Do-it-yourself lighting for flowers in the apartment. Lighting for indoor plants in winter

All plants, like any living organisms, have their own individuality and cannot exist in the same conditions. Some people need a lot of moisture, while others prefer drought. Some love the heat, while others need the cool. The same goes for lighting - all houseplants are different, so the requirements for light for all indoor flowers are different. Sun or shadow? Only the cultures themselves can give a correct answer to this question with their development and healthy appearance. Before you figure out what kind of lighting plants need, you need to understand why flowers need light at all. The fact is that the leaf of a plant is a small factory in which constant diligent work is going on. On the underside of the leaf are numerous stomata - gaps through which plants receive carbon dioxide from the air. At the same time, the roots extract certain minerals from the soil and transport them through the conducting system of the plant to the leaves. In all green parts of plants, i.e. leaves and green stems contain chlorophyll, a green pigment. It captures the energy of sunlight. As soon as the sun's rays "fall" on green plant, starts chemical process converting water and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates - nutrients needed for growth and healthy development. This whole process is called photosynthesis, which is powered by sunlight. If the lighting conditions of plants are violated, the "machine" stops, the process does not go on, although both "workers" (chlorophyll grains) and materials (water, nutrients, carbon dioxide) are ready to work. This means that without light, indoor flowers, in the end, "die of hunger", although they are watered and fed abundantly. With poor lighting conditions, houseplants wither. So what kind of lighting is needed for flowers, which indoor plants do not need light, and which, on the contrary, need its abundance?

Insufficient or excessive lighting of indoor flowers

Fortunately, every plant, including indoor plants, promptly signals insufficient lighting at home. If you see one of these signals, be sure to change your pet's location. Insufficient lighting for flowers in the apartment is evidenced by:

• Poor plant growth
• small leaves,
• Changing the color of variegated leaves - they turn green,
• Long, thin and soft stems ("etiolation" occurs),
• Poor formation of flower buds,
• An increase in the distance between leaf nodes on new stems compared to old stems.

Excessive lighting for plants at home is just as harmful as insufficient. If you put a shade-loving plant on the south window, then in the hottest hours the leaves will wither and hang helplessly. After a while, first yellow ones appear on the leaves, then brown spots: This sunburn. Move such a plant away from the window into the depths of the room: the action of the sun's rays weakens with every centimeter. You can also in the hottest time of the day, from about 11 am to 2 pm, shade the plant a little: close the curtain or simply place a sheet of newspaper between window glass and a plant. With proper plant lighting, when the "pet" gets right amount light, it grows healthy, with strong shoots, short internodes, intensely colored leaves and flowers. The amount of light can be measured. To measure the intensity of light, there is a special unit - lux, which allows you to accurately determine where in the room and at what time of the day the light intensity is maximum and minimum.

A special light meter, a light meter, can be bought at a specialized store. Such a device is similar to a light meter and is very convenient for lovers of indoor plants. It should be remembered that the strength of light depends on the time of year and on the environment. On a sunny summer day, around noon, the illumination is 100,000 lux (lx). But if at the same time you are standing under a tree with a light meter, it will show only 10,000 lux. The amount of light at the same time in the room, at the very window glass, is 2500 lux, and in the middle of the room - only 500 lux. The situation is quite different on a normal, bright winter day. On the windowsill where your plants are located, the device registers only 500-1000 lux. The middle of the room is almost dark.

The best lighting conditions for active plant growth at home

The mode of lighting plants at home is very important. In order to properly use the above data, you must know what kind of lighting your plants require. They can be roughly divided into groups, and to determine light regime in each group, home flower growers usually do not use lux, but generally accepted terms: "sun", "partial shade" and "shade" and, in accordance with this, recommend correct placement plants in the apartment.

Plants that require bright light for active growth (1500-2000 lux or more) should be located in a sunny window facing south.

To achieve better lighting for plants that require ambient light of about 1000 lux, they are placed in a semi-shady place on an east-facing or west-facing window. Indoor flowers that do not like light, i.e., requiring low light (500-700 lux), can be placed in a shady place, on a north-facing window. In botany, to determine the light regime of plants, in addition to indicators in lux, three other concepts have been established. According to these terms, light-loving plants love a sunny place; always referring to a south-facing window. Less demanding plants prefer partial shade, which for many is associated with windows facing west and east. Finally, plants that are shade tolerant do well in a north-facing window. You should be aware that these concepts are not entirely accurate. The phrase "partially shady place" is already misleading. It would be more correct to replace it with the phrase "bright place", because. plants suitable for it require bright diffused light, but cannot stand hot midday sun on the south windows. The division by cardinal points is also not always fair: you need to take into account the environment.

If there is a tree in front of a window facing south, such a window can no longer be called “sunny”, but only “bright”. A window facing west, onto a covered balcony or loggia, is sometimes darker than a north-facing window.

Illumination is affected by both the landscape and the area of ​​​​residence. The south window on a closely built-up street, and even on the first floor of the house, is always less "sunny" than in a detached house. Next, you will find out which indoor flowers practically do not need light, and which do not. good lighting simply cannot exist.

