After hours of researching plant lights for indoor tropical plants, finally a channel with straightforward, informative and interesting content! Keep it up :)
This is the series I have been looking for! I am very interested in increasing the lighting in certain areas of my home. It is difficult to know what I am looking for in a grow light. This segment is going to be very helpful.
Thank you so much, as I have been puzzling over the plants that would like living on my big lanai. It faces east, south, and west. The sun shines in mostly on the southern side, but I don’t want plants to burn under the direct sunlight. I just downloaded a light meter app so will now experiment with readings! Thanks!
That was a great video! thanks so much...and even music : ) This really cleared up the light spectrum question I had on our Friday Zoom. Really appreciate it!
Love your new toy. its probably not new any more. have you measured regular house LED light spectrum vs LED grow light spectrum? Does "full spectrum" grow light really give more PPFD or PAR compared to regular house LED light under the same watt light? I really wanted to know if a "grow light" is more beneficial than house LED light.
Very interesting and informative. I have looked at Soltech lights but they're so expensive but from the light readings they're probably worth it in the long run.
I'm one of those other persons running around with a light meter ;) To be honest I can't imagine just trying to grow my succulents willy nilly without any light knowledge.
Thank you so much for talking about spectrum! I live in a shaded basement so I have to supplement with grow lights. It is split between crane arm types set to yellow, and the GE BR30 which has a soft, white-pink LED. I was worried that purple might be the best and it gives me a headache. I'll be getting a meter soon to figure out how good my lights are.
Purple lights aren't necessary. PPFD counts *all* wavelengths equally between 400nm (blue) to 700nm (red). Green light is not useless to plants so definitely do not think that blue/red LED lights are somehow superior to white LED.
Thanks, are you able to do a video where you show the light meter readings from a sunny window and cloudy window day and at different times or the day to compare them?
i can barely make out the figures on your gadget, but yes the wavelength of light as emitted by your lamp is useful for photosynthesis and is between 400-700nm
Hi, Thank you so much for this video! My mind is blown. I just ordered my Dr. Light meter, bought and read your book and I'm really excited to learn more about where to place my houseplants. I'm curious. I know you're a houseplant expert but I love how you think about things in a very systematic way. Do you have any tips on how to systematically measure light and evaluate lighting conditions outside in the yard? Like which spots are considered shade or full sun? And does this change throughout the year? Thanks! -Chris
Outdoor light categorizations are actually far better defined because they all relate to duration of direct sun: Full Sun (6+ hours), Part Sun (3-6 hours), Part Shade (3-6 hours but emphasis on shielding from hot afternoon sun), Shade (fewer than 3 hours of direct sun). And the only obstructions to consider are other buildings and trees/shrubs. When you combine these categories with knowing your USDA gardening zone, the system for outdoor gardening works a lot better than for indoors. Indoors is more difficult to categorize because window size greatly impacts measured light levels yet people aren't able to detect the drastic variance with their eyes and everyone could have differently sized windows.
Fantastic presentation of a complicated topic! To extend your argument, for growers of leafy vegetables: Are you saying daylight on a cloudy day would be superior to your grow lights?
Dude thanks for the video. I unpackaged my Mr Meter and started measuring my plant's light source. I thought it was broken! The light levels changed so much within such a short distance. And really???? How could 10 feet from the window or top of the bookshelf only provide 20 FC of light? This thing has to be broken right? So after watching the video I understood. Wow I need more grow lights.
is like pink floyd cover art of spectrum im noticing tomatoes doing better with lower light seems most veggies are nightshade family is dont need much light after all is makes easier growing tomatoes espesialy smaller varieties like the grape tomato perhaps is possible lowlight healthy foods
4 роки тому+1
I still have not purchased this item... now you put a new one in place and I am wondering... what am I going to do? lol. Okay, I will stick with the original light meter. Thank you for the video.
No - white LED light is far more useful. Plants actually do use green light and it's useful for humans to be able to see the plant properly (like to identify problems or pests) - purple lights make plants appear grey/black.
could you please test out spectral analysis of LED light bulbs? Especially the smart bulbs such as Lifx? I have them and I want to see I can use those to help my plants grow especially in hallways and places where they are no sunlights
I know someone who has a more expensive toys to play with. PG200N UPRtek is fantastic on having a more accurate , measurements. What's your take on this Darryl?
