led for indoor plant

[sphelps]

I always thought typical reptile bulbs are full spectrum with quartz glass to allow UVB/A to pass through so I don't really know what you mean by wrong K. I know many plant enthusiasts use reptile type bulbs for their UVB to aid in certain blooming times.

[Seriak]

Originally Posted by sphelps

I always thought typical reptile bulbs are full spectrum with quartz glass to allow UVB/A to pass through so I don't really know what you mean by wrong K. I know many plant enthusiasts use reptile type bulbs for their UVB to aid in certain blooming times.

To obtain proper plant growth you need around 6500 K. I use 5.0 UVB bulbs which are around 21000 K. The plant is just not successful under that range.

[ScubaSteve]

Originally Posted by Seriak

To obtain proper plant growth you need around 6500 K. I use 5.0 UVB bulbs which are around 21000 K. The plant is just not successful under that range.

Ya, with those bulbs there's not much in the wavelengths that the plant can use for synthesis. I've found hibiscus to need a bit more in the red than the blue.

I use sunblasters (26w and 55w) through the winter and I've grown a 4 ft avocado tree, a 3 ft mango tree, limes, plumeria, and started a few grapefruit seedlings in December that are several inches high now. So, they seem to work pretty good.

The artificial lighting has nothing on real sunlight. Sunlight will grow things several fold faster and is magnitudes more intense. I've had plants under 200W CFLs burn after putting them out into sunlight in the spring.