Attività

When shopping for indoor led grow lights, you’ll notice they are labeled with numbers like 2700K or 4000K. This refers to their relative warmth or coolness on the color spectrum – the higher the number, the cooler the light. Foliage growth is generally best around 6500K, though many plants need a period of warmer light, around 3000K, in order to produce flowers, and thus fruit.

In other words, if your goal is to simply produce seedlings, leafy green vegetables, or root crops, you only need higher spectrum bulbs. If you want to grow flowers, marijuana, or any fruiting plant (cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, lemons, etc.), you’ll also require low spectrum bulbs. You can some types of bulbs are available in full-spectrum form, however, simplifying things.

The standard fluorescent bulb, commonly denoted T12, makes a decent grow light for houseplants, starting seeds, supplementing the natural light of a window, and other situations where lighting needs are modest. They are fairly weak in light intensity, however, and must be placed within a few inches of the foliage to have much of an effect.

, which are narrower in diameter than T12s (but still widely available wherever lightbulbs are sold), have a much higher light intensity, making them suitable as a sole light source for sun-loving plants. Compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) are an option for small spaces, or if you don’t like the look of long rectangular fluorescent light fixtures – CFLs will screw into an ordinary incandescent light fixture.

Look for specialized full-spectrum fluorescent grow bulbs (like this , or , which fits into a standard socket) to provide the right balance of light for flowering plants.

While they are considerably more expensive than fluorescent bulbs, LEDs use half the electricity and last five times longer, more than paying for themselves in the long run. The average LED bulb from the hardware store is not designed for plant growth, however – you need special , a relatively new technology that is increasingly available from horticultural suppliers.