Houseplants that require a lot of light

In many apartments, the windows of the living rooms face the south side of the house. As a rule, this big windows, and many plants can be placed on the windowsills, which are brightly lit by the sun on sunny days from noon to evening. Plants that are familiar to you from your travels to the south feel great here: bougainvillea with luxurious flowers, hibiscus, beaucarnea recurvata, yucca (Yucca). Also indoor flower, loving sunlight, is pittosporum (Pittosporum tobira). The south window can become green and blooming link between home and garden. Unfortunately, most of these exotic plants, requiring a lot of light, does not belong to the lungs in culture. First of all, problems arise in winter. Of course, there are more hardy species for southern windows. For example, such plants that feel good anywhere:

Sansevieria ( Sansevieria)

Chlorophytum ( Chlorophytum)

Unpretentious indoor nettle

Coleus Bloom ( coleus bluemei, hybrids)

Euphorbia ( Euphorbia milii)

And if you like cacti, then on the south window you can arrange a multi-tiered cactus garden. By creating optimal conditions lighting for indoor plants, keep the following in mind:

• On sunny days, the temperature at the southern windows rises greatly, and the plants located here need to be sprayed often, but not at noon!
• In black plastic pots, the earth quickly overheats, so use ceramic pots for south windows. You can put dark pots in light containers.
• If you have a bottom hung window or a window, keep them open in the summer. Otherwise, stagnation of hot air will occur.

When taking care of lighting the flowers at home, do not forget about shading the plants on the south window. More can be posted here diverse cultures, if you turn the burning direct sunlight into a pleasant diffused light. This can be done by shading in various ways:

• The easiest way is to use loose shutters, outdoor blinds, awnings.
• Even faster and easier: curtains made of fabric or paper, blinds (be careful: metal blinds should not touch plants, because they get very hot), you can frames covered with canvas.
• Temporarily: newspaper or cardboard.

The following are house plants that require a lot of light, and therefore are ideal for southern windows.

An ideal plant for beginner gardeners: it feels great everywhere, it is easily propagated by cuttings, it can be put outdoors in summer. This is a house plant that does not like light, you need to water sparingly.

Tolmia Menzies ( Tolmiea menziesii)

An easy plant to grow. It develops well in any place, but not in a bright sunny place. Dry air tolerant. In summer, you can put it outdoors. Excellent ampelous plant.

Aglaonema ( Aglaonema)

Species with green leaves are shade tolerant. Loves high temperature and air humidity, warm soil. Don't forget good drainage! The plant is suitable for growing hydroponically.

, or sago palm ( Cycas revoluta)

This is another one home flower, which does not need bright light, but it loves fresh air very much and is very sensitive to dampness. Cycas does not tolerate frequent. Old plants need a lot of space. Grows very slowly.

Indoor flowers that do not require a lot of light: house plants for the bedroom, bathroom and corridor

The apartment should have as many indoor plants as possible. This applies not only to the living room, there are other rooms where flowers grow just as well, and sometimes even much better. Plants in the bedrooms. As a rule, the windows of the bedrooms face east and are illuminated by the soft morning sun. This is an ideal place for many plants that cannot stand the stinging midday sun.

Sometimes there is enough space in the bedroom for a small tree: room linden ( Sparmannia africana) or ficus benjamin ( ficus benjamina).

In the "winter apartments" in the bedroom, you can place indoor plants that do not require a lot of light and need a moderate temperature of about 15 ° C in winter. It is often asked if the plants in the bedroom really rob the sleepers of oxygen at night. This is partly true, plants absorb oxygen at night, but in such quantity that it is completely imperceptible. You sleep as if in a hermetically sealed "forest" of indoor crops. However, some people cannot stand the aroma of strongly smelling plants and complain of headaches.

In such cases, do not put fragrant pelargoniums blooming in the bedroom. orange trees, primroses, etc., but do not completely abandon the plants.

Plants in the bathroom. If your bathroom seems uncomfortable, cold, too sterile, enliven it with indoor plants that are unpretentious to light! For example, it will surprisingly transform the bathroom. Of course, the condition for this must be the presence of a window. In a completely dark bathroom, you will have to do with artificial plastic flowers. However, not every home flower that does not require a lot of light can be placed in the bathroom. Species that like heat and high humidity grow well here.

In the "greenhouse" climate, the bathroom feels great coconut palm trees ( Cocos nucifera) and Variegated dracaena ( Dracaena) , a also monstera ( monstera deticiosa) , (Philodendron) and (Cyperus) .

If the bathroom is small, it is easy to place small indoor plants in it that do not require bright light: reeds ( Scirpus cervius) and saline ( Soleirolia soleiroiii) . You can even put blooming uzambara violets ( Saintpaulia, hybrids) who love a humid atmosphere. And if you are in awe of catchy decorations, place a pot of atmospheric tillandsia.

Various aerosols, such as hair spray, as well as deodorants for body care, are very harmful to plants in the bathroom. Therefore, try to place indoor flowers that do not require a lot of light in such a way that splashes of these various cosmetics do not fall on the leaves.

