Dim apartment, non-commercial grow lights

7 years ago

I have a number of fairly low-maintenance houseplants in our 500 square foot studio. Our single window, while generous, faces north.

I've used a light meter app (GreenThumb) and at midday, we're getting about 350 foot-candles on the wide window-ledge. Most of the plants live there. Step back a few feet, and it drops pretty quickly. Direct light doesn't ever hit the floor.

It would be great to have more plants, but I think we'd need the support of artificial light. Can you help me with some beginner questions?

1. No seriously, which bulbs actually work? We're just talking house plants, nothing fussier than a parlor palm. I almost made the mistake of trying to learn about orchids today in addition to "grow" lights.

2. Are there any bulbs we could place in, for example, and existing hallway ceiling fixture? How would that work? It seems like everyone keeps their bulbs within 1-2 feet, if not inches, of their plants. Is it just incredibly wasteful, ineffective, or both?

3. What is the least hideous way to integrate artificial "grow" lights into everyday decor? Can the bulbs be put into floor lamps? These would be great but they're pretty darn expensive: https://soltechsolutionsllc.com/products

4. What's the difference between full-spectrum lights for plants, and "happy lamps"? Can they cause sunburn?

Thank you all so much!

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Comments (3)

susanzone5 (NY)
6 years ago
Most common houseplants are sold to grow in the light from your window. A lot of them come from the forest floor in the rainforest and don't need bright light. All my houseplants face north and are flourishing. It's the soil, water and fertilizer you have to be concerned with.

If you're growing sunloving plants, better ask this on the houseplant forum.
FastInk
6 years ago
1= Pretty much all HID's i.e MH, HPS. As well as CFL's and LED's

2=Yes and no. there's newer LED bulbs that would work good for that application like these.

3=see number 2, the LED's that I linked come in different watts and are interchangeable in any incandescent fixture.

4=If x light is too close to a plant it can cause burn, and the color spectrum's are mostly marketing schemes. anything that has mostly blue spectrum is good. Red spectrum isn't that necessary but doesn't hurt. Any decent light will contain mostly blue, more advanced specialty lights that are marketed for flowering will contain blue, and a bit of the red spectrum. Think less about the plants on this and go with the color spectrum that's appealing to you.
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Should work fine. I grow all my orchids indoors and they seem to do fine. A couple of things you might want to consider. Humidity first. Your heating/Ac system will probably kep your humidity down below 40% which is a little low for your plants. I would find something you could use as a shallow dish (needs to be a couple of inches deep) large enough for all your plants to sit in. Go to lowes or home depot and get some plastic lighting egg crate and cut it to fit inside your pan. I use little pieces of PVC (3/4") to set the egg crate on. Fill the pan with water and put the plants on top of the egg crate. Should keep the humidity around 55-60%. Second, on your lighting, remember plants want natural sunlight. That's what they would have if they were outside. I would get 2 100 watt CFI Daylight bulbs. They are fluorescent so very low heat and are rated at 6000Kelvin which is very close to natural sunlight. Grow lights are okay, but I think full spectrum daylight bulbs are the way to go. The kelvin rating on the bulbs you mentioned may not be high enough to satisfy the plants needs. Caution when you switch to the daylight bulbs. At first they may be a little bright for your plants, so don't put them to close or they may burn until they get acclimated to the light. Watch the leaf color. If it slowly turns yellow green, your okay. If its fast, move the lights back a bit. Alan
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I have my plants arranged around the lamps. They are mostly within about two or maybe three feet of the bulb, yeah.

Dim apartment, non-commercial grow lights

Comments (3)

susanzone5 (NY)

FastInk

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