When sunlight is in short supply—thanks to gloomy winters, shaded rooms, or windowless spaces—grow lights can swoop in like a superhero for your houseplants. But do you actually need one? The answer depends on your plant collection and the light levels in your home.
🌿 Who Can Thrive Without One?
Not all houseplants are drama queens about light. Low-light champs like ZZ plants, snake plants, pothos, peace lilies, and Chinese evergreen can tolerate dim corners and still look fabulous. These plants evolved to survive under dense canopies, so they’re perfect for rooms with limited natural light.
Who Benefits Most?
Then there are the sun-lovers. Fiddle leaf figs, succulents, cacti, string of pearls, crotons, and bird of paradise all crave bright, direct light to grow well and keep their colors vibrant. If your windows can’t offer enough rays year-round, a grow light can help prevent legginess, yellowing, or stalled growth.
Grow lights are also incredibly helpful for seedlings, herbs, and any plant you’re propagating. These babies need consistent, strong light to develop into healthy, happy plants.
💡 What to Look For in a Grow Light
Not all lights are created equal! Here’s what to keep in mind when shopping:
- Full Spectrum: Mimics natural sunlight and supports all stages of growth—from root development to blooming.
- Brightness: Look for grow lights with at least 2,000–3,000 lumens per square foot for light-hungry plants.
- Color Temperature: Measured in Kelvins (K), a 5,000–6,500K light is best for most houseplants.
- PPFD (Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density): This tells you how much usable light actually hits your plant, measured in μmol/m²/s. For foliage plants, aim for 100–200 μmol/m²/s. For flowering or fruiting plants, 400+ is ideal. It’s more accurate than lumens for plant health.
- LED vs. Fluorescent: LEDs are energy-efficient, long-lasting, and don’t overheat your plants. Fluorescent lights are cheaper upfront but have a shorter lifespan.
- Adjustability: Choose lights with adjustable height, angle, or timers to tailor the light to your plant’s needs.
Final Thought
Grow lights aren’t a must-have for every plant parent, but they’re a game-changer for those with limited sun or high-light divas in their collection. Whether you’re trying to keep a cactus perky in your basement or coax more fenestrations from your indoor monstera, the right grow light might just be your plant’s new best friend.
Recommendations
If you decide to go for one, here are some of my favorites so far! The light in the photo is the white Sansi lamp light, my monstera is loving it! She’s been having larger leafs with each new one and I have noticed more fenestrations too!
