The majority of indoor plants need a healthy dose of light to process their food and survive. Natural light may not always be an option though, especially if you're keeping plants in a finished basement, or other area of the house that doesn't have a good degree of natural lighting. In these situations there's no need to bemoan the fate of your plant, as artificial lights offer a great alternative to natural light.



These lighting sources come in different colors and are measured through a light meter. What sunlight provides to plants are UVB and UVA rays, which are necessary for them to manufacture food. Unfortunately, sunlight does not always cooperate with our wishes and penetrate into areas it can't reach, or even make appearances at all on some days. This makes artificial lights a great choice for plants stuck in low light areas, as well as a temporary fix on overcast days for plants in areas of the house that would normally get sunlight.

Indoor lights come in a variety of models. Incandescent lights can be used to illuminate any darkened area, and supply plants with a good degree of light, but these lights also give off plenty of heat, which may not be suitable for small rooms or enclosed areas. These lights are perfect for a basement area.

Next are fluorescent lights, which are cheaper than incandescent lights, but take more effort to install and ready. These lights also have models specifically designed for plant growth called plant growth lights, making them the perfect choice for just that.

Finally, HID lights are the costliest and hottest lights of the bunch. These lights emit a high intensity beam that covers the entire spectrum of light that a plant could possibly need. In most instances these lights will need to be kept a good distance from the plant, even with easy care house plants as the heat discharged by these lights are very likely to cause a plant to wilt. Having these lights on for long stretches of time in a small room could also cause it to become unbearably hot. These are also ideal for basements.

The lack of heat emission and cheap price point make fluorescent lights the best choice in most cases, though your individual situation may dictate choosing one of the other styles. Whichever you end up going with, you'll have taken the fickle nature of Mother Nature out of play, and ensured your plants will grow strong no matter where they're located.