How to Use Fluorescent Lightbulbs for Growing

Contributor

By Jenny Harrington
eHow Contributing Writer

Article Rating:

(0 Ratings)

Whether you are starting seedlings indoors or need an additional light source for your houseplants, fluorescent light bulbs provide the needed types of light rays for healthy plant growth. Incandescent light bulbs do not provide the full spectrum of light that a plant requires to grow strong and healthy---fluorescents do. While special grow-light tubes are available, regular fluorescent tubes in a standard fixture work just as well and cost less than the special ones.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Light fixture
Hardware
Fluorescent bulbs

Step 1

Place a cool white and a warm white fluorescent light bulb in a two-tube light fixture. Alternately, use a single grow-light fluorescent tube.
Step 2

Hang the fixture using the included hardware so that it is six inches above mature plants. For seedlings, choose a fixture that comes on an adjustable chain---often sold as a shop light fixture or a grow light fixture---so that you can adjust the height as your plants grow.
Step 3

Place the plants under the light. Place seedlings so the tops of the plants are approximately four inches from the light bulbs and adjust the light fixture to maintain this distance as they grow.
Step 4

Leave the lights on for approximately 12 to 16 hours a day, depending on the light requirements for the particular plant. Plants require twice as much artificial lighting as they do natural sunlight.

Tips & Warnings

Use a timer on the lights if you are unable to manually turn them on and off at the proper times.
Supplement low winter light by placing houseplants under fluorescents for eight to 10 hours a day.
If you do not have an adjustable fixture, place pots on top of boards or boxes to elevate them to the correct distance from the lights.
Do not place plants too close together under lights, as the light rays will not be able to permeate between them.
Do not allow the plant foliage to touch the bulbs as this may damage or burn them.
Only use grow lights during normal daytime hours, dawn until evening. Do not use them from evening until dawn as plants will not reap the full benefit from them.