Types of Light

• There are all different types of lights and they make up what is called the full spectrum. The full spectrum seeks to mimic sunlight so all the colors of light are represented. Plants that grow under full-spectrum lighting will grow evenly and have a natural appearance.
  
  

Helpful Light

• Light colors that are helpful in making plants grow are red and blue lights. Red light will encourage a plant to flower quicker and produce buds. Also, if you are growing a plant that produces fruit, the red light will help fruit grow quicker. However, the plant will be thin and not very leafy if it is grown in red light. Blue light will help a plant grow thick, leafy foliage. If you use too much blue light, your plant may be stalkier than you anticipated.
  
  

Harmful Light

• Two types of light in the full spectrum can be harmful to plants. The first is UV light. Just as UV, or ultraviolet light, is harmful to humans, it is also harmful to plants. The short and medium UV rays can kill plants and can also cause colors to look washed out. Infrared light can potentially burn plants. This light projects itself as heat and harms plants if there is too much of it.
  
  

Neutral Light

• Other colors in the spectrum are yellow, green and orange. These colors do not have any significant effect on the growth of plant. Orange light is sometimes coupled with red light, but orange light on its own does not have an effect on plants.
  
  

Considerations

• While light colors have an effect on plant growth, there are three principles that have to be paid attention to also. These are quantity, quality and duration. The quantity refers to the intensity of the light that is put on a plant. For example, if a blue and red light are put onto a plant with the same intensity, they will balance each other out. Quality refers to the purity of the light the plant receives. For example, when it is cloudy, the quality of light received is lower.