It’s that time of year. The leaves are falling, the air is getting chilly, and the sunlight is seriously fleeting. If you live somewhere like the Pacific Northwest, where most winter days are cloudy, or worse, the midwest, where your window panes are more likely covered in snow and frost than rays of sun, it’s time to break out the grow light! Never used a grow light before or need a little refresher? This post is for you! Here are some of the most common questions we get about grow lights.
What kind of light should I get?
• We suggest an LED, full spectrum bulb that’s 30-45 watts.
• You can buy grow lights that have bulbs built in, or get a loose bulb that screws into a lamp you already own.
• Make sure your lamp can point down towards your succulents.
How long should it be on?
Succulents need more time under a grow light than they do in normal sunlight. We recommend you have it on for 12-18 hours a day. Your succulents still need some darkness, about 6 hours, for their cells to continue functioning properly.
How close should it be?
• Situate your grow light to be about 12-24 inches from your plants.
• The higher the wattage of your grow light, the further it can be from your plants.
• If you notice them stretching for the light, even with it on for 12-18 hours, try moving the light a little closer.
How do I make the transition from sunlight to grow light?
You can make the transition pretty quickly. If you live in an area where the sun exposure has been decreasing rapidly, they’re probably pretty desperate for the light. Start them on 8 hours of exposure and move up from there.
Do I have to use a grow light?
Nope, you can let your succulent to enter dormancy instead!
• You’ll still want them to get some light, so set them up in a west or south facing windowsill.
• Pull back on watering a bit, and your succulents should get the hint.
• You can expect loss of color and possibly some stretching while they are dormant, but nothing to fear, they’ll come back to life in the spring.
Can you stress succulents with a grow light?
While it requires a little extra work! It is possible. Natural daylight and grow lights can keep your cuties from stretching, they don’t provide as much a particular kind of light called red light. This red light is what causes most plants to flower. To show off a succulents colorful spectrum we suggest adding a LED light along with the red spectrum.
And there you have it!
Want to get your bbs some more light? We recommend Halo Grow!
