Do you have a green thumb? Many people love plants, but don’t always have the time to water them and take care of them. If this sounds like you, then you should consider using a heat lamp for plants. A heat lamp is a great way to give your plants the light they need without having to worry about watering them. In this blog post, we will discuss the benefits of using a heat lamp for plants and provide some tips on how to get started!
What is a heat lamp for plants?
A heat lamp for plants is a special type of light that promotes growth. These lamps emit a high level of heat, which helps speed up the growth process. Heat lamps are often used in greenhouses or indoor gardens because they can provide the perfect environment for plants to thrive. They can also be used to care for houseplants and plants that need abundant light. Such heat lamps are often called phytolamps.
What kinds of heat lamps are there?
There are three types of heat lamps: infrared (red), ultraviolet (blue) and combination:
Infrared lamp for plants
Infragrasses have many benefits that are often unknown to gardeners. They can help plants grow faster, produce more fruit, and resist pests and diseases. After all, they emit energy similar to the sun’s rays. This energy is absorbed by the plant, which then uses it to create food through the process of photosynthesis. The additional heat from such a lamp can be used not only for heating plants, but also in poultry houses, rooms with animals and in non-residential premises.
Infrared lamp helps to strengthen the immunity of plants, controls the water balance, not allowing it to evaporate quickly, thus the lamp gradually and effectively raises the humidity. This lamp can be used in greenhouses, botanical gardens, greenhouses and at home for non-professional purposes.
Benefits of an Infrared heat lamp:
- Quickly warm not only the plants themselves, but also the air itself and the premeta around them;
- More cost-effective than a convector heater;
- Silent and harmless to people;
- They do not dry the air.
Disadvantages of the infrared heat lamp:
- The main one is the high cost of electricity, since the device consumes a lot of energy;
- There is a high risk of overheating the plants and this can lead to burns;
- Works only in one spectrum of light – red;
- Not all plants like high humidity, and the infrared lamp gives exactly that result.
Ultraviolet heat lamp for plants
Ultraviolet heat lamps provide a blue and violet spectrum of light that helps plants grow. They can also be used for pest and disease control. Such lamps are better known as phytolamps, with an ultraviolet bias.
Ultraviolet heat lamps emit ultraviolet radiation that is invisible to the naked eye, but causes plants to produce more chlorophyll, so these lamps are useful in the very first stage of plant growth. The blue color spectrum is very important in the initial stage of plant development, seedlings. It allows seeds to germinate 15-20% more than without it. The violet spectrum gives strength to the stem, making it stronger and more robust. It is the blue and purple spectrum colors that keep seedlings from stretching out too much.
Benefits of an ultraviolet heat lamp:
- Helps with the development of chlorophyll in plants
- Aids in the growth of plants
- Can be used to control pests and diseases
- The blue color spectrum is especially important for sprouts.
Drawbacks of an ultraviolet heat lamp:
- UV rays can be harmful to human skin.
Combination heat lamps
Combination heat lamps are available for both indoor and outdoor use. These lamps provide the red and blue light needed for plant growth. They include the entire broader spectrum of light that your plants will need at once:
- Red colors – help strengthen the root system of already mature plants. Nm range 640-660;
- Orange – enhances plant fertility and helps accelerate fruit ripening. Nm range 595-610;
- Blue spectrum – helps improve seed germination and also participates in the process of vegetative development. Nm range 440-445;
- Violet spectrum – strengthens the stem, making it more powerful. It is it that affects young plants – seedlings in which it strengthens the roots. Range nm 380-400;
- Powerful purple – this option is needed for those plants in which you want to increase their natural frost tolerance abilities. Range nm 280-315.
Combination heat lamps usually include LED. But they are quite difficult to find in a gardening store in the form you need. That is, most products are Chinese, so it is not really possible to understand what spectrum of light is inserted in the lamp. Therefore, such a lamp is recommended to assemble itself, which is very easy, or to find a worthwhile seller who can be trusted.
Additional color spectrum yellow-green
Experienced gardeners know that the above color spectrum of heat lamps are not always enough, because also important is the yellow-green spectrum, which can give an ordinary LED white lamp for lighting installed next to the main. In this tandem you get ideal conditions for growing most plants.
Popular questions and answers about heat lamps for plants
Is a heat lamp suitable for houseplants?
It is better to use a light bulb for houseplants, as the optimal heat is already respected in the home.
How does a plant heat lamp work?
A plant heat lamp emits infrared rays that are absorbed by the leaves and flowers of the plant, causing them to release their own heat. This process is called photosynthesis. The sun’s light energy is converted into chemical energy, which is stored in the plant’s tissues. The ultraviolet light in turn penetrates deep into the seed and activates enhanced growth. As already written above, each spectrum actively affects its phase of plant development.
Can You Grow Plants With Only a Heat Lamp?
No, because in the first stages of plant life, when the sprout gives seed, she is very important blue and violet spectrum of light, and already at half maturity will need the red spectrum, which will be demanded by plants by 80%. As you can see in any case for quality, strong, healthy and fertile seedlings, both the red and blue light spectrum are important at any stage of development.
