Can I Use Any Blue and Red LED Light To Grow Plants?

It is not every day that you consider using indoor growing techniques for your plants. It could be due to weather conditions or for some other reasons that propel you to look into the alternative modes of growing. However, when you are shifting your plants indoors for further growth, you are restricting a lot of the staple growth factors that it leverages for the optimal growing experience.

This is where you need to step up your game and know about the different realms of best led grow lights for indoor plants, especially with the blue and red grow lights. Taming and exposing the correct light spectrum on the plants is what reflects on healthy growth without any questions.

In this article, we will discuss the significance of the blue and red grow lights and their significance in the real-time growth of the plants indoors.

Why do your Indoor Plants Need Red and Blue Grow lights?

This is the first stream of questions that most people tend to struggle to understand. What you need to understand is the fact that every indoor plant needs consistent exposure to sunlight to ensure optimal growth.

In scientific terms, the plants need plenty of photon exposure that fall in the PAR range. If you aren’t aware of what a PAR stands for, it means the Photosynthetically Active Radiation range. These are the light wavelengths that plants use to conduct photosynthesis successfully.

In typical terms, the PAR range is between 400-700 nm. So, when we are discussing indoor plants, be assured that we are talking about the quotients on two different ends of the spectrum. The blue light sits at one range while the red one is on the complete opposite of the same.

As for the significance of these two grow lights, be assured that they come with individual benefits.

Blue light

Blue light exposure is found important during the vegetative phase and helps with root development. So, the persistent exposure to the blue light helps the plant grow and strengthens the individual buds to sustain any kind of rough weather conditions.

Red light

On the other hand, the red-light exposure is quintessential during the flowering phase of the plant. The red-light exposure correlates with the higher yield of the plants. So, if you are considering growing cannabis, the optimal exposure of the red light on the plants reflects on the higher yields at the end of the harvest.

However, while it is true that the individual red and blue light come with their set of benefits and impacts on the plant growth, what you need to understand is its long-term benefits. Typically, you need to follow a lot more factors to select the right kind of grow lights for your grow room.

Does the Intensity of the lights matter?

The intensity of the blue and red grow lights have a lot of impact on the plant’s growth and health. Just focusing on the PAR range isn’t enough to support your plant’s growth, you need to be mindful of the light’s intensity too.

The optimal exposure and intensity of the light ensure that the plant absorbs and uses that light for propagating and growth. This is one of the reasons why simply placing a blue light won’t have similar effects to that of the ideally designed LED blue lights.

Typically, when you are looking into the ideal intensity of the grow lights focusing on the plants, you want to ensure that you focus on the Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density (PPFD). This is the range that reflects on the grow light and its effectiveness. 

The exposure to the light is pretty different. While you might need a little less when it comes to the vegetative stage, the same is different from the flowering stages. It typically needs between 300-600 umols for the vegetative stage and around 1000 umols for the flowering stages.

Are the Blue and Red HID lights different?

If the LED lights aren’t your priority, we’d recommend that you look into the HID light variants. The HID lights or the High-intensity discharge lamps are pretty amazing for indoor growing.

The reason why they are considered ideal for indoor growing is due to the high intensity. During the vegetative phase, they use the metal halide lights are functioning well. However, the same differs during the flowering phase for the HPS, especially inclined towards the red light.

So, if you want to contribute to healthy yields and healthy growth of the plants, this is a grow light that you can consider looking into. 

Are the full-spectrum LED lights ideal for plant growth?

While you are in the phase of using LED grow lights for your indoor plants, be assured that the full-spectrum lights are ideal for optimal cultivation. 

Moving ahead, another factor worth considering is the full spectrum of the grow lights within the PAR range. 

Once your indoor plants have gotten the most use out of the blue and red lights, you need to consider other LED lights in the spectrum. The right LED grow lights for your plants are the one that supports the correct intensity that supports the plant growth.

Should you choose between red or blue grow lights?

Another common question that haunts novice growers is to choose between red or blue grow LED lights. Typically, you’d think that you either need red grow light or blue grow light for the optimal growing of the plants. However, if you witness the plant leaves becoming droopier and lacking the color and lustre, it is a sign that the grow light isn’t getting enough blue light exposure.

At the same time, lack of red light in optimal intensity will affect the quality of the plant’s health and eventually its growth too.

So, you can’t expect to choose between the two, expecting that only one of the two would be enough to support the growth of the plants in an indoor setting.

How to Choose the Right Quality of Blue and Red LED grow lights?

Now that you have a basic understanding of the importance of the blue and red grow lights, it is time we discuss the effectiveness of each. What are some of the criteria you need to follow to ensure optimal light exposure and intensity that contributes to the quality of growth?

For your convenience, we have sorted out the important factors in this article:

• Consider the type of plant

The first and likely the most important factor that needs to be looked into is the type of plant you are growing. Typically, you can’t expect to indulge in a random quality LED grow light if you aren’t even sure if the plant requires light exposure and the whole process. In such cases, ask an expert about the same.

• Consider durable products

We can’t stress this enough but if you are investing in a high-quality LED grow light, especially with the red and blue variants that will remain switched on for a few hours, you need to ensure that you invest in good quality and durable options. Typically, get ones with metal construction so they perform well and will last you through the test of time. Also, buy the LED grow lights that are designed with a heat sink. These prevent unnecessary overheating.

• Consider the cooling system

As we just mentioned in the previous pointer, overheating is a common issue with the majority of the LED grow lights. The main reason is that they remain switched on for hours in the end. This is one of the reasons why you need to invest in an option with a good cooling system. The heat sink is a savior in that case and ensures optimal dissipation of the heat out of the structure so you don’t have to deal with an overheated grow light system that damages the plant.

• Don’t focus on just the price

There are grow lights available in a range of options. There are cheaper ones that cost you a few dollars, claiming that they function equally well as the higher-priced options. This is where you are going to get scammed. Instead of being blindly reliant on just the price, you need to consider investing in the quality of the product. When you are buying a red or blue LED grow light, you must invest in options that align with the PAR range and will support the healthy growth of the plants.

Conclusion

LED grow lights have changed the way people garden and grow plants. If you are a beginner in the whole hydroponic or grow room growing, investing in the right grow lights is crucial. The blue and red grow lights are two specific intensities and types that contribute to the healthy growth of the plants, especially during the vegetative and then flowering phases. 

If you were confused about the concept, we hope this article gives you enough insights to understand and then correctly implement them.