Greenhouse lighting can be divided into two mains types - lighting that allows you to work in the greenhouse when it's dark outside and lighting that promotes plant growth.Our General Purpose Lighting is ideal for producing a light that you can work under - and having a horticultural lamp means that it doesn't damage plant growth. The fluorescent tube used in the General Purpose Light is a full-spectrum bulb, producing a balance of cool and warm light as it designed to replicate natural light. This type of light is great for seedlings as well as most plants - so for simply extending daylight hours our General Purpose Light is a good choice.
We stock a wide range of 'grow lighting' - lighting systems that are designed to affect plant growth. These include traditional mercury lighting systems, sodium lighting and the more modern Metal Halide and High Pressure Sodium lighting systems.
When deciding on the type of lighting system to install in your greenhouse, it's important to note that the duration of light is important for healthy plant growth. You shouldn't leave lights on 24/7 as all plants need some time in the dark - when it's dark plants respirate, an important part of the growth process. The balance between light and dark periods is therefore important, affecting the growth rate as well as the setting of buds and fruit. Plants can be divided into three different types depending on their preferred length of time in daylight - short-day, long-day or day-neutral.
Short-day plants are those that will thrive on less than 12 hours of light per day - e.g. chrysanthemums, begonias. Long-day plants require at least 14- 18 hours of light each day. Most vegetables and garden flowers fall into this category - if they don't receive sufficient time in the light they will become drawn and leggy. Day-neutral plants like to have between 8-12 hours of light per day - e.g. African violets, foliage plants, geraniums.