Do Regular LED Lights Work For Plants?

While the LED grow lights are often more expensive than other types of grow lights, for many, the benefits are worth the additional cost. Read on for our recommendations on the best LED grow lights for your plants, plus advice to consider before you start shopping. We tried to keep the testing as scientific as possible by providing the recommended amount of light—by plant type—with the grow lights. To determine each light’s practical coverage, we darkened the room, turned on the grow light, and then measured the distance of the brightest part of the light pattern.

What that equals is basically 4500 Kelvin or up to about 6500 Kelvin,” says Taylor. “Fluorescent and traditional bulbs usually beat LED bulbs in this category because they have way more spectrum,” says Taylor. We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. Erin Johnson is a writer covering all things home, plant, and design-related. She is originally from Tennessee but currently lives in Brooklyn with her 11-year-old dog named Pup. While this LED bulb is extremely affordable, you’ll want to keep in mind that they have a fairly low PPF, which means they’re not the most powerful option out there.

LED pros: Energy efficient & customizable.

Special LED and fluorescent “grow lights” will work, but so will less expensive fluorescent tube bulbs. Be sure the light source is within 6 inches of the plant foliage for the best results. For easy movement, suspend the fixture on chains or elevate your plants on a table or this DIY seed starting station. To keep your lights working efficiently, gently wipe down the light tubes to remove dust and grime before using them each year. When growing most houseplants, use light bulbs between 4000 and 6000 Kelvin, as the bulb’s color temperature will borrow from a full spectrum of colors—cools and warms.

It arrives fully assembled and can be hung or mounted flush against your ceiling or walls. Designed to mimic natural sunlight and work as a replacement for traditional greenhouse bulbs, this product delivers. For an option that’s long-lasting, aesthetically pleasing, and seriously effective, you can’t go wrong with the Soltech Solutions Grow Light. While it’s one of the more expensive options on the list, we found this grow light to be well worth the cost. When used for an average of 16 hours per day, the light lasts 15 years—far longer than cheaper options. It has a 15-foot fabric cord and comes with an LED bulb, three ceiling hooks, two wall fairleads, and a swag hook.

Agrobrite Floor Plant Lamp

The umbrella is 4.5 inches in diameter, and the telescoping spike adjusts from just over 8.5 inches up to almost 30 inches, making it well suited for short or tall plants. However, we felt it was best suited to smaller plants since it doesn’t offer a great deal of intensity. The number of plants or seedling trays you want to grow is a good indicator of the kind of grow light best suited to your situation. If your goal is to improve foliar growth in your houseplants or grow leafy greens or seedlings, choose a cooler spectrum bulb around 6,500K. Warm light will have a lower Kelvin rating and is ideal for flower production in houseplants and fruiting plants like citrus. When in doubt, full-spectrum lights take out the guesswork and offer a combination of both cool and warm light for the best of both worlds.

• You’ll also want to consider the more technical aspects of grow lights as you shop.
• This herb grow light is the perfect size to place on your windowsill, desk, kitchen counter, mantle, dresser, or side table.
• The stand comes with a 24-inch, high-output, 6400K T5 fluorescent lamp in a hooded, reflective fixture.
• With 3.5 square feet of space on each tier, you’ll have plenty of room for seedlings and a variety of other plants.

Light Emitting Diode or LEDs are currently the most commonly sold bulb in many parts of the world. Regular LEDs are very energy efficient, come in almost all shapes and sizes, and give out little heat but can still provide levels of full spectrum light for plant growing. You may have spare bulbs and a light fixture or two ready to be repurposed for your indoor gardening efforts. But did you know some bulbs are better than others at helping to grow plants? It’s also a really great choice if you’re on a budget, or just testing the waters to see if a grow light will be a good fit for your indoor plant setup. It features a bendable gooseneck design so you can position each of the two lights at the perfect angle for your individual plants.

Instead of worrying about Kelvin numbers as well, Taylor says to look for bulbs that say “daylight” or “sunlight” on the packaging. Also, you can adjust some LED Grow Lights to show more red or more blue light depending on your plant’s needs . For indoor growers concerned about the heat and humidity of their plant’s environment, the Phlizon Grow Light is just the ticket. It comes with a separate temperature and humidity module that can be placed anywhere near the plants. Our test plant had quite a few yellowing leaves at the beginning of the test—and that’s not uncommon for that plant, but we wanted to see if we could green it up a bit. After 3 weeks under the Ankace lights, the plant showed signs of new leaves starting—something it typically has not done until it’s taken out to the patio in late spring.

Use a high-quality, sterilized soil formulated for starting seeds. This is important, to prevent bacterial and fungal infections in tender sprouts. Timer – a timer is convenient for giving plants optimal light exposure without having to manually turn them on and off. It used to be that a bulb’s brightness was indicated by wattage. For example, a 100-watt bulb gave one and a half times the luminosity of a 40-watt bulb.