Preferences for plant lighting over winter

August 18, 2024 8:53 AM

I'm thinking ahead to bringing in some plants over winter, and am overwhelmed with the choice of grow lights on Amazon.

This isn't a question about growing cannabis, although if you have experience doing so indoors, your advice might be useful too.

Come mid to late October, I bring some plants indoors. It's a mix – aloes, lemon geraniums, a few coleus and hypoestes. In the past, my plants have mostly survived the long winter (mid-October to April here, given that some of these plants can't survive even a tiny bit of frost) although they tend to look a bit wan by spring, and seem very happy to get back outside when the night temperature isn't flirting with 0°C.

I've bought clip-on full-spectrum LEDs in the past, with mixed results. Always the kind that are on long adjustable strips. Some do not hold up well, and the individual bars fall apart within a few months. Others I still have.

I'm looking at the endless offerings from oddly named companies (Noibad, Toweboory, Qtittu, Garpsen, Wiaxulay – probably all from the same factory in Shenzhen) and my question is actually pretty simple, if you have experience with this. Are the ones sold in long bars better or worse than those constructed as a single flat panel? I am not able to hang a big panel from the ceiling, but there are some panels available on stands, which give an impression of better solidity, but who can tell from the Amazon pictures?

(And yes I know, Amazon, but you should see the scorching prices of similar items from local hardware chains in Canada.)

posted by zadcat to Home & Garden (7 answers total)

The panels generally put out way more light than the little gooseneck LED things. I got a dimmable full spectrum one after reading way too many Reddit threads. Lots of good information there, but I find lighting is one of those things where often it can be too much information, and I also struggle to distinguish the good information from bad because quite honestly, there are too many types of units under discussion for me to keep track of. This is the panel I got, which is a hanging format but it might be possible to rig up a different situation for it. If I hadn't gone with the panel I would have rigged something up with these GE bulbs a lot of people recommended on Reddit, which you can install in various lamp setups and point at your plants.
posted by deludingmyself at 9:19 AM on August 18

I was similarly overwhelmed when I first moved into this apartment (which has SHITTY light, I tell you what). Finally I opted for something simpler - these grow light bulbs, screwed into some pendant lamp shades from Ikea.

They worked a treat - I didn't even bring my plants outside for the first two years I've lived here, and for a while they actually did better than when they were in my western-facing window from my last place. I set them up with a timer to give them 12 hours of light every day and it's worked just fine.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:45 AM on August 18

An inflatable kiddie pool for your plants, Panels arranged verticaly inside the pool., .A dilute H2O2 trace oxygen in the watering for maintaining roots , no NPK until spring , you can have tiny plant with enormous roots, key for large flower clusters grown from cuttings.
posted by hortense at 10:07 AM on August 18

KingBrite LED panels (shipped direct from Shenzhen on Alibaba) have a good reputation and I've been happy with mine. But aloes probably don't need any light other than what comes in a window and geraniums will maybe not exactly thrive without artificial light, but they should survive.
posted by ssg at 11:14 AM on August 18

I got these last year for starting seedlings indoors and they worked great. I basically ziptied them to one of those heavy duty plastic utility shelving units and daisy chained them together and they kept things thriving, including coleus, which grew in more brilliant colours indoors than it did outdoors thanks to the lights, and two chili plants we decided to try to keep over winter (which worked - they even grew several chilis!).

I also have one of those lights on top of one of those Ikea greenhouse things and it has turned my lemon tree from a tiny little seedling into a monster that threatens to burst out of the greenhouse. They work well.
posted by urbanlenny at 5:39 PM on August 18

Mars Hydro has been a supet reliable brand for me!
posted by sixswitch at 8:27 AM on August 19

Response by poster: Excellent help from all, and the related questions section also provided some good advice. Marking this one solved.
posted by zadcat at 8:38 AM on August 20