Does the orange case on your light meter STINK? I threw it out, bugged the hell out of me. The chart you have on your website where you list various plants and their minimum good and commercial foot candle readings is amazing. Hopefully it gets some updates! Where did you get that digital spectrometer? That's the coolest thing I've ever seen.
I just bought some bare root strawberry plants and they are predicting heavy overcast days for the next 10 days. Would they grow better if I brought them indoors and put them under a grow light temporarily ?
I need help. I live in a Condo in Tampa, FL where there are just 3 windows. Two of them are South facing windows and the other is North. Because there are so many buildings I get very little light through those windows. What can you suggest for me to do? Buy a grow light? If so, I need about 3 because the plants are not all in the same area. Which grow lights can be economical and not to large to have a few of them?
I’ve just received my soltech grow lights, the larger size. I’m confused as to how these will work when hung and if my plants on a similar style shelf unit you have will benefit from them. I’ve not hung them yet and it’s very overwhelming when it comes to grow lights for me. 😩
I don't know if this will help you or not, but I have been using a uv bulb over my plants. I purchase a new one every 3 months for my turtle, so I put the old one over plants. It seems to work really well, I have pretty healthy plants.
The term "grow light" has no substantial difference when you understand how to measure light. Sometimes specific colors are included in the LED to specific growing purposes but, when it comes to your average tropical foliage houseplants, any light (at the correct strength) will do.
What about for Aglaonema species?! I have some of the more interior of my apartment... I also have your yellow light meter. I’m holding for the best but keeping an eye on it. I also have a pony tail palm on my desk for aesthetics and better work environment but it’s cornered odd from my huge south facing windows 😭
I think the old light meter reads in lumens. For my plants that are absolutely furthest away from sunlight and artificial light I try to keep the meet at 200 for a solid number of hours per day but to be honest 1 of them is in the 150 range.
@@itsamodernmess Do you mean lux? Lumens is not a unit of illuminance. In general, no plant will grow well if for most of the day, it never gets any higher than 50 foot-candles (or 500 lux). In simplest terms, you need to put all your plants as close to the window as possible - give them the widest possible view of the sky. And only if the sun will shine directly on them for longer than 2 or 3 hours, then block them with a white sheer curtain - this is what you should do for "bright indirect light" type of plants.
I’ve read the foot candles may not be accurate since it’s measuring how bright it is for humans. Let’s say your using red blue grow light, which is more efficient for plants... how would you measure the amount of foot candles needed when generating from those lights. Edit: I see you talk about this discrepancy on your blog. Nvm reading through!
What's the purpose of the miracle led bulb? I have one of those and the FC readings drop down very quickly with distance. The distance from the monstera to the miracle LED is so big that if that was the only grow light I'm pretty sure it's not enough. Is my light meter wrong? I'm using a phone app
You're correct - that's why the miracle LED bulb was not the only light source. I just used it more as a fill light because the plant is so big. I only had the monstera in there for a week so it was really just a temporary measure.
Hi, I am interested to purchase a Hopoo spectrometer similar with the one you are using. I want to use it to help me designing LED grow lights, I have some projects in this area. I already have an apogee quantum sensor, but of course, that one is good only for quantitative measurements. I would like to ask for your opinion regarding 2 issues: One: how do you feel the accuracy of this spectrometer, is it reliable? If, for example, you place in identical condition the spectrometer and an apogee quantum sensor, do you see the same PAR/PPFD reading? Second: as you probably are aware, LED lights which have an adjustments for intensity can make this adjustment in one of two ways, either by modifying current intensity in the LEDs or by keeping the current at the maximum value and modulating the current with a PWM wave. I am concerned if this spectrometer is able to perform correct measurement with a PWM modulated light. This modulation is not visible with the naked eye, it occurs at few hundreds of hertz and some measuring systems are tricked by this phenomenon, giving wrong results. The manufacturer was not able to answer me to this question, perhaps it was a communication issue.
Alas, my application of these meters is just to determine if my plants are getting enough light from either the windows or grow lights. I have no need for scientific reporting. From my limited research of PWM, it seems the approach is meant to keep "perceived brightness" (that is, brightness experienced by a human) the same while reducing power usage. I'm not sure what the equivalent approach would be for plants and definitely unsure of how the spectrometer would account for this.
