Jessie Cali
- Dec 26, 2020
- 3 min read

A Beginner's Guide To Grow Lights

Updated: Mar 24, 2023

Have you ever felt like you just didn’t have the right amount of light for your plants? Or, maybe your office had NO windows?! <- That should be a crime, just sayin’. And, because of that, you decided not to buy that cute houseplant while shopping for groceries. (I can’t be the only one shopping for plants and groceries at the same time, right?!) Well, if you can relate to the above, then you are in luck! Grow Lights are a fantastic option for you! I’ll be honest when I first began my journey into the plant world, I had NO idea there were grow lights! Who knew?! Now, even if you’re new to grow lights, don’t be intimidated! You can literally find these at your local Home Depot or Lowe’s. You can also order on Amazon! I’ll be linking a few of my personal favorites as we walk through this post.

SO, HOW DO WE FIND THE RIGHT TYPE OF GROW LIGHT FOR YOUR PLANT SETUP?

First of all, how BIG is your plant setup?

If you are looking to provide more light for 1-3 plants in your home or office, you will do just fine with buying a typical E26 LED Grow Light Bulb. This type of light bulb will fit in most standard Floor Lamps, Desk Lamps, and Clip-On Lamps in North America. I like this option best because I can use lamps that already fit in well with my decor and they don’t stand out as a “Grow Light.”

How can you tell if your lamps take the E26 bulbs?! Well! It’s actually very simple. Most standard lamps take E26 bulbs in North America (E27 in Europe). If you measure the base of the bulb, E26 bases are around an inch wide. If you want to be sure before buying the bulb, measure the area where you screw the bulb into the lamp. If it is around 1 inch, you are going to need an E26 bulb.

Another great option for providing light to a smaller grouping of plants are LED Grow Lights! You can find a plethora of options on Amazon for these. I have tried the Stand Alone Multi-Head LED Grow Lights and the Clip-On LED Grow Lights.

Now, maybe you have quite the jungle in your house? My jungle grew QUITE a bit in Quarantine, soooo, who am I to judge?! You can either invest in a multi-bulb floor lamp, like the fun Medusa Arch lamps, or grab a more classic option to please your jungle. You can use the same E26 LED Grow Light Bulbs in these lamps.

My last suggestion of grow light types are for those of you that keep your jungle on shelves! My friend invested in LED Grow Light Strips for her shelves and it looks AMAZING. The kit comes with (4) 2 ft LED strips and (3) different ways to attach the strips to your shelving unit. You can use Double sided tape, screws, or zip-ties to install these (all included in the kit)!

Images provided by Barrina.

TIPS TO KEEP IN MIND WITH GROW LIGHTS

-Try to mimic a typical Daylight Schedule

Turn the light on at Sunrise and off at nightfall. (Typically from 12-16 hours for most plants)

-Keep an Eye on your Plant Babies

Like real sunlight, you still need to keep an eye on your plants behavior toward the amount of light it is receiving. In some cases, if given too much light, the plant’s leaves can burn. If this happens, adjust the amount of time you are leaving the light on.

-Make sure to grab yourself a Full Spectrum Grow Light

All the options we’ve suggested above are Full Spectrum lights. What does that mean exactly? Well, Full Spectrum light is the closest lighting option to actual outdoor light. It provides a balance of cool and warm lighting that replicates natural sunlight. Most plants prefer this type of bulb, so your best bet is going with this type of Grow Light.

WELL, THAT’S ALL FOLKS!