April 23, 2022
With less light coming through your windows during these shorter winter days, you may be wondering if your plants are getting what they need to thrive. While the season’s weaker light may be enough for some houseplants, others need a boost to keep them growing. Still others, such as garden seedlings and flowering plants, may require more intense light than your home provides.
If you’re thinking about introducing the best LED grow light into your home, here’s what you need to know.
If your plants thrive during the spring and summer but struggle the rest of the year, it may be time to bring supplemental light to your living space. Adding a few hours of light in wintertime can reinvigorate houseplants and sustain overwintering outdoor pots until the next growing season. It can also help certain plants flower and make fruit.
Since stressed plants develop problems, here are some signs your plants need more light:
Dying or yellowing leaves.
Smaller than normal leaves.
New pests and diseases.
Tall and leggy growth.
Variegated plants losing variegation.
To address any of the following problems, do an inventory of your plants and find out how much direct and indirect sunlight they need each day. Use a sunlight calculator or app to find out if your space provides enough light for optimal growth. If not, it’s time to consider grow lights.
Optic Slim 720S Dimmable LED Grow Light
Features:
Optic LED grow light is the Most Powerful Triple Dimmer LED Grow Light Ever Created. Slim 720S delivers all the amazing Proven technology from the highly refined Slim 650S with a Cranked up Meanwell Driver System beaming up to 720 Watts through 3,096 of the world’s most efficient LEDs. Slim 720S is specifically engineered for growers in 5x5 areas or growers who just want power to spare in the 4' x4' area. Slim720S is engineered to give you performance far beyond what any other LED Grow Light company has in the market today including Samsung’s all-new record-breaking LH351H Version 2 660nm Deep Red LEDs at 3.75 umols/j and LH351H 450nm Royal Blue LEDs paired with the Samsung White LM301H LEDs which are above 3.0 umols/J with a 3way dimmable system running 3,096 LEDs total for next-generation efficiency and tuning capabilities.
Spectrum King Phoenix 680W LED Grow Light
Features:
The Spectrum King LED grow light is the new LED standard for a 1:1 1000W DE HPS replacement that consumes 36% less power while offering the highest reliability in the industry. SK Cryo-Therm cooling technology enables an ultra-thin profile that maximizes airflow and minimizes microclimates. This grow light is optimized for single or multi-level planting close to the canopy. Many growers are switching from heat-generating HPS lights to ultra-high performance LED strip lights. SonoFarm LED grow lights utilize the latest technologies on the market — from intensive research for optimum performance, to customizing the spectrum for the highest possible yield.
Before buying an LED grow light, read our buyer’s guide below to learn about important factors that’ll help you make an informed purchasing decision.
Coverage: Grow lights typically give you measurements for how much vegetative and flowering coverage they offer. Be sure to choose a light that matches the amount and type of coverage you need.
Wattage: A grow light’s wattage determines how much light it produces. Different plants require different amounts of light, so don’t just choose the light with the highest wattage. Instead, match the wattage to the plants you’re growing. For example, if you’re growing tomatoes, choose a grow light that offers about 32 watts of light per square foot.
Adjustability: Several features of your LED grow light should be adjustable.
Color: Plants need a different color light for every step of their growing cycle. The best LED grow lights offer red, blue, and white color options.
Brightness: In addition to color adjustability, LED grow lights usually have knobs for adjusting the brightness of their bulbs.
Proximity: You can also adjust how close the lights are to your plants by lengthening or shortening the rope or chain they’re hanging from.
Installation
Grow lights are usually mounted to the ceiling with a chain or rope. This installation process can take anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple of hours.
Group plants with similar lighting needs together so they can benefit from the same amount of light.
Buy grow lights that fit your regular fixtures to help keep costs down. Table lamps are suitable for indoor plants. Tube lights are suitable for seedlings and groupings of plants.
Choose lamps with adjustable intensity and/or spectrum. Alternatively, choose grow lights with a slightly warmer spectrum to create a comfortable ambient light in your home.
Set your grow lights on timers so your plants get the right amount of light each day. Many grow lights have built-in timers. If they don’t, use plugin timers for consistent, regular lighting.
Thanks for reading! I hope you have all the information you needed to set up a highly efficient grow light system for your houseplants and enjoy them regardless of the amount of natural light you have in your home.
October 20, 2023