I have this great grow light that has a normal white-light setting for the day time, and it has this red/blue/purple setting for night time. I use it every night but I’m starting to wonder if it does anything. Do the red/blue hues help plants? Am I just wasting electricity and should just let the plants be in the dark during the night?
Edit: I've heard you all loud and clear– the lights are now off and won't be coming on anymore past 8 pm! I just assumed the red/blue lights were like a night-time light to be left on all the time… whoops! I appreciate you all letting me know, and my plants thank you, too!
by PrincessImpeachment
28 Comments
Let them be dark
I have no idea whether this kind of light helps, but my thought is if you use this light during the day, I don’t see why you would need it in the night. Plants don’t need light 24/7 they enjoy a good sleep too 🙂
Use them during the day, not nighttime. Yes they work, ive used them for plants before.
Hey so usually during the day is best, plants have to acclimate to 24hr light which can take up to 2 weeks. I read a long study on it once that said it only adds about 10% growth so isn’t efficient with grow lights in terms of power
Plants need to sleep too.
The purple hues are not for making it darker so that you can rest at night. They are for different stages of the plants’ growth, or in case you want to focus on different aspects of the plants. In that case , continue to use it during your daytime , but in place of the white lights, not by using them at night in addition to the white lights during the day.
After a week of 24/7 lights your plant is hallucinating and writing out scientific formulas it thinks it just discovered on the back of a Ritz cracker.
Let it sleep lol
Plants need day, and night too. Save on electricity and let em sleep
Your plants rn
From what I’ve read, the purple toned lights are more for fruiting plants. I forget the other purpose but after reading what I found I just use the white light during the day.
No.
If you live somewhere colder with shorter days (where I am the sun is practically set by 5 in the winter, and won’t rise until like 8) then for sure try to leave it on longer in the evening. I usually leave mine on until like 9 ish
They need nighttime
Lmao
Those blue purple lights are considered old school. 10-15 years ago, grow lights used to be pricey to make. So these colored one became the alternative. Now grow lights are more affordable and people opt for natural looking lights. IMO, when I see these type of lights I always think it’s looks Like someone is growing weed in their basement lol. And I don’t think these types of lights are that strong.
You don’t need to give them light 24/7. That’s like saying a human needs to be awake all the time. I keep my grow lights on for 12–14 hours. Basically only normal day time hours.
Ok I turn my lights off at night but… I left a lamp w a regular LED bulb on over my monstera for a week and a half when I left for vacation. It usually lives in a north facing window but I moved it to under the lamp away from the window. This monstera needs repotting and I underwater it so it’s not surprising that it hasn’t grown a new leaf in like 2 years. But when I came back from vacation I had a new leaf. Coincidence?
Yep, turning them off at night is the right move! Plants need darkness to rest, so leaving the red/blue lights on was just wasting power. You’re doing it right now!
Red and blue wavelengths in the visible light spectrum are most commonly associated with photosynthesis. There are absolutely more wavelengths that affect all sorts of growth processes and photosynthesis but for today’s technology, it is most cost effective and efficient way to power photosynthesis.
The most reasonable and effective use would be to extend the day. Use the lights to add a few hours to the day to make up for the shrinking day length of winter. Also good as the sun is getting lower in the sky and is not as strong. This is assuming you are in the northern hemisphere.
Yeah they look cool as fuck
Yes but what they are doing is not beneficial to your plant
What’s a night time grow light? Is it supposed to be like the moon or something
they need night and day. and if these are the daytime lights, then minimal.
Plants use light in the day time to turn carbon from CO2 into plant tissue but carbon isn’t the only nutrient they need. When there’s no light they prioritize turning nitrogen from the soil into a useable form. If there’s always light the plant won’t know it’s time to fix nitrogen. So, even though it always has energy from light to fix carbon that won’t result in more health or growth for the plant.
I hope this is clear and helps you give your own eyes a rest at night!
I heard that purple lights are more efficient for plant growth because they don’t have any green.
Plants reflect away green light but absorb purple. So there’s no point wasting energy giving it light I won’t use.
I’m sure that gives it the illusion of growing faster because it’s absorbing more light than it would otherwise, but I think there are still benefits to using natural, broad-spectrum daylight.
Ur Plants
Those lights aren’t “night time” lights, they are lights designed to be more “efficient” (use less electricity while providing as good or nearly as good lighting for your plants)
They are a bit of a gimmick. They save a little energy, but his entry They also are providing slightly less light since contrary to.popular belief plants use green light.
24/7 light is only going to do any good in a pre-flower stage, I.e. from a seedling. After initial flowering / with a mature plant 24/7 will add growth, but not enough to be worth it.
Plants need the night just like any other living thing. These lights are limiting their growth.