When to Use Metal Halide Light Bulbs and Light Fixtures
Many of us start out with indoor gardening when we get our first apartment and someone gives us a plant. We stick it near the window, give it some water and it either lives or dies. If this is the extent of your indoor gardening experience and you would like to learn more about growing plants all year round, you’ll need to learn a bit more about optimal lighting for plants.
There are several different types of grow light bulbs you will need to learn about and use if you want to successfully grow plants indoors. One of the most commonly used types are metal halide lamps. This type of light encourages healthy vegetative growth in all sorts of plants. Metal halide light fixtures should be used whenever you’re trying to get a plant to grow and thrive in optimum health.
Metal halide lamps aren’t used to force bloom plants or to promote flowering or blooming. This is because the blue rays of the light spectrum which they provide are ideal for vegetative growth, while flowering demands more red or orange rays. When you are ready to promote blooming, you will need to learn about and utilize high pressure sodium light fixtures, or HPS lights.