I got few grow light from amazon. most of them dont have good FC/LUX unless its super close to the plants. so its kind a useless right? you mentioned that plants need at least min of 1000FC for them to grow happy.
I don't think I said 1000 FC minimum - it is highly dependent on the plant type and what your goal with it is. Check out this resource I've put together for actual numbers: www.houseplantjournal.com/bright-indirect-light-requirements-by-plant/
Monstera. Ha ha ha. What's really growing on ( oops) I mean , what's really going on? What's in that other room , what's that smell,let me see your eyes son
If you're dealing with typical "houseplants", then spectrum actually doesn't make a noticeable difference - it's the STRENGTH of the light that matters (PPFD or FC). For that, you must measure it. The distance from a grow light, the size of the window, the distance from the window - all of these things will make one higher than the other so we can't generalize just based on what the light is.
Do you not use this shower? I'm going to assume you have more than one. But now that I am thinking about it I should also put plants in my extra bathroom with grow lights lol
@@HousePlantJournal can you grow a monstera using only artificial light? I have very small windows in my new apartment but ALOT of plants, stumbled on your videos trying to figure out how to make due :-)
How accurate are smartphone light meter apps when compared to the light meter device you have there? Would be great if we could simply rely on our smartphones instead.
Smartphones will do for ambient light levels between 0 to around 2000 foot-candles, which is all you really need for assessing "bright indirect light". The only issue is the sensitivity response might not be the same across all devices so unless you're able to calibrate the response against a dedicated light meter, there's no way to be sure. I use my phone as a light meter since I've calibrated it.
Hi 7 minutes to compare fluoreset was not realy fair.. that is emmit 365 degree and the bathroom one is spot light. try mesure above and on the side :) then avorage it....
Love the light meter montage Darryl! It's been cloudy here because it's the rainy season. My plants (Prayer Plants, Pepperomias, Hoyas) that are by the window are getting 50 FC :( should I use growlights or let nature take its course?
If your daily average is 50 FC, Nature will say there should not be plants there...I think you and your plants would be happier with a grow light or two.
How can there be "direct light" on a cloudy day? Direct light implies that the sun is unobstructed (or at least fully visible through a window). Most tropical foliage plants can take 1 or 2 hours of direct sun through a window - you will just need to watch their soil dryness more closely and be vigilant in watering on time.
After hours of researching plant lights for indoor tropical plants, finally a channel with straightforward, informative and interesting content! Keep it up :)
Oh that's what your calling it tropical plants ha.ja ha
I LOVE YOU! So informative...I like the meter getting music too!
This is a fantastic and informative video for growers!
Definitely something to invest in! Love how you turned your shower into a monstera rehab haha
First time seing you!! I love this content!! Thank you sooooooooo much, exactly what I’ve been looking for☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️
Glad you enjoyed it!
Interesting video Darryl! I like the meter gettin music!
LOL...light meter montage!
This is the series I have been looking for! I am very interested in increasing the lighting in certain areas of my home. It is difficult to know what I am looking for in a grow light. This segment is going to be very helpful.
Thanks! I'm glad you're on board!
You need( just kidding I love y'all)
It got a whole lot geekier fast 😂 I love it!
Thank you so much, as I have been puzzling over the plants that would like living on my big lanai. It faces east, south, and west. The sun shines in mostly on the southern side, but I don’t want plants to burn under the direct sunlight. I just downloaded a light meter app so will now experiment with readings! Thanks!
Great video. Thanks
That was a great video! thanks so much...and even music : ) This really cleared up the light spectrum question I had on our Friday Zoom. Really appreciate it!
Love your new toy. its probably not new any more. have you measured regular house LED light spectrum vs LED grow light spectrum? Does "full spectrum" grow light really give more PPFD or PAR compared to regular house LED light under the same watt light? I really wanted to know if a "grow light" is more beneficial than house LED light.
Very interesting and informative. I have looked at Soltech lights but they're so expensive but from the light readings they're probably worth it in the long run.
The Soltech lights are definitely some of the most powerful consumer grow lights on the market that ALSO look half decent.
Thank you
when you said "plant parents" i heard Planned Parents.. 😁😁😆
Ah Awesome ☘️✌️
You read our minds with the PPFD 😍 🤤
I'm one of those other persons running around with a light meter ;) To be honest I can't imagine just trying to grow my succulents willy nilly without any light knowledge.
