Growing plants from seeds is an exciting prospect and LED grow lights can significantly help the process.
LED grow lights provide plants with the light they need for photosynthesis. But a major question for many new plant parents is how far should LED grow lights be from plants? You should keep your LED lights 12-20 inches away from your plants. However, how close LED grow lights should be from plants is determined by the wattage of your LED lights.
LED distance from plants and LED wattage
Lower wattage lights (200-399) should be 12-20 inches from your plant. However, as the wattage increases (400-599) the distance increases to 20-27 inches and so on depending on how high the wattage is.
Are my grow lights too close?
If your grow lights are too close to your plant, your plant will start to show signs and symptoms that indicate this is the case.
Anything below 12 inches is too close to your plant. It is important to observe your plant closely to make sure it’s getting the correct amount of light each day.
If you notice your plants are wilting, the leaves are looking dry or discolored, or they appear as if they’re burnt, then move the grow lights further away.
Brown tips and edges on the leaves may indicate that the light source is too close to the plant and is causing damage. You will need to adjust the lights in accordance with any symptoms that your plant shows.
If your grow lights are too close to your plant, the leaves may appear scorched or bleached with a slight yellow tinge.
That being said, it is important to know that the correct LED light placement changes for each stage of growth and you will want to be able to adjust the height of the light as the plant grows.
In general, seedlings need the least intensity and most distance from the light. In the vegetative stage, you want to get your LED lights closer to your plants.
Lastly, in the flowering stage, you need the highest intensity. This is just a general guideline, and you’ll need to follow the instructions provided by your grow light manufacturer to get the best results.
You will also need to make sure that you are observing other aspects of your plant’s care as well to establish that there aren’t other issues affecting your plant’s health and growth.
This includes ensuring that your plant is getting the right amount of water and fertilizer and that it isn’t suffering from disease or pests.
Can a grow light burn plants?
Yes, grow lights can cause photo-bleaching and burn leaves if you’re not careful. However, this depends on the plant and the wattage of the lights.
The right amount of light is absolutely crucial to a plant’s growth, development, and survival. Grow lights are a great option for making the growing process more efficient, but they can also be harmful to the plant if they are not used correctly.
For 200-399 wattage lights, do not place them any closer than 12 inches from your plant or you will risk burning the plant. Placing the lights at the correct distance away from your plants lets them absorb the light they need without burning or damaging the plant.
You might be wondering, how far is too far to render your lights ineffective? Again, this will depend on your wattage, but if you have 200-399 wattage lights, your plant won’t reap the benefits if your light is any more than 20 inches away from it.
Additionally, the amount of time that the plants have under the grow lights is also important to get right. You should aim for around 14 to 16 hours of light each day to allow your plants to rest overnight.
That being said, this is just a general guideline and you might need to adjust this depending on the plant that you’re growing and what the specific grow light manufacturer suggests.
If you’re worried about burning your plants with your grow lights, I suggest investing in some LED lights or light-emitting diode lights. LED grow lights produce little heat, which reduces the risk of burning your plants.
How far away should LED grow lights be from succulents?
Finding the right distance can be tricky when it comes to growing succulents with grow lights. Too close and the heat emitted from the bulbs might burn your succulent.
If it is too far, there is not sufficient lighting for your succulent to grow properly.
Generally speaking, your LED grow lights should be from anywhere between 18 to 24 inches from your succulent. However, when it comes to growing bigger succulents, you can reduce the distance accordingly.
The main thing is that you monitor your succulents carefully to see how it is tolerating the grow lights.
You might need to adjust this distance as time goes on depending on how your plants are growing, as you should observe how it tolerates the grow lights.
Not every plant is going to react in the same way, so it’s important to closely monitor your succulents to ensure that they remain as healthy as possible.
It is also important to mention that you shouldn’t let the succulents sit at only one angle of the light source. That being said, you’ll need to make sure that you are rotating the plants weekly so that each side of them has the same amount of light.
In summary
Grow lights can be incredibly useful to help you grow plants inside your home. That being said, you’ll need to monitor how much light your plant is receiving and the distance between your plant and the grow lights as your plant grows.