight. The plant that grows under sunlight gets the full spectrum of light, including the colors of the rainbow.

This means you have to choose those bulbs which follow the exact balance of warm and cool light that recreate the natural spectrum.

2.Light Intensity

Light intensity is also a significant concern in the growth of the plants. The intensity is determined by the bulb how far it is from the plant. Plants vary their need for light intensity. There isn’t any standard of placing grow lights for plants in a particular position. Every plant has its need to use light intensity. So, it’s better to learn a bit about the plant with whom you’re putting up a light.

3.Light Duration

Like every other living organism, plants also need rest. No matter what type of plant you are growing, every plant needs rest. Plants respirate in the dark, which ensures the plant’s growth.

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Learn about the short-day plants, long-day plants, and day-neutral plants, and make sure to give them proper rest.

So, these were some crucial aspects that ensure the quality of indoor plant lights. We’re not done yet with the topic. So, which type of light is best for growing plants indoors?

Mainly two types of bulbs that provide full-spectrum light, i.e., LED and Fluorescent. So, which one is best to grow lights for plants?

As we mentioned, both provide full-spectrum light. But the fact is grow lights for plants are way better than Fluorescent. LED’s are much more energy-efficient, and most importantly, LED plant lights are more economical than Fluorescent ones. These light bulbs for plants are specifically designed to meet the needs of the plants. They deliver the full spectrum and bright light that plants crave the most.

How Does Colored Light Affect Plants?

Ensuring the growth of the plant seems to be a promising and straightforward process. It happens only if you’re cultivating in open land. It’s quite the opposite when you’re cultivating indoor gardens. But we only prefer that you should go with the grow lights for indoor plants.

Forget about the regular LEDs, buy your own best grow lights for indoor plants. These grow lamps for plants are specially designed to empower the growth of indoor plants.

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You can easily keep the plant alive but getting it to develop/grow requires more work. The plant’s growth required certain nutrients and conditions to collect light for a certain period of time.

We’ve already described above about the lights but not enough for those just beginning their indoor gardening journey.

Many of you may not entirely know how LED plants grow light can affect the development of the plant. In this section of this article, we’re going to dive deep into colored light and how you can use different colors to grow plants rapidly.

Following are the entire light spectrum colors and how each of them affects your plants naturally:

1.Ultraviolet:

Humans cannot see UV, but some animals can see though. Exposure to UV for long can cause skin problems. The same goes for the plants; if they are overexposed to the UV, that will damage your plant’s growth.

2.Violet:

Generally, violet is suitable for plants. When the plant receives the violet light, it enhances the plant’s color, taste, and aroma.

3.Blue:

The growth of the plants lies in blue light. Blue light has remarkable effects on plant development. Blue light affects photosynthesis, and more exposure can increase plant’s growth rapidly.

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4.Green:

Almost every plant around us holds a green color. It is because it absorbs blue light so much that it reflects the green color.

5.Yellow:

Yellow and green have the same wavelength and share the same properties in plants. But it has some fewer qualities in growth as compared to blue and red light.

6.Red:

The red light is also a crucial factor in the development of the plant. Usually, red light alone doesn’t have any significant effect on the plants, but it makes the plant yield better when flowering when combined with blue light.

Can Indoor Grow Light Burn Plants?

Grow lights for plants is very beneficial for indoor gardening, but it can also produce some issues. One of those is burning.

Only if you’re using the old technology.

LED plant lights produce less heat and energy-efficient as compared to older technology. It means you can give more exposure to plants without burning them.

There’s another fact that LEDs use cool white lights that prevent burning the leaves and entire plant.

That doesn’t mean every LED supports this. Only the LED plant lights are specifically made for this purpose. So this section concludes that you should go with modern technology, i.e., LED plant lights.

Mistakes To Avoid When Using LED Plant Lights

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The only way to become a successful indoor grower is to tackle the difficulties and learn from the mistakes. Following are some common mistakes that every new grower makes while using LED plant lights:

1.Providing Insufficient Light:

Before using the LED grow lights for indoor plants, the growers should scale their operation of how many plants they are growing and how many LEDs they’ll need to light them properly.

2.Overheating:

Don’t put your LED plant lights too close to your plant. If your plant leaves color start turning brownish or pale, it indicates that the light is too close to the plant. If the leaves start curling, this is another symptom of overheating.

3.Inferior Products:

Light is an essential part of plants’ growth. Without light, a plant can’t survive. Use specialized products like grow lights for plants. Do not use any regular LEDs bulbs to illuminate the plants.

4.Wrong Spectrum:

To grow your plant smoothly and efficiently, your plants need different types of light colors, which we’ve already mentioned above.

5.Selecting the Wrong Schedule:

Don’t leave the light turned on all the time. Plants respirate in the dark that ensures their growth.

6.Forgetting to Adjust the Lights:

As the plants growing, you need to adjust the lights accordingly. Plus, rotate the pots to prevent the plants from going towards the lights.

Again we’d suggest buying specialized grow lights for plants. Still curious where to find best grow lights for indoor plants? Well, don’t worry we’ve got a perfect and most trusted collection of LED grow lights for indoor plants. Feel free to complete your purchase here.

Concluded Thoughts

Well, the fact grow lights for plants technology is spreading faster and faster. It’s beneficial in those areas where sunlight exposure is limited to the surface, especially in a crowded place with tall buildings. For us, LED plant lights are a wonderful invention and will play an essential role in the future.

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Viona Lynn

An experienced writer and consultant, passionate about horticulture. Have a strong eye to details and tenacity never to quit.