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There comes a point in every succulent addict’s journey where they begin looking into purchasing grow lamps to help their indoor collection thrive.

There are a lot of reasons you might want a grow light (also referred to as a grow lamp). Perhaps none of your windows can provide enough light to your windowsill plants. Perhaps, like me, you’ve just run out of space on every window sill.

Or, maybe you’re trying to overwinter your succulents indoors without them suffering etiolation.

Grow lights are gonna change the way we play this succulent game. They are an easily implemented solution that increases your plant capacity. Your obsession will be enabled to a greater extent than ever before.

What are Grow Lights?

“Grow light” isn’t a technical term, nor is it a unique piece of technology. Any light can be a “grow light” since plants really aren’t that picky about where the light comes from.

What sets grow lights apart from regular lights is the spectrum of light they emit when powered. Your typical lamp uses “soft” and/or “warm” light. The “temperature” of light is measured in Kelvin (K) rather than Fahrenheit, which is why you’ll see lights labeled as 2700K. Warm lights tend to be yellowish and fairly weak as far as lumens (light power) are concerned.

Grow lights are often (but not always) “full spectrum” lights. That means they contain the full visible spectrum of light, from red to violet, plus a little extra on both sides – a touch of ultraviolet light can be beneficial. These lights are often described as “white/blue” or “cool” or “daylight” and usually measure around 3500K to 6500K on the Kelvin scale.

So, no, they don’t function any differently than other lights. The spectrum a lightbulb produces is determined by the components with which they are manufactured. Full spectrum bulbs will come in a variety of wattages, voltages, sizes, and base types.

Why Use a Grow Light?

Some of my Sedum under an LED light. Some of my Sedum under an LED light.

Grow lights are pretty nifty for hobby gardeners and commercial growers alike. Here are some common uses for grow lights:

Growing plants entirely indoors

Starting seeds or propagations

Extending the growing season of some herbs and veggies

Supplement insufficient natural light

That last one is pretty important to us succulent-growers. Have you had ever problems with succulents turning out just plain green instead of all those vibrant colors Pinterest promised? Or you order plants that look really pretty and then slowly fade to dull green over a few weeks?

Yup, that’s because they haven’t gotten enough light (or not enough strong light). You can kind of break downlight needs into 3 levels.

Level 1 – The bare minimum amount of light a plant needs to survive. It’s quite low, actually, in the case of most succulents. Internal rooms of a house would often be at this level. Plants getting this much light will etiolate if left in these conditions for any significant length of time. Level 2 – This is the minimum amount of light a plant needs to avoid etiolation (stretching). There’s a pretty big gap between level 1 and level 2. It’s totally possible to have a plant under a grow light and it still becomes etiolated (if the light is too far away or not strong enough). Level 3 – The amount of light necessary for a succulent’s “true colors” to appear (also called “sun-stress” or “sunblush”). The gap between level 2 and 3 isn’t that wide, actually. Once you’ve successfully avoided etiolation, it usually just requires a little more light.

That’s hardly a scientific explanation, but it helps to know what you’re up against.nowing the specific light requirements of each plant species in your collection will help you to determine how much light you actually need to provide. Remember, when it comes to growing succulents and cacti, knowledge is power! Although every plant is different, the answer to most of the aesthetic issues of succulents is just more light.

Grow lights are especially useful for windowsill succulents. South-facing windows have the best light (if you’re in the northern hemisphere). I’ve found that those are the only succulents in my house that develop their sunblush naturally. Succulents in any other window tend to stay green unless they also get a little love from a grow light.

This is especially pertinent during winter when both daylight hours are shorter AND light intensity is lower. Your succulents are at increased risk of not only becoming a boring green but also becoming etiolated… for which there is no cure.

Except for beheading. Seriously.

Types of Grow Lights

There are a couple main types of grow lamps. We will ignore the incandescent ones for a few reasons: they’re energy inefficient, the produce too much heat, and they don’t hit the proper light spectrum. Let’s talk about fluorescent and LED grow lamps.

Fluorescent Grow Lamps

Tube Lights

Tube lights come in several flavors, but there’s a clear winner you should pretty much always choose.

You’ve seen the T5, T8, and T12 stuff, right?

Well, the ‘T’ just means tube, while the number denotes the diameter in eighths of an inch.

Therefore, a T5 is a tube light with a diameter of 5/8 inches. Tube lights can come in any length, but 1, 2, 4, and 8 foot are most common.

Also, tube lights will often come in a large fixture with multiple tubes.

These are meant for scaled-up growing operations and are accordingly more expensive.

As it turns out, you should really only ever buy T5 lights. Both of the other kinds are older technology that is significantly less efficient.

T5s last longer, use less energy, and produce more light.

I use a couple of single tube lights to supplement my windowsill set up. This is the one I’ve been using, and I’m pretty pleased with it.

CFL Lights

If you don’t have space or don’t like the aesthetic of a long, tubular light, grow lights also come in the CFL variety.

That acronym means “Compact Fluorescent Light”.

They’re also available in a variety of different wattages, temperatures (in Kelvin), and base types. They usually have a lifespan of around 6,000 to 15,000 hours, so you won’t need to plan on replacing them frequently.

These are just like regular light bulbs and can fit in any regular socket.

If you have one or two plants on a desk in your office or at home, these are an ideal fix.

Just switch out that old bulb on your desk lamp with one of these bad boys and get growin’!

