The Best Grow Lights for Your Indoor Plants

Unless you have a greenhouse or an unlimited number of south-facing windows, grow lights are your best bet for reliably providing the right light to your plants year-round. Though nothing is better than real sunlight, grow lights allow you to trick plants into believing they’re getting the real thing.

Regular light bulbs for lamps and other light fixtures don’t deliver the full color spectrum needed to support plants in every stage of the growth cycle. And without the right light, a plant can’t photosynthesize or make food to grow. Further, regular light bulbs that emit a lot of heat can potentially cook tender seedlings or burn houseplant leaves. Grow lights, on the other hand, always keep cool.

Read on to learn how to select the best grow light for your indoor garden and to see which models earned top marks in our comparison.