Plants in the hallway and on the stairs. Already at the entrance to your friendly, cozy green hall, it will become clear to everyone that you are a lover of indoor crops. Plants for the hall or stairs must be chosen very carefully.

In most cases, the hallways in our houses are narrow, so one plant is enough here. But if you put it in front of a mirror, the effect is amazing. Looks decorative too. ivy ( Hedera helix) on the wall near the stairs or tradescantia hanging from the hat rack. The hallway and stairs tend to be cooler and darker than the rooms, so you shouldn't host views that prefer tropical warmth and/or bright lighting. Choose indoor flowers that do not require a lot of light:

(Aspidistra elatior)

Sansevieria ( Sanseviena)

Chlorophytum ( Chlorophytum comosum)

If your hall is spacious enough, but dark, provide the plants with artificial lighting. It is important to remember that there should be no drafts in the hall that cause leaves to fall. Therefore, do not put plants in such a hallway.

Additional artificial lighting for plants at home: lamps for indoor flowers

With the onset of winter, any home grower faces such a problem as a decrease in the level of illumination in cold period. Therefore, in the fall, you should be especially careful about the placement of plants. The days are getting shorter, the sun rarely appears, the illumination of indoor pets is reduced.

There are plants that have a dormant stage, in other words - many cultures are prepared by nature for the season with insufficient lighting. They do not grow or grow very slowly, ie. are at rest. In these weeks, when conditions for further development are unsatisfactory, you must do everything so that the plants go through a normal dormant period. Put them in a cool place, water little by little, do not feed. If the window sill of the southern window turns out to be the coolest of all, it does not matter: in winter even shade-loving views can be made here and the winter sun will not harm them. But there are also plants that do not need rest. Problems arise with tropical exotic cultures, which in their homeland are accustomed to bright solar lighting during the whole year. How can you help them in winter? Try to provide them with the meager winter light as best you can. For this, such actions are important.

• Wash your windows again before the start of winter.
• Place the plants close to each other on the windowsill (never leave them in the back of the room).
• There should be no curtains, drapes or blinds between window glass and plants.
• If after all this there is not enough light, there is another way: artificial lighting for indoor plants.

If normal daylight for plants is not enough in winter at the window of the room, or in any season in a dark corner, you can compensate for it with artificial lighting. Conventional incandescent lamps for additional lighting plants are not suitable: they get very hot and can burn home flowers.

The industry produces special lamps for artificial lighting plants at home: hanging, wall and in the form of tubes. At first glance, they do not differ from conventional lamps and lamps, but in fact their rays have a different composition.

They have more ultraviolet and blue light and less infrared rays. Their light is more like daylight, it is cooler than the warm yellowish light of incandescent lamps. You can buy separate special lamps that connect to any light source (with the appropriate power), or the whole system as a kit (by the way, very inexpensive). Lamps different design for additional illumination, the colors almost do not differ in light intensity. In most cases artificial light- mixed, pleasing to the eye.

There are also mercury lamps with bright white light and low power consumption. These lamps are often used in offices and horticultural businesses. They are economical, but their purchase is expensive.

Be sure to use additional lamps to illuminate indoor plants! When growing flowers under artificial light, follow the rules listed below. Hanging lamps should hang in the center of the plants so that they do not warp. Wall lights less practical in this respect. So, when using additional lighting for indoor plants, consider the following:

• The higher the lamp is located, the larger the area of ​​​​irradiation and the more plants receive additional lighting. True, the intensity of irradiation decreases with increasing distance from the light source to the object.
• The distance from the plant to the lamp is about 80 cm.
• If there are many plants, use several lamps.
• If plants are grown exclusively under artificial light, the lamps should burn from 12 (for shade-loving species) to 16 (for light-loving plants) hours per day.
• If the lamps are used in winter as an additional source of light, it is enough to turn them on for 4-6 hours.

Houseplants of short and long daylight hours

Some ornamental flowering species have special lighting requirements. Their formation of buds depends not only on the intensity of light, but also on the length of the day. Therefore, they distinguish indoor cultures short day and long day.

In short-day plants, such as poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) and Kalanchoe (Kalanchoe), brightly colored bracts and flowers develop only when " short day”, i.e. when they are illuminated no more than 12 hours a day. Even a street lamp outside the window or a small floor lamp in the room can become too light for these plants.

Cover these types carton box or bucket for 12 hours (from evening to morning) for 6 weeks every day. Who likes to experiment can make plants bloom in autumn in this way, blooming in winter. This "light control" allows gardeners to grow and sell flowering chrysanthemums (also short-day crops) all year round.

Long day plants include a number of annuals cultivated in our gardens, as well as uzambar violets (Saintpauiia ionantha, hybrids). They bloom when the lighting continues for at least 14 hours a day, and the plants do not care if it is natural light or artificial.

The "neutral" houseplants, whose flowering does not directly depend on the length of the day, include most of the known indoor species.

Additional lighting of indoor plants is a guarantee of their full growth and development. Light is the energy that is vital to provide natural process photosynthesis. Consider the rules for choosing a lamp for a flower.