Note that there also exists High Output and Very High Output (HO and VHO, respectively) fluorescent bulbs.

They are exactly what you think – they put out more energy and light!

If you choose one of these types, make sure you hang them further away from your plants, as they put out more heat! Just because you’re growing your succulents under artificial light, doesn’t mean you don’t have to worry about burning them!

LED Grow Lamps

LED stands for “Light Emitting Diode”. It presents a unique opportunity for growers – it allows you to give your plants specific wavelengths of light!

Why is that useful? Well, it just so happens that most plants really only care about two kinds of light. Red light and blue light.

lightstrade.com lightstrade.com

This is a generic graph of the light spectrum utilized by the majority of plants.

Notice that plants primarily use light of a wavelength that appears red or blue.

There is a conspicuous lack of green light being used. That’s because chlorophyll (the thing that makes energy from light) is green.

It reflects green light, rather than absorbing it. That’s also why most plants are green-colored!

Back to LEDs.

Why give plants all this extra light they’re not even going to use?

Each diode in an LED only emits a very narrow range of wavelengths, effectively just one color of light.

In doing this, they save even more energy and produce less heat than fluorescent bulbs!

That doesn’t mean they are necessarily better though.

Giving a plant only specific wavelengths of light can trigger it to behave differently.

Some plants, for example, are encouraged to flower when exposed to specific ratios of red to blue light.

Mostly though, LEDs are a cost-effective way of ensuring constant vegetative growth (new leaves and the like). It’s also used to germinate seedlings since it produces very little heat.

The biggest downside to LEDs is that they are often lacking in light power (lumens) and light intensity.

It’s very difficult to get proper sun-stress colors using LED because they produce virtually no UV light (which is a part of light intensity).

At least you won’t be replacing them often, since most LED bulbs have a rated lifespan of up to 50,000 hours.

Like the fluorescent bulbs, LEDs come in many different shapes and sizes.

There are tubes, CFLs, fixtures, and even rolls of LED tape. You are sure to find one that fits your need if you look!

Positioning Grow Lights

There are a variety of factors that influence where you put your grow lights.

The goal is to balance light distribution with heat. Bulbs (moreso fluorescent ones) produce heat that will absolutely burn your plants if it’s too close. Yet, you want them to be close in order to maximize the amount of light they receive. Also consider that you probably want a bulb to illuminate more than one plant at a time!

If you’re using a simple LED or fluorescent bulb without any extra gimmicks, anywhere between 3 inches and 6 inches away from your plants will give you the best results. Of course, the exact distance depends on a plant’s tolerances to light and heat.

Obvious plants that are used to extreme conditions, like cacti, will be able to handle more light and heat than more delicate species of succulents.

Does your grow lamp have a hood? Hoods reflect light down towards your plant (good), but they also reflect heat (bad). A hood can be useful in making sure more than one plant is getting enough light but be sure to, give your plants a few extra inches of space so that you don’t scorch them.

Always monitor your succulents closely for a few days after changing lighting conditions to see how they react. It’s possible to give them sunburns if the light is too intense or on for too long.

If you notice any brown spots or discoloration on your plants, you need to adjust the light as soon as possible. Discoloration is typically a sign of sunburn, which will permanently damage your plants if left unchecked.

You probably want to give them light for about 12-14 hours a day (I always use an outlet timer). If you’re unsure of how much light to give your plants, it’s best to err on the side of caution.

You can always increase the length of time they spend under the lights if they seem to be handling their current levels well. Succulents do need some darkness to maintain a healthy growing cycle, so plan on giving them a fairly big break from the lights each day. If you need to learn more about lighting succulents and cacti, check out this comprehensive guide.

Best Grow Lights for Succulents

People often ask me to recommend a grow light for their situation.

I encourage you to do your own research, but here are ones that I’ve used personally (or had recommended to me).

In general, I would opt for full spectrum grow lights whenever possible.

The plants evolved with sunlight after all, so it makes sense to emulate it as best we can.

Best Supplementary Grow Lights

Like I mentioned earlier, I’m a big fan of tube lights. I have a couple of shelves around that have some tube lights hung over propagations and baby plants.

Tube lights are ideal for covering more than a few plants at a time and are probably the best option for gardeners with a large collection of succulents and cacti. However, if you’re short on space, these may not be your best option as the fixtures will take up more room. If you have the space to hang your lights above your plants, tube lighting will definitely be your best option.

If I ordered more, I would get ones that have a reflector this time around. I notice there’s a lot of wasted light in my current set up.

If you have the budget, you may also be able to find air-cooled reflectors, which will help reduce the amount of heat that is reflected onto your plants. This will allow you to provide them with enough light but cut back on the risk of burning them. They can be expensive though, so you’ll need to do your research to decide if they’re right for you.

Best Desk or Table Grow Lights

My desk is the kitchen table so…

I don’t currently use one of these.

However, I’ve given these away as gifts before to great appreciation.

I think that gooseneck clip-on lamps are best for use on desks.

They can be out of the way and still adjusted to hit that little Echeveria that needs some love.

These lights work well on windowsills too.

If you’re really feeling wild, they come in variations with 3 heads.

Clip-on lamps are also ideal for smaller collections or if you only have a few plants that you’re worried about. They’re also a little more portable than hanging light fixtures so you can move them around if necessary.

Did we miss anything? Do you have other questions? Ask below!