Planta
Tilbake til Anything about plants

!!GROW LIGHT SUGGESTIONS!! With winter rearing its ugly head in… | Anything about plants | Planta-fellesskap

Chuck

!!GROW LIGHT SUGGESTIONS!! With winter rearing its ugly head in England, my plants aren’t receiving as much light as I think they need. Around 3 out of around 20 are doing really well still but the rest seem to be struggling and taking over 28 days for the soil to become even remotely dry again. I really want to get some grow lights before any other issues begin to arise. Does anybody have any suggestions of grow lights that they use and can be accessed in the UK. I tried to research online but there was so much to wade through and you guys are so much more helpful than google! As you can see below they still receive a fair amount of natural day light but London hasn’t seen the sun in a few weeks and I’m worried 😭

Vedlegg 1 av 1
5 likes 21 kommentarer

21 kommentarer

  1. Chuck

    Also if you spot the Yucca that’s basically naked it was a rescue buy that I’m failing and also think could benefit from a grow light 😂

    0 likes
  2. JenThon🪴🪷

    I’m fairly new to keeping plants, but I’m really liked the double headed ring lights with the timer. I got it off Amazon, I guess I don’t know if you have that in the UK. The brand is “Pronoro”, I like it, my plants do really well.

    Vedlegg 1 av 1
    1 like
    • Chuck

      Oh they look good are they helping your plants a lot? And were they expensive?

      0 likes
    • JenThon🪴🪷

      I think these lights were in the $30-$40 range, they have a timer for 8, 10&12 hours. They are advertised as full spectrum. They really do help in dreary old Michigan. 🪴💕

      1 like
  3. Hayley

    I'm in the US, but LBW makes my favorite lights (tripod standing lights on the left). Funnily enough, my husband actually calls them sun lights because of how bright they are! They have multiple brightness settings, a timer, and they're super adjustable

    Vedlegg 1 av 1
    4 likes
    • Hayley

      I think they were around $30 USD. I grow exclusively under grow lights, so everything you see is thanks to them lol

      4 likes
    • Chuck

      Oh wow they look great!! I’ll look into them :) $30 must be around £25 so that’s definitely within my price range! I’ve been seeing a lot online at around £80 and I just can’t spare that on a grow light haha

      4 likes
    • JenThon🪴🪷

      I considered these, but I went for the doubled ring with a smaller base, as I have limited floor space. 😊🪴

      1 like
  4. eatyacarbs

    I looove Soltech

    5 likes
    • JenThon🪴🪷

      I’ve heard that a lot of people like those.

      0 likes
    • eatyacarbs

      they’re reallllly really good. they’re pricier but you really do get what you pay for. really high quality. they do have gently used bulbs available on their website, too!

      1 like
    • AKQuixotic

      I find that the Soltech lights (and Pinocchio wall hanging system) are the perfect solution to the task of raising plants - or just keeping them alive - in Alaska. I have them all over our house and get compliments on them from both plant and non-plant people.

      2 likes
  5. Sunny

    I recommend getting a light meter. Then, check online for the intensity of light each plant needs. Many advertisements tell the intensity of light from their grow light a certain distance from a plant. I learned the hard way that many cheaper (under $40) needs to be less than one foot from the plant or my plants will grow slower with smaller leaves. The better lights are typically the name brands like Soltech and a few others. They can be double and triple the price of the cheaper ones and they are worth it if your plant flourishes. Taking almost a month for soil to dry may be more than a light issue since your pots are relatively small. - The soil could need more drainage materials like perlite and sand to break up dense soil - The room could need better air circulation to help dry the plant and soil 🍀🪴

    4 likes
    • Chuck

      Oh okay I see what you’re saying! I’ll do more research on what they need for sure. Yeah the drainage issue is something I’ve been trying to tackle. All of my plants have perlite in their soil and others have orchid bark. Tbh I think the main issue is my flat doesn’t warm up very easily. In the summer when it was warmer they dried much faster. But now it’s colder they stay moist for so long. But my flat doesn’t actually have heating at all. We have to use electric plug in heaters 🙃

      1 like
    • AKQuixotic

      Living in Alaska, I empathize with your challenges. My solutions have largely been (1) Soltech lights (expensive but quite worth the money), (2) using high drainage soil, (3) drilling holes in pots not already having them, and (4) using humidity trays for those plants needing more moisture.

      0 likes
  6. Wolfen 🐺

    Hortipower has some great lights. I believe they are in the UK. Depending on your plant needs ypu could get between 5k and 10k lux. You'll also want to look at full spectrum if you want a well rounded light. I have Soltech and Barrina mostly. The hortipower were recommend for the plant TC so they're on order.

    1 like
    • Wolfen 🐺

      You can use the light meter on the app too. I'm sure every phone is different. Bwasthe measurements from mine were only about 20 lux different than my light meter. So the phone showed 20 and the meter showed 40.

      0 likes
  7. Aisha

    When mine were taking so long to dry, I repotted them into smaller and/or terra cotta pots. And I added coco bark and perlite to the soil to facilitate better drainage. I’m not interested in killing pots with too much love this winter. Ideally pots should only be 1”-2” larger than the root ball. I’d say smaller if it’s a glazed pot, or other material that doesn’t breathe. Larger if it’s unglazed/unpainted terra cotta, as that can help dry the soil out sooner.

    1 like
  8. Sunny

    You may need a fan to circulate air and heat through the room or just around the plants to help with drying the soil. Most of my plants will be in my kitchen and family room for winter. I run a ceiling fan 16 hours a day in the family room. I have a floor fan to circulate air as needed. I have a portable space heater by the back door that runs every time I let the dogs out. The door can stay open about 10 minutes each time. The fans plus the heaters quickly dry out my plants in about 5 days for the smaller ones.

    0 likes
  9. Chuck

    Oh wow that sounds like a good set up! I’m starting to think I might have to run a hair drier around my flat 😂. I do have a good £250 dehumidifier I think if I use more regularly might help!

    0 likes
  10. Gecko

    I use the Halo lights from Amazon.ca. Work well for individual plants in darker corners. Have 3 brightness settings, telescopic, and 3 timer settings. Works well for my Calathea. Only downside so far is the bulbs are not replaceable.

    Vedlegg 1 av 1
    0 likes