In summer, the green inhabitants of the apartments receive it unilaterally from the window through which the sun's rays break through. With the advent of cold weather, they are in constant semi-darkness, spend extra strength, do not bloom, grow poorly.

You can correct the situation by creating artificial lighting.

To choose a complete replacement for sunlight, you should know that light has two characteristics - the spectrum and light power. It is necessary to select these parameters correctly, taking into account the stages of development of a houseplant.

Seedlings are easier to grow with the right lighting.

Young seedlings especially need additional light. It affects the division, stretching and formation of cells.

For seed germination, seedling growth, more blue spectrum is needed. Only he can provide active photosynthesis and, accordingly, active growth. The power of the device at this stage can be small - up to 200 watts.

With the red spectrum shoots get stronger, flowering intensifies. But it is impossible to consider each spectrum separately. Chlorophyll under the influence different parts spectrum absorbs light, transforming energy.

Therefore, artificial lighting must match the spectrum of daylight.

Lamp and its color temperature

It's time to consider the types of lamps and their temperature. It is measured in kelvins (K). There are these:

incandescent lamp

Choose it to highlight green spaces - bad idea. It gives off a lot of heat. The plant is stretching. There is a danger of burning the leaves. The temperature of a 40 W bulb is 2200 K, a 60 W bulb is 2680 K.

There are more minuses than pluses: fragility, short service life, it quickly burns out with power surges.

classic incandescent lamp

Fluorescent

Represented by two types: general and special purpose. They differ only in the coating applied to the glass flask. It is believed that the coating on the lamps special purpose brings them closer to the desired spectrum.

Of the pros: it gives off light well, they have low heat transfer, efficiency.

By cons– requires ballast to work ( special equipment). They are electromagnetic and electronic - EMPR and EPTRA (indicated on the package). emit warm and cold colors and correspond to suitable spectra.

Combine two types of lamps. The temperature of a 200 W lamp of warm color is 3000 K, cold color is 3500 K.

gas-discharge

Used mainly by professionals in greenhouses, conservatories, winter gardens. Homes can only be used in non-residential premises, because the strong brightness hurts the eyes.

There are mercury lamps that emit 2 times less luminous flux than sodium lamps. Their spectrum not suitable for seedlings.

Sodium more in line with the sun. Metal halide is the most expensive among gas-discharge devices. Suitable for vegetative growth.

Finished luminaires

In specialized stores you can buy ready-made devices. Leading the way are LED lights. They emit a stream of the desired spectrum.

Of the pros– economical, environmentally friendly, energy-saving long term services. They consume 10 times less electricity than fluorescent ones. They can work up to 100,000 hours without interruption.

They heat up to a maximum of 35 degrees. 1 diode consumes 1 watt per hour. For comparison, fluorescent - 15 - 65 W per hour. The efficiency of LEDs is 95%. The light bulb is screwed into a regular socket.

Finished fixtures are connected to a regular network. Exist different sizes and capacities, which allows you to choose both for one flower and for shelf or rack(sell whole panels).

A variety of design of such devices allows you to choose them under general style rooms.

How to make a backlight on the windowsill

Modern appliances allow you to make the backlight even on a regular windowsill do it yourself. For this you need:

1. Choose plants that are the same height.
2. Buy cheap lamps.
3. Arrange pots, boxes on the windowsill, behind them at the window place foil or a mirror to reflect the rays.
4. Arrange lamps on both sides of the windowsill.

Can be connected to the mains.

When lighting with LED strips, you should know that cannot be connected directly to a power outlet.. They need a special block for voltage transformation.

Features of lighting in winter

In cold weather, the number of hours for backlighting is extended. In winter, the choice of appliance depends on temperature feature plants. Heat-loving ones can winter with a very small decrease in heat and daylight hours.

They must receive illumination throughout 12 hours. Spend it in the morning and evening.

In articles about caring for flowers, we often reveal the features of their wintering. So, we talked about the role of additional lighting when we talked,.

AT winter time plants require more light than in summer

What is the feature of the correct illumination

Proper illumination depends on the greenest inhabitant. You need to find detailed information about it, only after choosing the right device.

The main feature of the additional backlight is make up for the lack of sun. Therefore, you need to know the seasonal norms. This determines the effectiveness of artificial light depends on the length of day and night in different times year, its intensity, the needs of the flower itself.

Proper lighting should be a good growth stimulator.

Not all plants adapt to the lack of light. By their appearance, they indicate a problem that has arisen.

Given the level of illumination, you can install the device correctly for support green dweller.

Signs of lack of light

By the appearance of the plant, you can determine whether it has enough light.

The shortage is displayed:

• Stretched shoots.
• small pale leaves.
• Rare flowers or their absence in flowering species.
• Long internodes.
• Yellowing, falling, drying of the lower leaves.
• motley leaves gradually darken turn green.

Having noticed such signs, you need to give your green friend additional light.

You can accurately measure the amount of light in a room using a light meter. The device will give accurate readings.

What level of light do flowers need?

Illumination is measured in suites. In nature, its level reaches 100,000 lux. This intensity is not required for colors.

In winter, enough for plants:

This is the minimum level to sustain life. Bloomers will need to increase the light level even up to 9000.

How to install a lighting fixture in an apartment

When installing lamps, you should be aware that with an increase in the distance from the flower to the lamp by 2 times, the light intensity decreases by 4 times.

Consider the distance to the lamp so that the plant does not burn or stretch

When burns are visible on the leaves, then the device is too close. The elongated stems indicate that the lamp is far away.

To avoid distortion, the lamp should be placed on top. Minimum distance to heat-loving - 15 mm, shade-tolerant - 55 mm.

The rule of three "F" for plants

Proper flower development depends on three processes:

• photosynthesis in which red light predominates. It speeds up the metabolism.
• Photomorphogenesis defining growth and development. When there is not enough blue spectrum, the leaves are underdeveloped, the stems are stretched.
• Photoperiodism, which takes into account the reaction of plants to the ratio of day and night (light and dark periods).

Each green tenant needs an individual approach: a different period of lighting, the number of light hours, a specific time. Having studied everything in detail about each flower that lives in the house, you can choose the right lamp.

To make green friends feel good in an apartment at any time of the year, you need to:

• Allow light to be captured longer with additional devices. They need different colors spectrum for growth and development.

No need to constantly turn on the lamps in the dark. 12 - 14 hours is enough for a normal life. Important processes that are important for life take place at night.

• For diffusion, you can make a matte screen that will create a universal glow for any green inhabitant.
• With artificial lighting it is important make a schedule. He will not let you bring down the rhythm of life.
• Routine window cleaning and glass cleaning save energy by letting in more daylight.

Cleaning windows will allow you to get more sunlight, which is also good for pets.

If you choose the right additional lighting, then indoor "pets" will delight in appearance.

A decrease in natural insolation in winter leads to light starvation of indoor plants and a decrease in the intensity of photosynthesis. LED lighting for plants and flowers solves this problem, but you need to be able to choose it. Let's figure out how to choose a LED lamp for plants and make it yourself.

With insufficient illumination, the processes of photosynthesis are inhibited, which inevitably leads to inhibition of growth. The stems become thinner, stretched towards the main light source. During the period of abundant flowering, the lack of lighting leads to unauthorized discharge of buds.

What kind of lighting is needed for plants

The quality of lighting for home flowers depends on:

• Lighting spectrum;
• illumination intensity;
• duration of illumination during the day.

The temperature in the room and the concentration of carbon dioxide also affect, but it is difficult to influence these parameters within the apartment, so we will omit them.

Requirements for lighting flowers and plants:

• No strong heat release, plants should not overheat;
• the presence in the emission spectrum of red and blue light, necessary for the normal process of photosynthesis.

Lamp heating

Due to the large heating of the bulb, incandescent lamps are unsuitable for use.

High pressure sodium lamps (HPS) are better suited for plant illumination and are widely used in greenhouses. But for home conditions, they are not very suitable because of the high power and, accordingly, significant heat generation (the bulb can heat up to 600 degrees). They are also expensive to operate (high cost of ignition transformers).

LEDs practically do not heat up (more about), therefore they are suitable for apartment use.

Spectrum of emitted light

Chlorophyll, found in green leaves, is capable of actively absorbing light from a wavelength of 380-710 nanometers, the rest of the spectrum does not activate photosynthesis processes.

Plot of effective wavelength for a plant

Shorter wavelengths in the spectrum of 380-500 nanometers stimulate the processes of cell division and an increase in green mass, and radiation from a long wavelength of 500-700 nanometers is necessary for intensive flowering and fruiting.

The graph clearly shows which color range is more effective for plant growth. Now compare with the spectrum emitted different types lamps.

Ordinary incandescent lamps are not very suitable for lighting indoor plants, since they are dominated by a warm spectrum (700+ nanometers). Fluorescent lamps, which are preferred due to their cost, are very poor in spectrum and are inferior even to incandescent lamps.

The emission spectrum of LEDs for plants will be ideal. Especially when combining cold white - 400-500nm and warm white 500-700nm colors.

Benefits of LED color lighting

Minimum LED life of 50,000 hours with minimal loss in brightness.

LEDs are more economical and consume less electricity (several times compared to incandescent lamps). They have extremely high efficiency and give out about 100 lm per 1W of energy consumed.

LED strips emit light at an angle of 120 degrees, which allows you to concentrate the radiation on plants, rather than illuminating the room.

The compact size allows you to create lighting for flowers of any shape.

