• Potted plants can show positive effects from fluorescent lightPlant image by Platinum Pictures from Fotolia.com
  
  Growing potted plants indoors is a popular and easy alternative to standard gardens, especially for those in cities where outdoor space is either non-existent or at a premium. When growing plants indoors, one of the most important things to consider is the type of light source, as sunlight will no longer be the option it was in an outdoor garden. Fluorescent light is a popular choice as it's relatively inexpensive and easy to set up. There are several effects this light type may have on your indoor plants.
  
  

Helping Growth

• When it comes to artificial light on potted plants, fluorescent is generally more preferred and recommended than incandescent bulbs. This is because most standard fluorescent tubes come in a cool white light type. This type provides the widest spectrum of light you're likely to get out of a cheap, standard bulb from the hardware store. Since plants get energy and in turn healthy growth effects from several types of wavelengths in light, using a fluorescent bulb will allow the plant to get as close as possible to receiving natural sunlight. For the most part, you'll see healthy growth in your potted plants with fluorescent light very similar to what you'd find with natural sunlight, especially when compared to the alternative indoor method of standard light bulbs.
  
  

Drawbacks

• There can be some negative effects on your plants from fluorescent lights, however. These lights can also eventually lead to stunted growth in the potted plant at certain stages in the plant's life. While white light fluorescents are an excellent option for giving plants a wide array of wavelengths to aid growth, they are still relatively lacking in red light. While this is not always an issue, with many potted plants a lack of this light type will make the plant less responsive to the fluorescent light and as such the plant will not grow as fast or as healthy. Additionally, using an insufficient number of fluorescent lights for your plant can severely stunt the growth, as the light intensity will be far too low for the plant to get the energy it needs. Fluorescents are, by design, much less intense than the incandescent counterparts. A potted plant in the mature stage of growth will likely need several fluorescent bulbs on it at once, otherwise you will see some negative growth effects.
  
  

Specialty Fluorescents

• To counteract some of the negative effects often seen in potted plants as a result of fluorescent light use, some specialty bulbs have been developed specifically for use on plants. These bulbs are designed to offer a higher concentration of the red or blue spectrum light that standard white light fluorescents lack. By using one of the specialty bulbs in conjunction with normal fluorescents you will see the most positive and healthy growth from your plants that you will likely achieve with artificial lighting.