Nice! Actually, when it comes to indoor plants, the majority of people are doing light willy nilly!
Can you do another version of this again? Like fall sunlight or winter sunlight etc
You are fantastic! 👍
This video was AWESOME! Educational and sooooo entertaining! 😂😂😂😍😍😍
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you so much for talking about spectrum! I live in a shaded basement so I have to supplement with grow lights. It is split between crane arm types set to yellow, and the GE BR30 which has a soft, white-pink LED. I was worried that purple might be the best and it gives me a headache. I'll be getting a meter soon to figure out how good my lights are.
Purple lights aren't necessary. PPFD counts *all* wavelengths equally between 400nm (blue) to 700nm (red). Green light is not useless to plants so definitely do not think that blue/red LED lights are somehow superior to white LED.
Thanks, are you able to do a video where you show the light meter readings from a sunny window and cloudy window day and at different times or the day to compare them?
Great suggestion! Will do!
Can you do a spectral analysis comparing a typical non grow light LED light bulb?
So useful thanks
i can barely make out the figures on your gadget, but yes the wavelength of light as emitted by your lamp is useful for photosynthesis and is between 400-700nm
Hi, Thank you so much for this video! My mind is blown. I just ordered my Dr. Light meter, bought and read your book and I'm really excited to learn more about where to place my houseplants.
I'm curious. I know you're a houseplant expert but I love how you think about things in a very systematic way. Do you have any tips on how to systematically measure light and evaluate lighting conditions outside in the yard? Like which spots are considered shade or full sun? And does this change throughout the year? Thanks! -Chris
Outdoor light categorizations are actually far better defined because they all relate to duration of direct sun: Full Sun (6+ hours), Part Sun (3-6 hours), Part Shade (3-6 hours but emphasis on shielding from hot afternoon sun), Shade (fewer than 3 hours of direct sun). And the only obstructions to consider are other buildings and trees/shrubs. When you combine these categories with knowing your USDA gardening zone, the system for outdoor gardening works a lot better than for indoors. Indoors is more difficult to categorize because window size greatly impacts measured light levels yet people aren't able to detect the drastic variance with their eyes and everyone could have differently sized windows.
@@HousePlantJournal got it. Thank you! I think I'll try and create a map of my property throughout a sunny day or maybe use pictures to compile a map.
i grow orchids and if i grew them indoors under this lamp, it is sufficient. thanks for conducting the experiment :)
Fantastic presentation of a complicated topic! To extend your argument, for growers of leafy vegetables: Are you saying daylight on a cloudy day would be superior to your grow lights?
Dude thanks for the video. I unpackaged my Mr Meter and started measuring my plant's light source. I thought it was broken! The light levels changed so much within such a short distance. And really???? How could 10 feet from the window or top of the bookshelf only provide 20 FC of light? This thing has to be broken right? So after watching the video I understood. Wow I need more grow lights.
is like pink floyd cover art of spectrum im noticing tomatoes doing better with lower light seems most veggies are nightshade family is dont need much light after all is makes easier growing tomatoes espesialy smaller varieties like the grape tomato perhaps is possible lowlight healthy foods
I still have not purchased this item... now you put a new one in place and I am wondering... what am I going to do? lol. Okay, I will stick with the original light meter. Thank you for the video.
The basic light meter will do. You do not need a specrometer to know whether there's adequate light for your plants.
@@HousePlantJournal Okay, I do have a light meter so that is good to know. Thank you.
@@HousePlantJournal please could you let me know your model of Spectro meter ?
Thanks so much for this video. It was great! But what is the deal with the red and blue lights for plants? Are this necessary and/or useful?
No - white LED light is far more useful. Plants actually do use green light and it's useful for humans to be able to see the plant properly (like to identify problems or pests) - purple lights make plants appear grey/black.
@@HousePlantJournal Thanks so much for that advice. I appreciate it.
❤
could you please test out spectral analysis of LED light bulbs? Especially the smart bulbs such as Lifx? I have them and I want to see I can use those to help my plants grow especially in hallways and places where they are no sunlights
I second this.
👏🏻👏🏻😊
what if I want to slow down the growth of my monstera? I don't have much space for it to grow any bigger and it's massive. Love to hear your thoughts!
