This Is What Happens When You Try To Grow A Plant In Artificial Light

Plants can grow in artificial light, but artificial light isn’t as intense as sunlight and has less red and blue light than sunlight. LED lights used in special indoor growth chambers reduce the difference between artificial light and sunlight, which can help plants grow better. Research on lettuce showed that when grown under red LED light, the stem of the lettuce was more elongated than when it was grown in white light. The growth of the stem is a light-dependent process. The researchers also found that adding some blue light prevented the stem from elongating too much. While research on the medicinal plant called “cat’s whiskers” (Orthosiphon stamineus) showed that when the plant was exposed to artificial light with high irradiance (the measure of how much energy the light emits), there was a decrease in important secondary metabolites. This suggests that irradiance might be an important factor to consider.