The best grow lights for indoor plants: Grow indoors year-round with these picks

You know what they say (and by “they,” we mean millennials, basically): Pets are the new kids and plants are the new pets! And just like any pet, you want to give your lush little plant babies the proper pampering and care that they deserve.

But what if you’re a houseplant parent — is that what we’re calling ourselves these days? — who lives in an apartment or house that doesn’t quite get enough light for your little pet plants to flourish? Or, maybe you’re an avid indoor gardener who can never get enough light, especially in winter, for all the houseplants, flowers and vegetables you want to grow. Well, you’re in luck.

Indoor grow lights, which were once highly associated with (then) illegal cannabis growing in the U.S., have exploded in popularity with the average houseplant owner who just can’t say goodbye to that summer light. But there’s more to know about grow lamps than simply flipping a switch.

Plant grow lights come in a wide variety of sizes and styles (not to mention prices) to suit your houseplants and indoor vegetable gardens, so here’s the dirt on these plant life-saving devices.

Do my plants need a grow light?

Lighting is so integral to growing houseplants — heck, any plants — so you really want to make sure that they have the proper amount of light necessary to flourish. Light requirements can vary depending on the plant, of course, and some easy-to-care-for indoor plants are totally cool with very little light. But if your plant requires more sunlight than your home’s north-facing windows (or near-windowless apartment) can provide, then supplementing with some strategically placed plant grow lights can make a huge difference in whether or not your plants survive and actually thrive. This is even more true if you have outdoor plants that you bring indoors for the winter.

What’s the difference between an LED grow light and a fluorescent grow light?

The two most popular types of grow lights are LED (or light emitting diode) grow lamps and compact fluorescent lights, sometimes shortened to just CFL. Here’s the quick-and-dirty on how they measure up in comparison to each other:

• LED grow lights. Their color temperature can vary, but they have a finely tuned spectrum, so these grow lights are some of the best to mimic actual sunlight. They also have a long lifespan (generally over 50,000 hours) and are pretty energy-efficient, but they can be quite pricey.

• Fluorescent grow lights. Often found in tube-style lamps, these grow lights can cover more “ground” than others due to their sheer size, but they may not be quite as effective as LEDs. Smaller plants, in particular, can flourish pretty well under these grow lights, however, and the lamps can have a generous lifespan of up to 80,000 hours (though it varies wildly). They also tend to be the least expensive grow lights for indoor plants.

What kinds of grow lights are there and what do they do?

Aside from the most common LED and fluorescent options, you may also encounter High-Intensity Discharge or HID grow lamps. These often tube-shaped lights include MH (Metal Halide) grow lamps and HPS (High Pressure Sodium) grow lamps, and they are some of the most powerful lights you’ll find on the market. MH lamps lean toward the blue light end of the spectrum, while HPS grow lights lean more toward yellow or red light.

These color temperatures aren’t unique to MH and HPS grow lamps, however; you can also find fluorescent and LED grow lamps that are exclusively blue light or red light. But the different colors aren’t for aesthetics. Here’s how the cool and warm color temperatures affect plant growth when used in grow lamps:

• Blue light is the most efficiently absorbed spectrum and is therefore preferred for growing green, leafy crops and properly nurturing plants that are in their vegetative phase as it helps to establish structural growth and encourages peak chlorophyll absorption. The vegetative phase — or, the period between germination and flowering plant — is a busy time for plants as they carry out photosynthesis and gather all the resources they’ll need to sprout blooms and flowers and carry on the plant reproduction cycle. (You can think of it kind of like the plant world equivalent of “nesting” during human pregnancy.)

• Red light, on the other hand, is typically the ideal choice for plants that are actively fruiting and flowering as it helps to regulate their growth and development. These grow lamps can increase the rate of photosynthesis and may even prolong flowering. Although red light is necessary for plant growth, you wouldn’t want to keep plants under red light 100 percent of the time as it would cause them to stretch and have a more elongated appearance.

Fortunately, there is a happy medium between the two. Some grow lamp manufacturers have created lamps with both blue light bulbs and red light bulbs — a combination that can successfully encourage flowering without going overboard.

You may also see references to “full spectrum” and “broad spectrum.” Full spectrum grow lights most closely imitate natural sunlight, including invisible wavelengths like infrared and ultraviolet rays. Alternatively, broad spectrum grow lights give off the same complete spectrum of light as the sun, except without the rays of UV light.

What’s the best time of year to use an indoor grow light?

Utilizing artificial light for growing plants indoors can be beneficial any time of year, especially for plants that don’t have prime real estate near a sunny window. However, growing plants indoors can become infinitely more difficult in the winter when the days are shorter and the air may be a heck of a lot colder (so you may want to move your plants away from windowsills). Fortunately, a grow lamp provides an easy remedy.

What’s the best way to grow vegetables indoors with a grow light?

If you’re growing vegetables indoors with lights, LED grow lights are probably your best bet. This is due to their highly customizable wavelength which allows you to easily tailor your grow light color as the plants progress from one stage to the next (without having to switch out bulbs or anything like that). Finely tuning the light regiment for your indoor vegetable garden can also help you tweak and optimize aspects like flavor, texture and even plant color!

Can an indoor grow light hurt my plants?

Well, in short, yes — they absolutely can. (One of our editors and her poor burnt-to-a-crisp plant babies learned that lesson all too well.)

Sometimes this is simply a quality issue, so you’ll want to steer clear of suspiciously cheap grow lights and illegitimate sellers. Also, make sure to carefully consult the instructions that arrive with your artificial light. (And if it didn’t come with instructions, hit up your good ol’ pal Google before you even think about turning that thing on.)

Generally speaking, however, most plants need about eight hours of darkness each day, so you really can’t just “set it and forget it” unless the grow light has an automatic shutoff feature. While exposed to light, plants will continue to crank out the photosynthesis process and can get burnt out if you work them too hard. (Plants! They’re just like us!) This can damage their foliage and prevent flowering, at best. But the worst case scenario? Your little plant baby could get dried out and quite literally burn under the excessive light of your grow lamp.

Don’t let that scare you away from these incredibly useful plant accessories, though! We carefully vetted our selection of the best grow lights for indoor plants so you can trust that your plants will be in good care as long as they’re used properly.

Now that you know which type of artificial light you may need for your flowering plant, or for growing vegetables indoors with lights, our roundup should lead you to the perfect fit. With one of the best grow lights at your side, you’ll know exactly how to grow vegetables indoors — or at least be well-equipped to learn the ropes!