You can't really slow the growth without compromising its health. Your best bet would be to cut it back and give the cuttings to friends.
I know someone who has a more expensive toys to play with. PG200N UPRtek is fantastic on having a more accurate , measurements. What's your take on this Darryl?
Does the orange case on your light meter STINK? I threw it out, bugged the hell out of me.
The chart you have on your website where you list various plants and their minimum good and commercial foot candle readings is amazing. Hopefully it gets some updates!
Where did you get that digital spectrometer? That's the coolest thing I've ever seen.
You can use your phone too they have apps for it
Hi Darrel, which and where did you get the spectrometer?
I just bought some bare root strawberry plants and they are predicting heavy overcast days for the next 10 days. Would they grow better if I brought them indoors and put them under a grow light temporarily ?
So do you think it’s better on a cloudy day to use grow lights or The window
Thank you for your video's. If you only has one device to measure light, what would you use?
Hi Daryl! I have just discovered your great channel! May I know is there any app that you'd recommend if I don't want to use a lightmeter?
can you do a video comparing light meter apps to an actual light meter?
That's a great idea! Thanks!
I measured 120 FC in my window and 50 on some plants :( It's really cloudy, going to rain soon.
Could comment on how the spectrum changes with and without curtains?
What about accuracy
Did you check that ?
Where did you get the fancy meter lol
I need help. I live in a Condo in Tampa, FL where there are just 3 windows. Two of them are South facing windows and the other is North. Because there are so many buildings I get very little light through those windows. What can you suggest for me to do? Buy a grow light? If so, I need about 3 because the plants are not all in the same area. Which grow lights can be economical and not to large to have a few of them?
Here are several grow lights I've used: www.houseplantjournal.com/grow-lights-part-1/
Thanks
I have questions?
I’ve just received my soltech grow lights, the larger size. I’m confused as to how these will work when hung and if my plants on a similar style shelf unit you have will benefit from them. I’ve not hung them yet and it’s very overwhelming when it comes to grow lights for me. 😩
Hi Darryl, I have a tinted window in our apartment. How would that affect the light?
can you measure a GT Industrial GT-CB-100 10000 Lumens E26 High Lumen Bulb in foot intervals pls
What is the other measuring device to read ppfd?
Silly question, must it be specifically grow light or can it be any high wattage led light?
I don't know if this will help you or not, but I have been using a uv bulb over my plants. I purchase a new one every 3 months for my turtle, so I put the old one over plants. It seems to work really well, I have pretty healthy plants.
The term "grow light" has no substantial difference when you understand how to measure light. Sometimes specific colors are included in the LED to specific growing purposes but, when it comes to your average tropical foliage houseplants, any light (at the correct strength) will do.
What about for Aglaonema species?! I have some of the more interior of my apartment... I also have your yellow light meter. I’m holding for the best but keeping an eye on it.
I also have a pony tail palm on my desk for aesthetics and better work environment but it’s cornered odd from my huge south facing windows 😭
I think the old light meter reads in lumens. For my plants that are absolutely furthest away from sunlight and artificial light I try to keep the meet at 200 for a solid number of hours per day but to be honest 1 of them is in the 150 range.
@@itsamodernmess Do you mean lux? Lumens is not a unit of illuminance. In general, no plant will grow well if for most of the day, it never gets any higher than 50 foot-candles (or 500 lux). In simplest terms, you need to put all your plants as close to the window as possible - give them the widest possible view of the sky. And only if the sun will shine directly on them for longer than 2 or 3 hours, then block them with a white sheer curtain - this is what you should do for "bright indirect light" type of plants.
@@itsamodernmess many common houseplants and their light requirements here: www.houseplantjournal.com/bright-indirect-light-requirements-by-plant/
I’ve read the foot candles may not be accurate since it’s measuring how bright it is for humans. Let’s say your using red blue grow light, which is more efficient for plants... how would you measure the amount of foot candles needed when generating from those lights. Edit: I see you talk about this discrepancy on your blog. Nvm reading through!
What's the purpose of the miracle led bulb? I have one of those and the FC readings drop down very quickly with distance. The distance from the monstera to the miracle LED is so big that if that was the only grow light I'm pretty sure it's not enough. Is my light meter wrong? I'm using a phone app
You're correct - that's why the miracle LED bulb was not the only light source. I just used it more as a fill light because the plant is so big. I only had the monstera in there for a week so it was really just a temporary measure.
