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How to Choose a Grow Light

Discover the features and benefits of our various grow light options

LED SunLite grow light gardens are ideal for seed-starting, herbs, and houseplants.

With so many types of grow lights and systems available, it can be overwhelming to figure out which one will best suit your needs. Here's a guide to our most popular grow light lines, including their features and the benefits they provide.

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Grow Light

Asking yourself these questions can help you make the best choice.

What types of plants will you be growing?
Will you grow year-round or just start seeds in spring?
How tall will the plants get?
Where will you put the light — in your living space, or hidden away in the basement?
Should the light be mobile (e.g. on casters)?

For more details on concepts and terminology, jump to the Grow Light Basics section.

Scroll to browse our lineup or jump directly to the grow lights style you're interested in:

Modular Bamboo: Grow seedlings, flowers, even fruits, in these furniture-quality, high-output LEDs
Large-Capacity SunLite: Aluminum frames with 4' shelves have room for seedlings & houseplants
Space-Saving SunLite: 2' wide grow lights in tabletop and rolling floor models
Stack-n-Grow: Affordable, stackable, and easy to assemble, they're the perfect starter lights
Oslos: Compact and customizable, with repositionable magnetic light fixtures

Modular Bamboo LED Grow Light Gardens

The power of high-output LEDs

Good-looking grow lights that can bring indoor plants to flower and fruit? Absolutely!

High-output LEDs are twice as bright as standard LED grow lights; no height adjustment needed, even when growing light-hungry fruiting plants and seedlings
Optimized full-spectrum lamps are hidden behind top wooden bar so there's no distracting glare
Modular, stackable 3' wide units for a custom look
Furniture-quality construction — strong, renewable bamboo
Galvanized trays catch spills
Tall model lets you grow plants up to 45" high!
Optional rolling base makes it mobile (sold separately)

Modular, stackable Bamboo LED Grow Light Gardens in 3 sizes: Tall (left), Low (top right), and Medium (bottom right).
Rolling Bases sold separately.

"I have some tomatoes just starting to bear ripe fruit!! I'm loving this!"
— Amy, Frederick, MD

Features: Furniture-quality construction. Galvanized trays. High-output LEDs are 2x bright.

Modular Sets

Grow light gardens are available individually or in these three convenient configurations:

Bamboo LED Grow Light Garden for Succulents and Seeds (left)
Bamboo Home LED Grow Light Garden (middle)
Bamboo Display LED Grow Light Garden (right)

Bamboo Mini

The Bamboo Mini LED Grow Light Garden fits under kitchen cabinets, on a countertop, table or desk, and can even be stacked or hung on a wall!

Shop all Bamboo LED Grow Light Gardens

Large-Capacity SunLite® Gardens

4' of Growing Space

Tabletop and rolling floor models in 3 heights.

Grow thriving seedlings, houseplants, and herbs
Dual-bulb, height-adjustable light fixtures
Choose energy-efficient LEDs or affordable fluorescents
Sturdy aluminum frames will never rust
Includes heavy-duty, watertight trays
Floor models include casters for mobility
Accommodates maximum plant heights of 14" to 30", depending on model
Each model available as a Garden Starter Kit , complete with seed-starting supplies

The 4' wide shelves of our LED SunLite 3-Tier Garden provide plenty of space for growing.

Full-spectrum lights. Pull-chains to adjust light height. Sturdy trays catch spills. Caster roll easily.

LED SunLite® Gardens: 3-Tier, 2-Tier, and Tabletop. Also available as Garden Starter kits, complete with seed-starting supplies shown.

Shop all Grow Light Stands

Space-Saving SunLite® Gardens

Same SunLite features, but just 2' wide

Compact tabletop and rolling floor models in 3 heights.

Start seeds and grow thriving herbs and houseplants anywhere!
Dual-bulb, height-adjustable 2' light fixtures
Choose energy-efficient LEDs or affordable fluorescents
Sturdy, rustproof aluminum frames with watertight plastic trays
Each floor model has casters, so you can roll where you need it — even into a closet!
Each model available as a Garden Starter Kit , complete with seed-starting supplies

With 2' wide shelves, the LED SunLite Compact 2-Tier Garden has room for seedlings and houseplants.

Compact LED SunLite® Gardens: 3-Tier, 2-Tier, and Tabletop. Also available as Garden Starter kits, complete with seed-starting supplies shown.

