For all the enthusiastic gardeners out there, house plants are an absolute dream to have! Though they are a bit high maintenance, houseplants are an easy way to bring your garden home. Let us find out how long to keep grow lights on house plants.
Do House Plants Need Sunlight?
This is a common question that a lot of plant keepers have. We all know that sunlight is an essential component of plants. Without sunlight, plants cannot have a high-functioning and healthy life. By keeping your house plants close to sunlight, you can provide them with a much healthier condition to survive even longer.
A few houseplants need sunlight, and many houseplant owners tend to take their plants and place them in corners of their houses where daylight is easily reachable.
A few house plants that need sunlight are:
- Aloe Vera
- Jade Plant
- Sago Palm
- African Milk Bush
- Snake Plant
- Ponytail Palm
Among many others! These plants and the requirement for the sun range from low to high, which puts houseplant owners in a position where they constantly must watch out for the sun, explicitly falling on to the house plants they love and adore.
Understanding How Long to Keep Your Plants in Grow Lights
When replacing the sun with something as artificial as a grow light, you need to understand your plant’s needs. In doing so, what you achieve is an understanding of your house plant and how you can enhance its living conditions.
By understanding the needs of your house plants, you will be able to understand better how long you need to keep the grow light on. However, an easy way to determine without getting into too much hassle is by monitoring and understanding the timings of the sun itself.
If you notice and look closely, it is pretty evident that the sun sets after specific hours, and even if it is light all around, it is still not ideal for plants to be exposed to. Keeping that in mind, ensure you do not leave the light on for too long or too little time.
Plants That Can Easily Sustain Under Grow Lights
We understand plants’ need for the natural sun, but many plants can be kept at home with just minimal light. These plants are ideal for being placed under grow lights. Let us look at a few plants that can sustain themselves without natural light and live healthy lives under the grow lights.
Snake Plant Under Grow Lights
The snake plant is a unique but strong houseplant that does not strive for too much natural sunlight. Excessive sunlight can damage the snake plant, so it is ideal to be kept under the grow light.
A snake plant sustains itself very well under medium to low light. In doing so, the snake plant survives for longer, and even if it does not have exposure to natural sunlight, it can remain in your home for a very long time simply by being exposed to grow lights indoors.
Cacti & Succulents Under Grow Lights
Cacti and succulents look like the most underappreciated plants that one can find. They are brittle, rough, and seem to have a tough exterior.
Cacti and succulents are ideally placed within houses. However, many house plant Keepers do not know that cacti have a high need for light. If its light requirements are not being met, it dies away sooner.
To keep cacti and succulents strong for much longer, you must have a strong light at home. Cacti also require more time in the sun, which is why their grow light timing increases.
Jade Plant Under Grow Lights
The jade plant is also known as the money plant. This plant is one of the most common house plants due to its beautiful and thick leaves.
Jade plant has a high requirement for light, but anyone enthusiastic about house plants would know that jet plans have another requirement without which they will not sustain themselves for a long time.
That requirement is water! If the jade plants’ water requirement is fulfilled, it is easier for that plant to survive much longer. This provides us with a lot of room for contrasting beliefs.
As all house plants do not have the same needs and those which might seem similar, for example, it is a common opinion that money plants resemble cacti, but their needs are still extremely different.
All Plants Need Different Exposure To Grow Light
There are individual differences that plants have. Of course, we cannot miss out on the fact that there is no one answer for how long you can keep your grow light over your plant.
If one plant requires 6 hours, there is no way that you can keep it under the grow light for 15 hours and then later complain that it died.
Grow light system is extremely safe to work around, but it is still quite tricky to determine which plant requires how much sunlight.
As house plants all have different needs, it is important to adjust their grow lights as per their needs. If this is not taken care of, the house plants will have an extremely limited lifetime and pathetic health conditions.
Where To Place the Grow Lights?
This obvious question and its answer of the trickiest part. Many people assume that keeping the grow light over the plant is enough.
However, even if the plant’s need for light is being fulfilled in the amount of time that expense under the light, it is highly likely for the plant to face damage due to the distance between the light and itself.
You must maintain a safe distance between the grow light and your plant. If the plant is closer to the grow light, it is likely to become overheated and die sooner.
Similarly, if a plant is kept further away from the grow light, it is highly unlikely to be unable to sustain a healthy living for itself. It would help if you remembered that your job does not end simply by putting the grow light over your house plant.
