Color Spectrum

• Yellow and green light rays give plants little energy, which is why plants usually have green colors. They're reflecting green light. Red and blue lights give plants the best energy, with red helping plants the most. Sunlight provides a natural balance of colors, giving plants the reds and blues they need.
  
  

Lighting Types

• Artificial lights have varying colors. Incandescent lights provide enough red rays, but not enough blue. While cheaper up front, they use more energy and do not last as long as incandescent lights. Fluorescent tubes provide adequate blue light. Cool-white tubes, which create light that looks like daylight, ironically do not provide sufficient energy for plants. Warm fluorescent lights work better, especially when combined with a few incandescent lights kept somewhat away from the plant, giving both red and blue rays. Spotlights also work with plants, but don't provide as much energy.
  
  

Light Intensity

• The amount of light includes the light intensity and the lighting time frame. Plants adapted to the amount of light that they received through generations. Too much light can overwhelm some plants, but most plants suffer from deficient light in shaded areas and indoors. Overcome this by using shade-loving plants that can handle the low light. Plants that want heavy light generally grow faster than plants that want less light. However, plants don't need constant light, or they will grow unhealthy. Those artificially illuminating plants need to provide dark periods for the plant. Give plants 16 to 18 hours of light.
  
  

Supplemental Lights

• Plants that don't receive sufficient light won't grow adequately. Gardeners sometimes add supplemental lights for indoor plants that aren't close enough to the window, but some lights don't create the needed wavelengths, and other lights, such as incandescent lights, produce a lot of heat that can dry out or even burn the plant.
  
  

Reflectors

• Save energy by using reflectors to maximize the light given by artificial fixtures, which will redirect light toward the plant. Some lights have self-contained reflectors. White paint and foil also help reflect light toward the plant. If you have tall plants, use spotlights to direct light toward the bottom of these plants' leaves.