Shop all Grow Light Stands

Modular Stack-n-Grow Light Gardens

The perfect starter system that grows with you!

Ease into indoor growing with 3' wide stackable units

Energy-efficient LED and fluorescent options
Dual-bulb, height-adjustable light fixtures
Lightweight, super-sturdy plastic frames and shelves
Easy assembly and light fixture height adjustment
Available as a Garden Starter Kit, complete with seed-starting supplies

With Stack-n-Grow, you start with the lights you need now, and add more modular units as your indoor garden expands.

Start with the Stack-n-Grow Base Unit, left, and place one or two Add-On Units on top as needed.

Shop all Grow Light Stands

Oslo Customizable Grow Lights

Flip-shelf, rolling grow light in two heights

High-output LED lamps need no height adjustment
Repositionable magnetic light fixtures
Shelves flip up for maximum headroom
Smooth-rolling, lockable casters
Frame sets up quickly out of the box
Folds up flat for storage
Optional matching trays catch drips and spills

Oslo 4-Tier Customizable Grow Light

Features: Magnets hold the full spectrum LED fixtures in place. Optional matching trays catch spills. Folding shelves make room for plants tall and small. Locking casters for safety and mobility.

Oslo Customizable Grow Lights: 4-Tier and 2-Tier. Also available, Oslo Grow Light Trays.

Shop all Grow Light Stands

Grow Light Basics

All green plants require light to perform photosythesis, during which special cells convert the energy contained in the light into sugars. In the process, plants give off oxygen.

Plants vary widely in how much light they need to thrive — from low-light houseplants, such as dracaenas, to fruiting edibles, such as tomatoes, that need much brighter light.

Seedlings require lots of bright light, and when they don't receive enough they get weak and leggy. In most cases, even the sunniest windowsill won't provide the intensity or duration of light they need, especially in winter.

Plants vary widely in how much light they need to thrive.

Light fixture with full-spectrum LED lights

Specially designed grow light stands make it easy to provide the light plants require.

Lighting Terms

Intensity describes the amount of light that reaches a surface at given distance from the light source. A super-bright bulb that's 12" from a surface might, for example, provide the same light intensity as a dimmer bulb that's 2" from the surface.

Duration describes the number of hours of light a plant receives in a 24-hour period. We can control it by turning lights on and off or, more easily, with a programmable timer.

Color describes the visual appearence of light. Most grow lights provide full-spectrum light. Most of the light plants use is from the blue ("cool") and red ("warm") ends of the spectrum; they use little yellow and green light. Blue light stimulates vegetative growth (foliage and roots) while red light stimulates plants to produce flowers and fruit.

LED or Fluorescent?

Our LEDs and fluorescent bulbs both produce full-spectrum light. However, LEDs are better for plants, the environment, and your wallet.

LEDs are great for your plants. Ours are calibrated to meet the exacting needs of indoor plants, with a boost of blue light to stimulate stronger roots, enhance photosynthesis, and ensure peak growth. They also give off very little heat.
Though they cost a bit more up front, LEDs are super-efficient. They use half the electricity and last 5x longer than fluorescent bulbs.
They're earth-friendly. Mercury-free LED tubes won't shatter like glass, so fewer end up in the landfill.
Fluorescent lights are more affordable, and may be a good choice if you're new to indoor gardening or grow just a few plants.

Regular incandescent bulbs are not used for indoor growing because they give off too much heat and can burn tender foliage.

Our SunLite Gardens and Stack-n-Grow lights are available with LED or fluorescent lights. Our Bamboo Grow Light Gardens feature high-output LEDs. This chart can help you choose the best lights for the plants you're growing.

Light	Fluorescent	LED	High Output LED
Best for:
Seedlings	✔	✔	✔
Herbs	✔	✔	✔
Succulents	✔	✔	✔
Leafy Houseplants	✔	✔	✔
Cactus			✔
Geranium			✔
Dwarf Citrus			✔
Banana Plant			✔
Rosemary			✔
Gardenia			✔
Features:
Brightness	✔	✔	✔ ✔
Energy Efficiency	✔	✔ ✔	✔ ✔
Mercury-Free Bulbs		✔	✔
Shatter-Proof Bulbs		✔	✔
Optimized Spectrum		✔	✔
Light Height	adjustable	adjustable	none needed