You need to understand and implement proper grow light instructions. If you feel like the temperature of the grow light is strong, trust your gut and make sure you distance your plant from it. You do not want your plants dying away when you are looking forward to arranging a grow light for increased living.
Using LED Grow Light as Sun-Replacement
Although strange, LED lights are common among house plant owners. Many houseplant owners use LED lights to provide their beloved houseplants properly. Well, this sounds a little impractical.
There is some reality to its effectiveness. However, is it the appropriate solution? Well, not really! LED lights are not designed for plants, and extreme exposure to LED lights might damage plants more than benefit them.
Talking about lights, however, brings us to a subject of a similar category but specifically designed for plants only. Yes, we are talking about grow lights!
Grow Lights Are the Plant Super Food
Grow lights are fascinating phenomena, which are artificial in nature, but they provide plants with the nutrients they might end up fulfilling with the sun. There are various reasons that house plant lovers must have one which justifies their need to buy a grow light.
Let us look at a few reasons that will be good enough to convince you.
1. Grow Lights Have Highly Effective Timings!
A grow light is not a high-maintenance Sun replacement. You do not have to worry about keeping your grow light on for too long or even too little time. However, on average, it is possible and convenient to keep the grow light on for 8 to 10 hours a day.
Grow lights are highly energy efficient, so even if you keep them on for up to 16 hours a day, they do not harm the plants or the environment.
2. Grow Light Come with a Timer!
If you cannot determine how long you can keep your grow light on your plant, you can have an automatic timer attached to it. Some grow lights also have inbuilt timers that you can control to determine when they will switch off on their own after that timer sets off.
You must look closely at your plant’s needs, so you do not give it lighter than its requirement. This is a simple task, and if you are aware of the specific plant’s needs at home, you should not have any trouble adjusting the grow light as per your plant’s needs.
3. You Don’t Have to Change Plant Positions for Grow Lights
Keeping grow lights in your house means you no longer must worry about positioning your plants again and again according to the sun’s rays indoors.
It would help if you placed the grow lights over their plants, making it super easy for house plant owners to provide their plants with easy and accessible light and nutrition.
As grow lights are specially designed for plants that are to be kept indoors, the intensity of the lights caters to the needs of the house plants without any damage or even long-term problem for the plant.
Taking Care of House Plants Under Grow Lights
House plants are incredibly high maintenance! This is something that all plant lovers must know for themselves. To keep a houseplant healthy and living for a long time, it is essential to take care of it in every way possible.
House plants come in different shapes and sizes as well as breeds. Getting house plants that suit the aesthetic of your house is not at all difficult or impossible.
Grow lights seem to be an effortless alternative for the sun. However, you must remember that it is still an artificial phenomenon and not leave your plants to the mercy of grow lights. You must continue supervising your plants and monitoring whether the grow light system is even suitable for them or not.
If you think the grow light is not ideal for your plants, feel free to remove them as the health and sustainability of your plant always come first. And doing so, you will gain more insight into how house plants function and the most effective way to install a grow light. As grow lights are artificial, their uses are not entirely artificial as them.
They’re a great invention that gives a lot of benefits to plants. If you can find a perfect grow light for your house plant, consider yourself lucky! A lot of people still do not know the usage of grow lights. Most of their questions and queries are based on the limited interaction that they’ve had with the grow lights.
If you have experienced a grow light, it becomes easier for you to look forward to the results. No results can be achieved without the cooperation of the house plant owner. Do companies set up huge factories and representatives to market and monitor their grow lights? It is still in the hands of the house plant owner to ensure the plant’s safety.
Our Final Thoughts
Grow lights are a good substitute for sunlight if you prefer to keep your plant indoors. House plants are not just decorations; over time, they become a part of your house, and it is your responsibility to provide them with the best conditions and allow them to have a long and healthy life. I hope you got an answer to how long to keep grow lights on house plants.
You may like the following houseplant articles:
- Why Are the Roots of My Potted House Plants Turning Black?
- Houseplants You Can Put In Aquarium
- Why is My House Plant Oozing Liquid?
- How to Get Rid of Springtails in Houseplants
- Why Are Houseplants So Expensive?
Hi! I’m Sophia, and I love plants – especially an expert in growing house plants. I stay in Chicago, United States of America, and through my blog and social media platforms, provide tips and tricks on how to grow healthy, vibrant plants indoors. Check out more here.