Is a "full spectrum" bulb the same as a "grow light"

So-called "grow lights" have higher output in red and blue bands -- IOW, the other bands have been turned down by leaving out related phosphors.

Anything marked "cool white" is cheapest and best.

snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com wrote in news:1170481169.247011.274390 @m58g2000cwm.googlegroups.com:

Grow lights have their colours adjusted to make plants grow and bloom better than the same total energy in "white" light.

Full spectrum lights are intended to simulate sunlight with respect to proportion of different colours (wavelenghts).

Where a grow light would be devoid of green, the least useful band from a plant's point of view.

but what about UV rays?

Should be none. All UV should be absorbed and reradiated at visible wavelengths or absorbed by the tube's phosphors. UV serves a plant no purpose, and in fact destroys living cells or damages their nucleii.

I am imagining applying sunscreen lotion to a plant...

Awesome. Thanks, good to know.

thanks, dt

That's not quite correct, but I'll leave it to your Googling skills to find out why.

Heh.

Bill

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at

No extra light is required to grow a Pothos. They thrive under whatever light is available in the room. If you require lighting in the room then by all means but if you are intalling lighting for a Pothos, forget it.