Following that advice, I’ve started turning my grow lights on at 7 a.m., when I wake up, and off around 9 p.m. Pollak, meanwhile, suggested a minimum of 12 to 14 hours for my succulents on overcast days. John Morse, director of horticulture at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, lets his houseplants bask under grow lights for between 15 and 18 hours a day. While you probably don’t want to leave your grow lights on indefinitely, you also don’t need to match the short winter daylight hours. “But when the sun goes down, plants’ opportunity to eat disappears and other physiological processes take over, including energy metabolism and growth.” “During the day, plants soak up sunlight during photosynthesis, the process they use to get energy,” writes science journalist Brooke Borel. ![]() Plants don’t sleep, technically, but they do change their behavior based on their circadian rhythms. ![]() “Plants need a day and a night,” he says. No, says Tim Pollak, outdoor floriculturist at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Endless light energy translates to endless chemical energy and thriving plants, right? I hoped these new lights could return my suffering succulents to their former glow and began to use them daily-sometimes forgetting to turn them off. And I’m glad I got those instead of conventional bulbs, since LEDs use less energy and produce less heat. I use a mix of blue and red lights, which give plants more energy and provide my apartment a fun purple tint. They each have four flexible light sticks equipped with LED lights. ![]() They needed some restorative rays.Ī few months ago, I received two Ankace LED grow lights as a gift. In California, they flaunted the colors that indicate succulent happiness, blushing with purples and pinks, but in New York they faded and stretched out in their search for light. They were used to living outside, in 50- to 70-degree temperatures (10 to 20 degrees Celsius), with constant cool fog and partial sun. I moved from San Francisco to Brooklyn this past fall, and it’s been a tough winter for my succulents.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |