Best Grow Lights for Plants - A Simple Guide to Choosing the Right One
By Parvez Akhtar Pasha | Sep 16, 2025
If you want to grow plants indoors, that can be not that easy, especially when it comes to giving them enough sunlight. And we all know how important sunlight is for a plant to make food. This is really a big problem in winter, when days are short, and plants don't get enough sunlight. That's why many gardeners use grow lights to give them enough light for photosynthesis, and even I am one of them.
In winter, we bring plants indoors to keep them safe from cold, frost, strong winds, and snow. But once we bring them inside, they usually don't get enough sunlight. That's when we gardeners use grow lights, they give plants the extra light they need.
We can assume a grow light is basically an artificial sun. It gives plants the right kind of light, mostly red and blue, so they can make food and grow well.
Main Types of Grow Lights
Before picking a grow light, you should know the main types that gardeners actually use, it's really important. Each type has its own strengths, weaknesses, and best use for different plants.
So, these are the three main types of grow lights that gardeners commonly use.
| Grow Light Type | Pros | Cons | Best For | Light Spectrum | Recommended Height |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fluorescent (CFL/T5) | Cheap, low heat, easy to use in small spaces | Not strong enough for big plants or fruiting plants | Seedlings, small herbs, leafy greens | Cool white / Blue spectrum, some full spectrum tubes available | 6–12 inches above plants (low heat, safe to keep close) |
| LED Grow Lights | Energy-efficient, full spectrum, long life (50,000 hrs), low heat | Higher upfront cost | All plants: herbs, leafy greens, flowers, fruits, vegetables | Full spectrum (red + blue + white) | 12–24 inches above plants (depends on wattage and design) |
| HID (MH & HPS) | Very powerful, promotes fast growth, professional use | High heat, uses a lot of energy, needs extra equipment | Large-scale growing, greenhouses | MH (Metal Halide): Blue spectrum for vegetative/leafy growth HPS (High-Pressure Sodium): Red/orange spectrum for flowering & fruiting stage |
24–36 inches above plants (they get very hot, so keep them higher) |
You should try to keep the light at the right distance. As the plants grow, lift the light up so it doesn't burn the leaves. I always try to maintain the height that I mentioned in the table above.
These 3 types of lights cover almost all the plants. As per my experience, I recommend you use LED or fluorescent lights; these are enough. And the HID lights are mostly used for big or professional gardens.
Grow Light Spectrum Guide for Plants
If you are not aware of the grow light spectrum, let me tell you, it's basically all the different colors of light that plants can use, and each color helps plants grow in a different way.
These are the three main types of grow light spectrum that plants need to grow healthy, if there is a lack of sunlight.
- Blue light (400–500 nm): Encourages leafy growth (great for seedlings, herbs, lettuce).
- Red light (600–700 nm): Boosts flowering and fruiting (good for tomatoes, peppers, flowers).
- Full spectrum: A mix of all colors, it is similar to sunlight, good for overall plant growth.
When you choose a grow light, always check the spectrum output on the product label or specs.
Now, I hope it's clear to you how each type of light helps your plants, so you can easily choose the right one for your plants.
Best Grow Lights for Different Plants at Each Growth Stage
You are reading this article this far, which means you care about your garden. And also, it's clear to you that different plants and growth stages need different types of light.
So, just have a look at the table below and you will get all the necessary information to choose a perfect grow light for your plants.
| Plant Type | Seedling / Young Stage | Vegetative / Leafy Stage | Flowering / Fruiting Stage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Herbs | Fluorescent / LED | Fluorescent / LED / MH HID | LED full spectrum |
| Leafy greens | Fluorescent / LED | Fluorescent / LED / MH HID | LED full spectrum |
| Flowering plants | Fluorescent / LED | LED full spectrum / MH HID | LED full spectrum / HPS HID |
| Fruiting vegetables | Fluorescent / LED | LED full spectrum / MH HID | LED full spectrum / HPS HID |
| Root vegetables | Fluorescent / LED | LED full spectrum / MH HID | LED full spectrum |
| Seedlings of any plant | Fluorescent / LED | – | – |
| Mature plants of any leafy type | – | LED full spectrum / MH HID | – |
| Mature flowering & fruiting plants | – | LED full spectrum / MH HID | LED full spectrum / HPS HID |
| Tropical indoor plants | Fluorescent / LED | LED full spectrum / MH HID | LED full spectrum / HPS HID |
If you are using HID lights, you need proper ventilation. It makes a lot of heat, and if there's no airflow, your plants can dry out or wilt.
DON'T keep the lights on 24/7. Plants also need some darkness (at least 6–8 hours for most) to rest and use stored energy for healthy growth.
The grow lights are very helpful for starting seeds or giving plants extra light in greenhouses on cloudy days.
They are also very useful in hydroponic gardens, where plants grow without soil and rely completely on artificial light.