Hi, I am interested to purchase a Hopoo spectrometer similar with the one you are using. I want to use it to help me designing LED grow lights, I have some projects in this area. I already have an apogee quantum sensor, but of course, that one is good only for quantitative measurements. I would like to ask for your opinion regarding 2 issues: One: how do you feel the accuracy of this spectrometer, is it reliable? If, for example, you place in identical condition the spectrometer and an apogee quantum sensor, do you see the same PAR/PPFD reading? Second: as you probably are aware, LED lights which have an adjustments for intensity can make this adjustment in one of two ways, either by modifying current intensity in the LEDs or by keeping the current at the maximum value and modulating the current with a PWM wave. I am concerned if this spectrometer is able to perform correct measurement with a PWM modulated light. This modulation is not visible with the naked eye, it occurs at few hundreds of hertz and some measuring systems are tricked by this phenomenon, giving wrong results. The manufacturer was not able to answer me to this question, perhaps it was a communication issue.
Alas, my application of these meters is just to determine if my plants are getting enough light from either the windows or grow lights. I have no need for scientific reporting. From my limited research of PWM, it seems the approach is meant to keep "perceived brightness" (that is, brightness experienced by a human) the same while reducing power usage. I'm not sure what the equivalent approach would be for plants and definitely unsure of how the spectrometer would account for this.
@@HousePlantJournal , much appreciated ,thank you.
Hi there. What is PPFD?
Alrighty - will do in the next video!
I got few grow light from amazon. most of them dont have good FC/LUX unless its super close to the plants. so its kind a useless right? you mentioned that plants need at least min of 1000FC for them to grow happy.
I don't think I said 1000 FC minimum - it is highly dependent on the plant type and what your goal with it is. Check out this resource I've put together for actual numbers: www.houseplantjournal.com/bright-indirect-light-requirements-by-plant/
Monstera. Ha ha ha. What's really growing on ( oops) I mean , what's really going on? What's in that other room , what's that smell,let me see your eyes son
If your plants are near a window, is that the same, or better, than a grow light? Even on cloudy days?
If you're dealing with typical "houseplants", then spectrum actually doesn't make a noticeable difference - it's the STRENGTH of the light that matters (PPFD or FC). For that, you must measure it. The distance from a grow light, the size of the window, the distance from the window - all of these things will make one higher than the other so we can't generalize just based on what the light is.
Do you not use this shower? I'm going to assume you have more than one. But now that I am thinking about it I should also put plants in my extra bathroom with grow lights lol
The monstera was only in there for a week but yes, it's a second bathroom.
@@HousePlantJournal can you grow a monstera using only artificial light? I have very small windows in my new apartment but ALOT of plants, stumbled on your videos trying to figure out how to make due :-)
How accurate are smartphone light meter apps when compared to the light meter device you have there? Would be great if we could simply rely on our smartphones instead.
Smartphones will do for ambient light levels between 0 to around 2000 foot-candles, which is all you really need for assessing "bright indirect light". The only issue is the sensitivity response might not be the same across all devices so unless you're able to calibrate the response against a dedicated light meter, there's no way to be sure. I use my phone as a light meter since I've calibrated it.
@@HousePlantJournal Aaah I see, nvr thought of that...
Hi 7 minutes to compare fluoreset was not realy fair.. that is emmit 365 degree and the bathroom one is spot light. try mesure above and on the side :) then avorage it....
Love the light meter montage Darryl! It's been cloudy here because it's the rainy season. My plants (Prayer Plants, Pepperomias, Hoyas) that are by the window are getting 50 FC :( should I use growlights or let nature take its course?
If your daily average is 50 FC, Nature will say there should not be plants there...I think you and your plants would be happier with a grow light or two.
Can tropical plants bare direct light in a cloudy day or should curtains still be covering the windows?
How can there be "direct light" on a cloudy day? Direct light implies that the sun is unobstructed (or at least fully visible through a window). Most tropical foliage plants can take 1 or 2 hours of direct sun through a window - you will just need to watch their soil dryness more closely and be vigilant in watering on time.
Explain PPFD. :)
Haha, okay...noted for the next video!