Lights - 'grow' lights, 'full spectrum' lights, 'daylight' lights

16 years ago

???

Since we live in a townhouse and have no useable windows (we have 2 full-light Southern windows [in Arizona no less] and 2 northern sliding doors onto covered patios), we have gone the light stand route. Plus the cats have staked their claim on the South windows and the violets would not survive being sprawled on by an 18 pound Maine Coon ;o)

We did not have space for a 4 foot stand so went to Home Depot and found a nice tall one that's 3 feet wide. This will let us have 3 shelves with lights. The minor downside is that you can't find shop lights in 3 foot lengths but hubby being a farm boy knows how to hard wire stuff so that was no problem (for me at least, he grumbled a bit).

We have three 3-foot light fixtures. Each takes two T12 lights. My question is, do "grow" lights come in 3 foot T12s? And what exact catchphrase am I looking for, when looking for bulbs? I am a bit hesitant to just look for "plant" lightbulbs as one that I took a closer look at, was just a colored bulb that made plants "look better"...I definitely want more than looking better.

Can somebody give me the 'dummies guide' to flourescent light bulb terms?? Thanks!

Featured Answer

Rosie1949

8 years ago

Responding to an old post.

Plants grown under lights do sooooo much better than window grown who are at the mercy of the intensity of the sun on any given day! I just wish I had a place in this big old house for several light stands! (frowny face).

There are other old posts that have to do with light growing. Try looking them up and you will get ideas galore!!!! Good luck to you! Rosie

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Comments (9)

paul_
16 years ago

Hi Liz,

I can't remember the sources (read/heard this from several) -- though I believe the "Growing under lights" forum was one of them -- that the last 6" of tube on either end actually is rather useless for growing most plants (something about the intensity perhaps?). So having 4 ft shop lights over your 3' shelves would actually give you the use of the best part of the bulbs. Btw, in my experience you will want bulbs that are at least 40W.

Grow lights are generally expensive and not what they're cracked up to be. Now I have heard that lights made for growing corals are excellant though expensive.

For AVs and orchids I've found a mix of cool and warm fluorescent bulbs to work just fine. Presently, I still use them on my plant stand [which happens to be 4 ft]. However in my terrs I use cfls. AVs flowered fine under them too.
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larius
16 years ago
I also grow on a 3' wide rack. I use a two-tube 2' T12 fluorescent fixture mounted to the underside of a shelf. Both tubes are 20 watt T12 OTT-LITE indoor plant grow lights. All of this was bought at Home Depot (*some assembly required). I don't recall any 3' T12 tubes.

I prefer having a 2' light with 6' on either side. I use the sides as a secondary, less intense light for AVs that don't seem to like being directly under the tubes.

I agree with Paul that cool and warm tubes work fine, but the ott-lite tubes were only a few dollars more.