Comparative analysis of phytolamps for plants
	Luminescent	Mercury	Metal-halogen	sodium	LED
PAR efficiency	20-22%	10-12%	16-28%	26-30%	99%
Service life	10-15 thousand hours	10-15 thousand hours	6-10 thousand hours	16-24 thousand hours	50-100 thousand hours
Average light output	50-80 lm/W	45-55 lm/W	80-100 lm/W	up to 150 lm/W	up to 100 lm/W
Cons, limitations of use	Not suitable for large area, not suitable spectrum for plants	Economically disadvantageous		Low color rendering index	Not
Average energy consumption	15-65 W/h	50-400 W/h	70-400 W/h	70-600 W/h	1 Wh per diode or 15 W per meter of tape
Ripple factor	22-70%	63-74%	30%	70%	Less than 1%
efficiency	50-70%	50-70%	50-70%	50-70%	90%

Specialized LED phytolamps for plants

Phytolamps are red and blue LEDs with a peak intensity in the range of 440 and 660 nanometers, i.e. all radiation power is in the effective range for plants.

Such a LED plant lamp is used if it is necessary to illuminate a small area of ​​30-50 cm 2 (one plant or one pot), because. The light emitting module has a beam angle of 120 degrees. To illuminate a large number of plants (seedlings), it is more cost-effective to use LED strips and modules.

Phytolamp - a good choice for the growth of one indoor flower, but the price for them is unreasonably higher than for ordinary LED strips. When you combine the warm and cold light of LED strips, you will get the same result, but for less money.

Important. If you decide to use phytolamps, do not buy a corn-type form factor. Most of radiation will be wasted, even with a reflector, reducing overall lighting efficiency.

We make LED lighting for flowers with our own hands

It makes no sense to make LED lamps for the base. It's not practical. We will use LED strip. Making a homemade phytolamp for flowers comes down to three points:

1. Calculate the required LED lighting power for flowers.
2. Choose a tape model.
3. Choose a power supply.

Calculation of the power of LED lighting

The necessary illumination for the full growth of flowers is 10000-15000 Lux. Based on these figures, one should start when calculating the backlight for plants from LEDs.

Let's take a look at specific example . We make the illumination of seedlings in a box measuring 0.75 x 0.3 meters. We will provide plants with lighting of 15,000 Lux.

15,000 Lux - radiation intensity of 15,000 Lumens, illuminating the surface of 1 m 2 from a height of 1 meter.

Our illuminated area:

0.75m * 0.3m \u003d 0.225 m 2

So our required light intensity is:

15000 Lm/m2 * 0.225m2 = 3375 Lumens

Determine the height of the lighting. The resulting illumination intensity of 3375 lm is needed when positioning LED lamps for plants at a height of 1m. By halving the height, the required intensity will drop by a factor of 4 (inverse square law). By placing the lighting at a height of 0.5 m, we get the light intensity:

Inverse square law - with an increase in the distance to the light source by 2 times, the intensity of light radiation drops by 4 times.

3375 / 4 = 845 lm

It remains to choose the LED strip according to these parameters.

We select LED strip for lighting flowers

From the calculation we got required intensity light 845 lm. With our flower box sizes, it is better to take 2-4 pieces of tape, 0.75 m long, to evenly cover the entire area.

The luminous flux of the LED strip is indicated based on 1m. If we need only 0.75m, then we need to add 25% to the intensity of the light flux declared by the manufacturer.

845 / 2 * 1,25 (compensate for the length of the tape) = 530 Lumens (for two segments)

845 / 4 * 1,25 = 265 Lumens (for four segments)

Final parameters of the tape:

• Light intensity (brightness) 465 lm;
• Light temperature - combine warm + cold (3000K + 6000K);
• Supply voltage 12V is the most common type of tape.

Suitable for us SMD3528-W-60led - 3 meters, or SMD2835-W-60led - 1.5m. You can read about labeling tapes.

Choosing a power supply for LED strips

It is important to choose the right driver for powering indoor plant lighting. There are only a few criteria:

• Power (most important);
• type of shell;
• additional functionality.

Power supply power calculation. Consider, for example, 3 meters of SMD 3528 tape, 60 LEDs per 1 running meter. Power 1 p.m. 4.8W. Let's add 25% margin for loss in connections and conductors and get:

3m (length) * 4.8W (power 1 meter) * 1,25 (stock) = 18W.

Any PSU with a power of more than 20W and a voltage of 12V will do.

Type of shell. There are cases with different levels dust and moisture protection, in aluminum or plastic case with forced or natural cooling.

• The degree of protection is chosen depending on the operating conditions. At high humidity(placement inside greenhouses) the degree of protection must be at least IP67.
• Choose any body material. Doesn't provide any benefits.
• Forced cooling is necessary when the power supply is high (over 200W). Otherwise, passive cooling is sufficient.

Additional functionality. Power supplies may have remote control from the remote control, be supplied with lcd screens, have timers. Purchase additional functionality if you wish. The more functions, the more expensive the power supply.

Connecting the tape to the power supply

Connect all segments of the ice tape in parallel to the power supply. When connecting, use connectors (more about). One continuous section of the tape should not exceed 5m in length.

Remember about the protection class of the LED strip for plants and the power supply. When choosing an IP20 rating, place lighting and power in dry, dust-free areas. If the class is IP67.68, it can be placed even in wet greenhouses.

Seedling lighting options

• Individual lighting of plants with LEDs.
• Shelving for plants.

