Difference between a Grow Light & a Natural Spectrum Light?

Whats the difference between a fluorescent type grow light and a natural spectrum light? I want to try to keep some plants overwintered in my den, so I don't want to go with the long fluorescent type fixture/ bulb. I bought a Verilux 150W "Sunshine in a box" natural spectrum floodlight bulb. Would this work, and is it costly to use?Any advice appreciated. I searched prior postings regarding the different types of lighting but it isn't making sense to me.

Thanks!

Good question. Something to do with the color of light from the tubes.

I did a google search and found this info:

http://www.doityourself.com/stry/factsoflight

Actually the fluorescent tubes work just fine and are probably a lot cheaper than the special kinds of lights. Check the propagation forum--I'm pretty sure that's where this has been discussed before, but lots of people have done fine with the fluorescent tubes. I bought some super cheap shop light type things from Lowes, stuck the cheapo fluorescent tubes in them, and my seedlings do just fine. I don't know anything about your floodlight, but I imagine it should be fine as long as it doesn't get super hot, and as long as the plants are close to it. The nice thing about the fluorescent tubes is they're wide, so you can put a whole bunch of plants/seedlings under them and all of them will be close enough to the light, with just one lightbulb you won't be able to do that as well unless you just have a couple of plants.

I grow African Violets and other plants in the Gesneriad family on plant stands with those $7.96 flourescent light tubes from Wal-Mart! Works great!

I have both of these type of lights and I don't see much,if any difference in the growing of my houseplants. I paid $9 for a single grow light at Lowe's and then went to walmart and paid $8 for 2 fluorescent ones. I don't think there is much difference between the to.

I went into the "Plant Room" and took a pic just about 5 min ago to show you....the short silver metal stand with the 2nd light is the grow light.


Char

I use a lot of the 'newer' energy efficient fluorescent screw-in bulbs during the winter, and most plants do fine with those, too.

There are some plants (though I can't name them off the top of my head!) that will simply not thrive under lights at all, for me, and just plain have to have some sun.

Lin, the full spectrum lights i got at Walmart are only 6.50 each whereas they were 10.00 each at the hardware store. I can't tell the difference but I can tell the difference in african violets and most plants with the full spectrum vs the regular fluorescent. My understanding is that seedlings do fine under regular fluoresent lighting while mature plants need the full spectrum???????????

Perhaps the following article will shed some light on light needed by plants (no pun intended). Using one cool white flourescent bulb and one warm white bulb will come closer to producing the full spectrum of light than two of the same kind.

http://www.ext.vt.edu/departments/envirohort/factsheets2/landsnurs/jan88pr1.html


This message was edited Nov 14, 2007 10:41 PM

cicada,
Thanks for that article....it has so much info in it and i learned alot from it.

Plants stay short, stocky, and leafy when they receive plenty of blue...I think i have been getting lots of the blue and need more reds and yellows....LOL

Thanks Again,

Char

Great article Cicada! Thank you for that link!

thanks, Cicada

Char, your plants look BEAUTIFUL!
So bright & cheery :)

GREAT Growing!

Thank You Kim,

Can you see the plant hangers that I just adore....I still have not had any time to sit down and try to figure it out, grrrrr but I will and everyone of my plants that are not to heavy will have one of there own.

How are you doing and family doing?

Char

Oh Char, they look just BEAUTIFUL!
I asked hubby, do you see what I see while I had your picture up. He said, hey, those are just like yours *lol* It was 2 cute.
We are all doing just wonderful, life is good and getting better everyday, and U?
Can't wait for spring :) Really getting into gessie's recently and giving up hoyas here and there. Time to try something new and so far it's been alot of fun :)
I saw your mom's African Mask...WOW! I sure hope yours blooms like that, they are neat!

SO nice to see you posting my friend :)

Kim

Speaking of Light & Plants: Just got this in a Nat'l Home Gardening Newsletter this morning, so thought I would copy and paste it here:



National Home Gardening Club
How light affects plants

Here are a few tips to help you use choose what light is best for your plants—both indoors and out.


Light spectrum basics
Light is made of energy waves that appear as different colors, depending how much energy they emit. We can see red, orange, yellow, blue, green, violet, and indigo with the unaided eye. But those aren’t the only colors that exist. For example, even though the human eye can’t see ultra-violet light, many plant-pollinating insects can—and some plants produce ultra-violet markings on their blooms to attract these insects.
Blue light
Blue light helps plants put out healthy leaf growth. While natural light and cool-white fluorescent lights tend to be high in the blue range, incandescent bulbs are low.

Red light
Red light affects flowering and plant reproduction, which is why some scientists believe that tomatoes grown over red plastic mulch have a higher yield and better-quality fruits. When plants don’t get enough red light, they may not bloom well or at all. Both natural light and incandescent light bulbs tend to be high in the red range.

Green light
Some gardeners think green light is the most important color of all; however, plants use relatively little green light. Instead, they reflect it back at us, which is why we view their leaves as green.

Brightness: More or less?
It’s not just the color of light, but also the amount that’s important. For example, full-sun plants do best if they get six to eight hours of full sun outdoors. Likewise, some flowering houseplants may not bloom indoors because they don’t get enough light. However, if shade plants get too much bright light, their leaves burn.

Here are examples of houseplants that thrive in high, low, and moderate lighting:

Moderate light (bright indirect light two to four hours a day) options:
Asparagus fern (Asparagus setaceus)
Fiddle-leaf fig (Ficus lyrata)
Lady palm (Rhapis excelsa)
Philodendron (Philodendron spp.)
Spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum)

Low-light (enough indirect light to cast shadows) loving plants:
Bamboo palm (Chamaedorea erumpens)
Cast-iron plant (Aspidistra elatior)
Chinese evergreen (Aglaonema commutatum)
Dragon lilies (Dracaena spp.)
Peace lily (Spathiphyllum spp.)

High light (near sunlit window or in bright reflected light all day) choices:
Candelabra spurge (Euphorbia candelabrum)
English ivy (Hedera helix)
Hedgehog cactus (Rebutia spp.)
Pincushion cactus (Mammillaria spp.)
Ponytail palm (Beaucarnea recurvata)