Here is a link that might be useful: OTT-LITE Technology
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Okay, "old fluorescent light" is probably the problem. I'm guessing you've got four-foot long T-12 bulbs (tubes that are 1 1/2" in diameter). Is this right? Most of these bulbs are pretty bad, in terms of color rendering. I suspect you'd see a considerable improvement if you switched to better bulbs. However, if you've got an older T12 fixture then better bulbs may be hard to come by. It would make sense to switch to a newer fixture that will accept T8 bulbs, which are common and of which you'll find a large selection. Don't get hung up on the term "full spectrum," as this is basically a marketing term and an excuse to take more of your money than necessary. Instead, pay attention to two technical numbers that should be printed somewhere on the bulb box: One is the Color Resolution Index, or "CRI." This is a scale from 1 to 100 that tells you how well a light source lets you distinguish between different colors. Higher numbers are better. Choose bulbs that have a CRI of at least 85. The other number to look at is color temperature. This will be a four-digit number followed by the letter K, as in degrees Kelvin. Lower numbers such as 3000K are warmer colors, more towards the red/orange/yellow end of the visible spectrum, while higher numbers such as 5000K lean towards the cooler, bluer end of the spectrum. BTW, Natural sunlight does have a lot of blue in it, except at sunrise/sunset (note the color of the sky) and this is what many bulbs marketed as "full spectrum" are trying to emulate. Anyhow, you want a bulb that has as high a CRI as possible and that also has a color temperature that makes sense with the color of the room's furnishings. You'll face a bit of a dilemma here, because the warm cherry cabinets suggest a warmer color temperature, perhaps 3500K, but a limitation of current fluorescent technology seems to be that the highest CRI ratings are only available in cooler, higher-color temperature bulbs. I know that my local Home Depot has four-foot T8s with a CRI of 85 in several different color temperatures. These are something like $3.50 per bulb. They also have some very high CRI bulbs (92 or 95, I think) that are only available in a high, cool color temperature and are more expensive. In your shoes, I'd probably try both. I'd get a couple of the 85 CRI / 3500K bulbs, and a couple of the higher CRI but cooler bulbs, try them both and see which I liked better.
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I am dubious about "average 3 hours a day" but have no experience with such random short intervals. When I hear "low light plant" I think of African Violets because I knew of someone, Hausermann, who used to grow them to immense size by throwing leaves onto the soil under benches in a greenhouse used for growing orchids. It was amazingly dark under those benches but the humidity was high and there was plenty of fertilizer solution dripping from the orchids above. Thus, I suspect that regular 12 hours intervals of 100 watts of fluorescent lighting in a 100 sq. ft. space might suffice to keep African Violets alive, maybe, even grow, but not bloom. The "full spectrum" aspect is the least important. Incidentally, although not full spectrum because they completely lack yellow light, Sylvania Sky White fluorescent makes skin tones (at least, Caucasian) look especially good while the 8000 K color temperature is psychologically beneficial. Also, they are more efficient than most full spectrum bulbs. Thus, I highly recommend them. Unfortunately, they only come in F32T8 with the following specs.: 32 watts 8000 K 2700 lumens 88 CRI Spectral distribution: http://assets.sylvania.com/assetlookup/DAM_Asset_Display.aspx?docurl=http://assets.sylvania.com/assets/images/masters/FL_SPD54%20407c8a29-a541-4e29-823e-fd82b979ee42.gif&Title=Spectral%20Power%20Distribution%20Curve&NAED=22594&doctyp=document&wdth=792&hgth=612&Desc=Skywhite%20SPD Menards sometimes has a case of 12 on sale for $40. Also, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKrlRCH_M00 .
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larius
16 years ago
Sorry, that was supposed to be 6 inches on each side, not 6'.
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korina
16 years ago
Yep, I have a 3' wire shelving unit from Target with 24" fixtures (two 18w cool white tubes each). I also use the ends with their less intense light; some plants seem to prefer it. The trick is working out the proper distance from the bulb to the tops of the plants. Start at 10-12" for standards and go from there.

Good luck and happy experimenting!

Korina

PS For a thorough discussion on the subject, go to the AVSA site and buy a copy of Pauline Bartholomew's Growing to Show. It's an *invaluable* resource for growing AVs.
fred_hill
16 years ago
Hi Liz,
Since I have been growing for over 25 years I have found that the 4' fixture is best for my plants and also the most economical. When I was working and could afford them I used Varilux bulbs which I found gave the plants a great growth rate, however, they are expensive and cost retail over 12 dollars each. Since retiring I switched to 40 watt cool whites which I purchase by the box at Home Depot or Lowes. They work well and give me no problems. I have on occassion in the past used Gro-Lux and Gro-Lux WS. Both bulbs give good growth to the plants and make the plants look really beautiful and healthy under the light. But when you remove the plant from the light into natural light there is great disappointment. They loose their color and look rather ordinary. The Gro-Lux WS bulbs were always cheaper than the Gro-Lux. Many people prefer to use one cool whit and one warm white to grow. Since I cannot find warm whites I now use cool whites exclusively.
Hope this helps.
Fred in NJ
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bspofford
16 years ago
Fred,

I too haven't been able to find bulbs labelled 'warm white'. However, there is a 'daylight' bulb that had a different hue than the cool whites, and I assumed it was a 'warm white' since it has a warmer tone. I got them at either Lowe's or HD, don't remember which. I use one of each, and they seem to do fine.

Barbara
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larius
16 years ago
Warm white may also be labeled as "soft white". It has a lower color temperature ~3000K and looks redder than cool white ~4000K. Real sunlight is from 5500K to a 6500K peak at noon on a clear day. This is mostly based on the color human eyes see or perceive, which is not directly related to the spectra plants need for optimal growth.

Here is a link that might be useful: Color Temperature
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NuBryte
8 years ago
I know this post is old but it is great to see these. The expansion of most businesses to use the internet for a sales forum has greatly improved our access to bulbs like this. It is great to have access to tools that allow us to grow plants such as flowers and vegetables indoors for those of us who do not have the outdoor space or zoning to do this outside.
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Lights - 'grow' lights, 'full spectrum' lights, 'daylight' lights

Rosie1949

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paul_

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