Spot lighting of plants will allow not only to avoid the annual relocation of all pots and flowerpots to the wintering place, but also to create a unique, unique design interior. Miniature but powerful LEDs can be used as a light source.

LEDs for plant illumination are capable of delivering up to 120 lumens and can be both a backlight for a plant and a night light.

For individual illumination, you can buy a specialized LED phytolamp, which we wrote about above. The calculation method is the same as for the LED strip.

Shelving for plants.

At in large numbers lighting objects, it is more expedient to make shelves from below which will be mounted LED Strip Light for plants.

Shelves can be fenced reflective materials: foil, metallized insulation. This will provide round-the-clock illumination, but will not interfere with rest in the evening. Also, such a screen will increase the illumination of plants by 10-15 percent.

For normal development, growth and flowering, plants need light. In this regard, indoor flowers are not very lucky, which in summer are required to perceive one-sided lighting from windows, and in winter, in general, are actually devoid of direct sunlight. Particularly affected are the green inhabitants of the northern windows, which in the cold season are forced to vegetate in constant semi-darkness.

Of course, this does not mean that residents of apartments with a northern orientation should deny themselves the creation of a green garden on their own territory. By correctly creating artificial lighting for indoor plants, you can completely compensate for the lack of sunlight.

General signs of lack of light

Poor lighting can quickly affect appearance plants, depriving it of decorativeness. Shoots begin to stretch, new leaves grow small, and their color may become duller, unsaturated, as the formation of chlorophylls slows down. Variegated varieties lose their spots, their leaves become more uniform or completely green. A frequent sign of insufficient illumination is also yellowing, drying and falling of the lower leaves. At flowering plants buds cease to appear, and old flowers gradually die off.

In general, the picture that emerges is not too optimistic. If you have not yet encountered such manifestations on your plants (and, of course, want to prevent them), but assume that the light on your windows is still not enough, we recommend that you measure the amount of light with a special device - a luxmeter. Having received the readings of the device, you can say with confidence whether your flowers have enough light or not.

How many luxes are required?

The illuminance of an object is measured in lux, and it is this characteristic that is measured by a luxmeter. In nature, the level of illumination can reach 100,000 lux, but for successful growth even for sun-loving plants, such an intensity of the rays is not at all necessary. Well, in winter, in a city apartment, the following illumination will be enough for plants:

700 - 1000 lux - for shade-loving plants. These are poinsettia, begonia, ivy, calathea, arrowroot, etc. It should be understood that the lower bar of 700 lux is too little light, which is only enough to sustain life, but not for the flowering of these plants. If you want to achieve flowering, you need to increase the light.

1,000 - 2,000 lux - for shade-tolerant plants that do not prefer shade, but simply put up with its existence. In general, these representatives are more fond of bright, but diffused light. Among shade-tolerant plants, one can distinguish anthurium, dieffenbachia, monstera, dracaena, ficus, spathiphyllum, fuchsia, phalaenopsis, etc.

2,500 lux and more - for light-loving plants. These include pelargoniums, roses, desert cacti, hibiscus, etc. By the way, 2,500 lux is not always enough for these plants to bloom, some of them do not form buds until their illumination exceeds 5,000 lux. Others, especially exotic citruses, require at least 8,000 to 9,000 lux to set fruit.

Longer isn't always better

Now that we've dealt with the luxes, we can talk about the duration of the lighting. In fact, many novice flower growers, having learned about the possibility of using artificial lighting, begin to highlight plants around the clock, not giving them rest. This is fundamentally wrong. In the dark, plants slow down the production of chlorophylls, but other processes necessary for life occur. For example, at night, plants absorb oxygen (in very small quantities, so you don’t need to be afraid to put flowers in the bedroom) and deprive them of the opportunity to “breathe” - this is a path that will soon lead to sad consequences.

In fact, normal artificial lighting of plants should be such that the required amount of lux is maintained for 12-14 hours. In order not to disrupt the biological processes in the plant's body, the backlight turns on at 7-8 in the morning and turns off, respectively, at 19-22.

The duration of artificial lighting also depends on natural lighting. For example, plants stand on the southern windowsill, and in winter, on a sunny day, there is enough lighting. Then turning on the lamps during the day simply does not make sense, it is enough to illuminate the plants for a couple of hours in the morning and 3-4 hours in the evening.

Such a lighting duration scheme is good for adult plants, but for seedlings it is not completely ideal. It is best if the young that have just “hatched” are illuminated around the clock - they do not need rest yet. Only when the seedlings get stronger, they can be transferred to a 16-hour daylight hours, gradually bringing its duration to 12-14 hours.

Lamps for lighting plants

And now let's talk about the main tool that will allow us to illuminate our favorite plants. necessary quantity Sveta. We are talking, of course, about the lamps. So what can they be?

1. Incandescent lamps

The disadvantages of incandescent lamps are following points: the absence of the blue spectrum necessary for the development of plants, low light output against the background of strong heating.

