Lighting - important for healthy and productive plant growth
Plants depend on light for photosynthesis. Plants grown indoors are usually not supplied with enough light to achieve optimal and healthy growth. Even one metre away from the window is enough for the plant to no longer be supplied with the full amount of daylight. In addition, the seasons also offer the plants a different supply of good light.
Creating optimal conditions all year round with plant lamps
For example, it can often be observed in winter that the plants form soft shoots and small, light-green leaves to draw attention to the lack of light. Therefore, plant lamps specially made for poor lighting conditions and indoors are a good way to ensure that plants always receive sufficient light, regardless of location and season.
Plant lights or plant lamps?
In indoor cultivation, both terms are used synonymously. However, if you take a closer look, there is a small but subtle difference:: A luminaire is the socket or the frame that holds the lamp. Thus, "lamp" refers to the illuminant that emits the light.
Plant lighting has special wavelengths
You cannot use normal light, such as that from a desk lamp, as plant lighting. Nor does it matter that it is a particularly bright light. Rather, plants need a light with a certain distribution of wavelengths in the visible and non-visible range.
The more of this light with the right wavelength reaches the leaves of the plant, the better it can use the light for photosynthesis. The result for the grower is better growth, more flowers and a higher yield. By using plant lighting, the plants are healthier overall and also more robust against pests. The effect of plant lights is undisputed.
Influencing plant growth with the right wavelength
Daylight contains a mixture of many different colours. However, plants only use just under 50% of it. This portion of sunlight is called PAR radiation. The blue and red components in particular are important for photosynthesis. This also becomes clear when looking at the so-called McCree curve. It indicates the strength of the effect of the different wavelengths on the photosynthesis of the plant.
Depending on the ratio of the two colour components blue and red, they influence the plant in different ways.
Depending on the goal, which can be growth or flowering or both, a light with a different colour composition is used. Choosing the right plant light is therefore crucial: if there is too much red and too little light intensity, the plant will "get bogged down", i.e. long shoots with few leaves will develop.