Artificial Lighting for Indoor Plants: Full Guide on Healthy Houseplants
Perhaps you are an enthusiastic grower of indoor plants, but your space lacks natural sunlight. No problem! A little knowledge of artificial lighting will help you get the right conditions for your houseplants to thrive. The guide today will explain how to work effectively with artificial lighting for the benefit of the indoor plants.
Why You May Want Artificial Lighting for Your Indoor Plants
Not all homes receive plenty of sunlight. Perhaps the rooms are missing a small window or face opposite of the sunshine. So, yes you can buy the indoor plants no matter you do not have a light. If you have the light and still are just not having as much luck with plants, artificial lighting really can make all the difference. Therefore indoor plant care so often requires additional lighting;
Because a majority of its places are situated inside, hence indoor-things does not get enough sunlight for the photosynthesis in plants.
Plants that have a tropical origin: plants that are used to growing in tropical ecosystems need more light than indirect light, so the houseplant goes yellow.
Indoor Seedlings need bright, strong light soonSeedlings started indoors should experience as bright a light as possible from the very beginning of germination onwards.
Which comes with some added points of beauty to our lives — like when the artificial lights attract and reflect incredible colors, or give off a soft gentle light that makes all your drapes become your room decor!
Can Artificial Light Replace Sunlight for Indoor Plants?
It can! But first, understand that different light types have different effects upon your plants. Plants absorb specific spectrums of light to grow, and the two most important ones are:
Red light: Mainly used for flowering and fruiting .
Blue light: This encourages the leaves to develop.
Now that we’ve talked about what the plants need, weshall proceed to take a detailed look at some of the types of artificial lights available to grow indoor plants.
Types of Artificial Light for Indoor Plants
When it comes to indoor plant lighting, the options are all over the map, and each one has benefits but also comes with its own drawbacks. Others are the ones we most frequently use;
Grow lights (Full Spectrum): Lights are manufactured separately for the plant to fulfil all its requirements. Those are perfect as they simulate the sunlight. However, they can be more expensive and are not always easy to find in local stores.
Halide, halogen, sodium lamps: Very bright but they also produce a lot of heat. Although plant friendly, this high light output can burn the leaves if placed to close. THEY TEND TO BEAT PEOPLE MORE ELECTRICITY.
Tungsten or incandescent bulbs : also strong on the red side but unfortunately do not have a lot of blue light which is necessary for the proper leaf growth; But as it stands, they do not promote good growth of indoor plants. Pair them with white lights, to balance this out.
Fluorescents (Neon lights): Cheap, long or compact form plugins. Fluorescent light is low in heat and energy-efficient, which is excellent for growing indoor plants. However, you have to use white and yellow bulbs together in order for the plants to receive red and blue light.
LED lights- these are the best option Not only do LED lights use significantly less energy but they generate hardly any heat and they outlast traditional bulbs by years. The best part? The Red Light (Blue LED) come in different color temperatures to get the desired balance between blue and red light necessary for plant growth. They are also energy efficient in the long run, which help save money on electricity and light bulb replacement expenses.
Proper Artificial Lighting for Your Indoor Houseplants: How to Use Them Correctly
If applied well, artificial lighting could transform how your indoor plants are growing. Four main things to consider are :
Light intensity: it depends on the strength of light. Commonly, light intensity is measured in lux or lumens. Of course, stronger lights-think about 40, 50, or even 70 watts-are going to provide you with the required intensity for your plants. Indoor plants require 15 to 60-watt LED or fluorescent bulbs, which, in turn, would provide ample-strength artificial sunlight.
Light Duration: The period your houseplants stay under the light. Generally speaking, indoor plants require 12-18 hours of light each day. Some, especially those of flowering species, even need time in the dark during the day-usually 12-24 hours-to grow well. Keep your plants in the right “day” and “night” time to grow well.
Light Spectrum: As earlier mentioned, houseplants use both spectrums of blue and red light. Bulbs should have their color temperature listed in Kelvins (K). The higher the number, the more blue light is provided; whereas, lower numbers give off red or yellow light. A balance of both is ideal for healthy houseplants.
Distance between light and plant: Amongst all the other factors, placement is the most important feature for your plants to get benefits from artificial light. The light should be kept 12 inches to 3 feet away from the plants according to its requirement. It will fall weak before reaching the plant if it’s kept too far away; however, if it is closer, it might burn the plants due to excessive heat.
Lighting matters! Pair your watering skills with proper light—explore our guide on watering plants for lush growth.
Final Tips on Selecting the Right Lights
Best plants for indoor:To have best result in growing indoor, we can suggest you use 1:2 ratio white and yellow bulbs. E.g., if you use a yellow bulb at all, add two white bulbs. So your houseplants get plenty of blue light for nice leafy growth, but the yellow bulb gives them a little red light to bloom and fruit.
One most useful bulb is one 50-watt yellow, with which we can use two 60-watt white. This is the perfect combination to support growth and blooming for your house plants in a balanced way.
Conclusion
Artificial LightingFor those of us without an abundance of natural light, artificial lighting can play a huge role in the proper care and maintenance of indoor plants. Selecting the right bulbs for what light spectrum your houseplants need will help you to grow plants indoors.
Happy growing!
