FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hello,

My sister is asking what kind of LED lights does she need to grow a tropical pitcher plant and some herbs indoors. I'm not adept at this at all so it would be great if you could help me!

Thanks

I use dimmable 600w equivalent lights like this one :https://www.amazon.com/VIPARSPECTRA-New ... 168&sr=8-5
I tend to go overboard with light though, for me its easier to dim a powerful light then to buy a new one or fiddle around with raising or lowering them if its not bright enough/too bright.

I've seen people get great results with yescom lights and T8 Light fixtures as well, but have no personal experience with T8's so I cant make and recommendations for you there.

I've used Yescom with Nepenthes and for the most part they've done pretty well. The leaves stay green while the pitcher colors are good.

Definitely get a dimming function like he said if you get a more powerful light. I'd use my Mars Hydro if I could dim them but it'd roast my Neps :/

I agree with Rammplins on the light selection. Those Viparspectra lights seem to be the most bang for the buck right now in the <$100 range.

Here's one that I'm looking at picking up soon: VIPARSPECTRA Latest XS1000 LED Grow Light, with Samsung LM301B Diodes (IR Included) & MeanWell Driver, Dimmable Full Spectrum Plant Grow Light for Indoor Plants Seeding Veg and Flower

That's a lot of light for around $100. Combine that with a meanwell driver and Samsung leds and you've got quantity and quality.

For nepenthes, I'd focus on a light that can be placed fairly far from the plant since you'll need broad coverage once it gets leggy.

I'd avoid blurple lights since they just look weird, are harder on the eyes, can mask problems with your plants, and don't perform as well as the more recent white leds.

I'd also look for lights that have a fairly broad base so the light is coming in from multiple angles and can penetrate the canopy. I have an old blurple light that is just a single point source and it casts strong, distinct shadows which causes the plant to grow strangely.

I'd also avoid lights with fans if the plants are going to be in your living space. That constant whir can quickly become incredibly irritating.

Hope that helps!

Wow, in 4 years we've come a long way with LED lights. I just started looking around for fun, I paid double of what they are asking for nowadays and mine is about twice as thick and heavy as well.

I have to agree about the blurple light. It really sucks to look at and is completely unfit for a living space if it is constant view.

If your sister is growing herbs then she probably wants a light that is mostly blue or white LEDs for lots of vegetative growth. If she's actually growing "herbs" (wink wink nudge nudge) then she will need an option to switch to red LEDs to promote bud formation. The LED boards are pretty much the same; the biggest difference between an expensive light like Mars Hydro versus a cheap light like Yescom is the driver, which determines how much light output you get per watt. So if she's paying her own electricity bill, it's better to spend more upfront. If this is more of a college dorm room situation where utilities are free, get lots of cheap lights.

Thanks for advice guys! My sister is just growing garden herbs. No special herbs