2. Fluorescent lamps

Ordinary fluorescent lamps in the form of long tubes are much more suitable for lighting plants. They have high light output (50-70 lm/W), low thermal radiation and long service life. “Daylight” lamps have been actively used by amateur flower growers for many decades, despite the fact that their emission spectrum is not fully suitable for plants. More efficient, with a spectrum close to the ideal "vegetable" are special-purpose fluorescent lamps or phytolamps. There are similar lamps for algae, they create lighting for aquarium plants.

3. Discharge lamps

This type of lamp is one of the most efficient, as it allows you to illuminate large areas greenhouses, winter gardens, greenhouses. They have a very high light output, so they are not suitable for residential premises. As a last resort, you can use such a lamp on a loggia or in a non-residential room, since the bright light of such a lamp will hurt your eyes.

Discharge lamps for plants are divided into: mercury (DRL), sodium (DnaT) and metal halide.

4. LEDs

LED lightening for plants is the most modern. LED lamps do not heat up, consume a small amount of electricity, and can work up to 50,000 hours.

In order to provide the plants with the light of the required spectrum (which mostly consists of the red and blue components), it is necessary to "dial" the lamp from red and blue LEDs in a ratio of 8:1 or 8:2.

Growing plants under artificial lighting is a fascinating and very rewarding activity. By installing the necessary lamps and setting up a long daylight hours, you will be surprised that saintpaulias, it turns out, can bloom all year round, and in winter, Phalaenopsis butterfly flowers will unexpectedly bloom. It's nice that the beauty of your collection will no longer depend on the vagaries of the weather or on the presence of the "right" windows. In principle, there may be no windows at all, but the apartment will still have a green garden. The main thing is to invest in high-quality lamps for plants, which are often not too cheap.

The fact that plants need light for normal development is known even to schoolchildren. Indoor flower lovers will confirm that some plants need bright sunlight, others need diffused light, and still others feel comfortable in the shade.

How does lighting affect flowers? Is artificial light necessary and how to create it? What are the consequences of violation of the light regime? The answers to these questions will help create ideal conditions for green "pets". And those, in turn, will delight with a luxurious and healthy look.

The effect of lighting on flowers

The vital process of photosynthesis for a plant is impossible without sunlight. Photosynthesis is the formation of carbohydrates in plant cells from water and carbon dioxide. This process is possible due to the participation of light-absorbing pigments, mainly chlorophyll.

Photosynthesis is accompanied by the release of oxygen, which is necessary for the life of living organisms.. Therefore, without light, plants die.

Thanks to the light, indoor plants receive the necessary energy for the production of starches, sugars and other substances necessary for normal life and flowering.

The spectral composition of light is important for plants.. Some colors in the rays are especially important for normal growth and development.

So, red and orange rays "supply" energy for the process of photosynthesis. They affect the rate of plant development, and their excess can delay flowering.

Ultraviolet rays prevent the "stretching" of the flower, stimulate the production of vitamins and increase cold resistance. Blue and purple - promote the formation of proteins, regulate the rate of development.

Due to the fact that the light plays very important role in the life of indoor plants, and daylight hours are sometimes not so long, many people think about artificial lighting.

Lamps for artificial lighting

When choosing a lamp, it is important to consider the light intensity and light spectrum. The best will be the spectrum of daylight. It has ultraviolet, visible and infrared rays. The most important for the proper growth and development of indoor flowers are red and blue-violet rays. It is their presence in the spectrum of the lamp that you need to pay close attention to.

There are several types of lamps suitable for artificial lighting:

Arrangement of lamps

Lamps are best placed on top of the plants. When placed sideways, the stems can be bent. The optimal distance from the device to the top of the plant is 15-30 centimeters. It is also important to consider the size and power of the lamp.

It must be remembered that a fluorescent lamp has less lighting power at the edges than in the center.. Therefore, light-loving flowers are best placed directly under the device.

The most convenient will be a movable mount lighting device. In this case, you can adjust the light intensity, depending on the needs of the plants.

If the lighting device is stationary, you will have to raise or lower the plants themselves.

Lamp mode

There are 2 options when there is a need for artificial lighting of indoor flowers:

• The plant does not receive sunlight at all.

  Lamp operation modes must be adjusted, depending on natural light

  In this case, the flower needs, as a rule, 16-18 hours of artificial lighting per day. It is better to turn on the device when it gets light outside;

• The plant receives additional sunlight. In this situation, the flower needs 12-14 hours of artificial lighting. Important point It is more efficient to use artificial light along with natural light. In other words, turn on the device during the day, and not early in the morning or in the evening.

Knowing about the features of natural and artificial lighting, it is important to find out for which plants this issue is key.

Plants for which lighting is extremely important

Particularly demanding for proper lighting such groups of indoor flowers:

The consequences of violation of the light regime

Lack of light can cause such problems:

• growth retardation;
• Thinner stem, large distance between shoots;
• Falling lower leaves;
• The variegated leaves turn green;
• The plant does not bloom or the buds fall off.

With an excess of light, the color of the leaves becomes yellow-green. Growth slows down, the leaves become wide and short. Even burns are possible.

With the right choice of lighting, indoor "beauties" and "beauties" will delight with a chic and healthy appearance!