In order for the plant to bloom profusely, to develop well, it needs a sufficient amount of sunlight. This is necessary for the natural process of photosynthesis - a plant synthesizes carbohydrates, which are involved in the process of their growth and development. In the summer, when domestic plants receive the necessary amount of sunlight, the question of additional lighting does not arise. However, with the onset of winter, this problem becomes the most urgent.
Beginning flower growers, as a rule, illuminate home plants with ordinary lamps. But it is completely useless. Leaves still remain pale, plants bloom little and poorly. After all, artificial lighting is not able to fully replace the sunny color. In addition, if you highlight the plants using a conventional lamp. In this case, we need special fluorescent lamps for plants.
What lighting to choose
In the period of early spring, late autumn and winter, when decorative plants lack sunlight, electric lighting comes to the rescue. Under the influence of additional light, their leaves become brighter and greener. A lush, plentiful flowering lasts much longer.
There are various lamps for plants, how to choose the most suitable option?
For successful year-round cultivation, it is necessary to purchase a lighting installation in a specialized store. Their selection is quite extensive. Today, manufacturers offer a variety of lamp lamps: standing on tripods, wall, hanging, attached with Velcro and clothespins.
The most optimal for them are orange-red and blue-violet rays. The former contribute to development. The second increase vegetative growth. When choosing fluorescent lamps for plants, it is important to take into account the fact that the blue energy emitted by the lamp should be a couple of times lower than the red radiation energy.
It is important to remember that highlighting should be done regularly, and not from time to time. Since periodic lighting can only harm plants, thus, their biorhythms are lost.
Lamps for plants how to choose
When choosing the type of lighting for plants, it is important to remember that not only its intensity, but the radiation spectrum is of great importance. In this case, the optimal option is a spectrum of daylight, extending from ultraviolet rays to infrared.
Daylight-like light comes from artificial light sources, but not in the entire spectrum. Everyone knows that chlorophyll is involved in the transformation of the energy of light into the energy of organic compounds, the best absorber of light is the red and blue parts of the spectrum. A lamp for plant growth with a red spectrum favors the acceleration of seed germination and the growth of shoots. The growth of green mass in the first stage of plant development contributes to blue-violet light.
For plants, various types of lamps can be used as light sources: incandescent, gas-discharge, LEDs, as well as fluorescent lamps for plants. Currently, the last option is most popular.
Standard incandescent lamps are less suitable for these purposes, since they are characterized by low light intensity, orange, red and infrared rays predominate in their spectrum , which accelerate vertical growth, under such lighting plants are drawn.
The fluorescent lamps for plants are closest to the spectrum of daylight; moreover, unlike incandescent lamps, they are much more economical. Most of the plants develop well under these lamps.
Fluorescent lamps
Their light is most consistent with natural light, in addition, they practically do not radiate heat. Most importantly, fluorescent lamps for indoor plants, unlike incandescent lamps, consume 4 times less energy.
Today in stores you can see a huge selection of these lighting fixtures - various power, shape, type of radiation of light waves, type of generated discharge, etc.
It is also worth highlighting energy-saving fluorescent lamps - the most popular and economical.
Distance to plants
Fluorescent lamps must be placed from decorative deciduous plants at a distance of 30-60 cm, from decorative flowering plants - 20-30 cm. However, if you use this type of lighting as the main one - in chandeliers or sconces, then in this case the main principle is not the distance to the lamp, and the sufficiency of light. But if you have 1-2 devices on a large area, then the plants should be placed as close as possible to the lamps, that is, at a distance as indicated above.
When the plant is located one side to the lamp, it is recommended to turn it over periodically.
Specifications
As a rule, fluorescent lamps are used for illumination for growing plants of the daytime type of LBT or LB, as they give cold light. Such brands as LDC and LD are unsuitable for such purposes, since their spectrum can only inhibit the plant.
Depending on the distance and area of the lighted room, the lamp power for indoor plants is selected.
How to place a lamp for plant lighting
In the process of placement, it is important to remember that if you double the distance to the lamp, you need to four times reduce the intensity of lighting on the plant.
If traces of burns began to appear on the leaves, it means that the light source is too low, pale leaves and elongated stems indicate that the lamp for plant growth is too far away.
Lateral artificial lighting is able to bend the stems towards the light, so it is better to highlight from above.
Lighting duration
Since the primary goal is to increase the plant's daylight hours, it is necessary to extend it depending on the natural daylight hours - in the evening and in the morning for 3-4 hours. As a result, the time should be about 6-8 hours. With especially cloudy days, it is advisable to turn on the lamp for 12 hours.
To increase the flowering time, it is recommended to increase the backlight time. For example, a plant such as Saintpaulia needs to be highlighted daily for 12-14 hours - this is a prerequisite for its flowering.
It is also worth noting that plants need a dormant period, since forced prolonged flowering in the winter period significantly depletes them. The exception is plants blooming in winter.