How to choose grow lights for indoor plants? Well, houseplants are popular indoor decorations but not every plant has the same light requirements. Indoor plants are attractive and constantly changing, they add a softness of line and provide a bit of nature indoors. They can freshen the air, as they add oxygen into your home as they utilize the carbon dioxide you breath out.
However, the ideal location of a plant for decoration may not be the ideal spot for plant growth. Lack of adequate light is the most common factor limiting the growth of plants in many areas of the home. Adding electric lighting is usually the easiest and least expensive way to provide enough light for plants that do not receive adequate natural light. Other options include tubular lighting through the roof, as well as sky lights dependent upon many factors in your area.
So as I have found for myself, grow lights for indoor plants has been the most cost effective and easiest to implement adding light to help you enhance the health of indoor plants. So How do you choose the right grow light for your indoor plants? First you need to know more about the plant that you are going to add to your home do they require low light or do they need more intense and varied light?
Once you have the answer to that, which we will answer in a later post, or you can ask the store or nursery where you purchased the plant. You can also ask us and send us a picture, as well as the name and genus or you may research yourself. One of the best sites is have found for grow lights for indoor plants is Gflora.com. It may take you a while to find what you are looking for, but we are happy to help you find the information that you need. Just leave a comment at the bottom of the page.
Frequently Asked Questions About Grow Lights For Indoor Plants
Q: Can I just leave the incandescent lights on for my plant?[jbox color=”green”]
A: As a single light source for plants, incandescent light bulbs are not particularly good. They are a good source of red rays but a poor source of blue. They produce too much heat for most plants and, if used, must be located some distance from the plants, thus reducing the intensity of the light the plants receive.
They are also about one-third as efficient as fluorescent tubes. Furthermore, a standard incandescent bulb’s life is often only about 1,000 hours, whereas a fluorescent tube’s life is normally 10,000 hours or more.[/jbox]
Q: My Kitchen and family room has fluorescent lights. Will that work?[jbox color=”green”]
A: Fluorescent tubes provide one of the best artificial light sources available for plants in the home. Other light sources such as sodium-vapor and metal halide lamps may be used but are not as readily available or adaptable for home use.
Fluorescent tubes are made in many sizes and shapes: circular, U-shaped, square or straight. Straight tubes in 2-, 4- or 8-foot lengths are used most frequently.[/jbox]
Q: What is the best balance of artificial light?[jbox color=”green”]
A: Many indoor gardeners use cool-white fluorescent tubes. Warm-white fluorescent tubes also seem fairly effective, but fluorescent tubes listed as white or daylight are less desirable for indoor plant growth. Cool-white tubes produce a small amount of red rays in addition to orange, yellow-green and blue rays.
However, the red light produced usually is not enough for plants unless windows or other artificial lights produce additional red rays. A few incandescent bulbs in the growing area can furnish needed red rays. A general ratio of incandescent to fluorescent light is about 3 to 10, so for every 100 watts of fluorescent light, you should provide about 30 watts of incandescent light for a better red-to-blue light balance.[/jbox]
Special fluorescent tubes also have been developed for growing plants.
These have a higher output in the red range to balance the blue output. Many gardeners have found that these tubes can be used in combination with cool-white tubes. Use one special plant-growing tube to each one or two cool-white tubes. This method is more economical than using all special tubes, since cool-white tubes cost less than the special plant-growing tubes. Also, fluorescent plant-growing tubes use less electricity and produce less heat than incandescent bulbs, and you will not have to provide fixtures for both incandescent bulbs and fluorescent tubes.
Find what is available in your local hardware store, and you can get your grow lights for indoor plants up and working with in a few hours. It is a simple and easy way to enhance and turn your house into a comfortable home.
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