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Artificial Lights As A Sunshine Substitute

December 27th, 2009

One of the reasons why room dividers and other indoor planters have become decoratively possible and practical is the discovery, some years ago, that artificial light can substitute for daylight in keeping plants growing healthily. So now we can have indoor gardens wherever we want them, and can fill them with an increasing variety of plants.

Successful gardening under artificial light presupposes, of course, that other cultural requirements like proper soil and humidity are also fulfilled. Success also requires that the light be of sufficient intensity and duration to satisfy the plants’ needs. Here is where some light installations fall short of the high hopes built up for them.

The principles of growing under artificial light have been around for 50 years, the information on the topic continues to grow. But amateur growers, professionals, and botanists are experimenting, learning, and publishing updated results. Anyone interested in this exciting grow light horticultural field should locate the latest authoritative information, experiment and search the web.

But think what decorative effects this growing principle makes possible! Now you can set a plant in the darkest corner of your hall, supply it with artificial light, and see it fresh, green, and thriving for months on end. You can install fluorescent tubes underneath one bookcase or cupboard shelf and grow plants on the next shelf as prettily as you would in any window. You can build a planter garden between your living and dining rooms, under a set of lights or a solar landscape lights that not only keep the plants growing but also illuminate the garden and make it a refreshing center of interest.

Of course, promises like these are always subject to one qualification – that the job be done properly. Unless the lights are of the type, intensity, and duration necessary for healthy growth, disappointment is around the corner. The main deficiency – unfortunately, all too frequent – is usually in intensity. I defy anyone to grow “full-flowering cattleya orchids” under one, or even two twenty-watt fluorescent tubes.

At present it is widely accepted that incandescent light is not needed in an artificial-light setup. This is helpful, because ordinary light bulbs do generate high heat, and their cost of operation is comparatively high. Fluorescent tubes – cool white, warm white, daylight, or a combination of types – are usually recommended.

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