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Old 02-11-2003, 07:22 PM
Andrew Ostrander
 
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Default do plants need to sleep?

This info is from http://www.3rlighting.com/tutorial/growlight/HPS.html

Q: How many hours a day should I burn my lights?
A: There is no one best way to light plants:
It depends on the type of plant, the kind of plant (species), and exactly
what you want the plant to do.

The typical rule of thumb for flowering plants is to run a 16 to 18 hour
light cycle then 6 to 8 hours of dark time, during the vegetative stage.
Then at the Bloom stage, switch to 12 on/12 off. It is also typical to run a
Metal Halide during the Vegetative stage then switch to a High Pressure
Sodium Light during the Bloom stage.

Q: What happens if the lights burn 24 hours a day?
A: The plants will grow.
After about 16 or 18 hours in most plants, though, growth levels off. So if
you turn off the lights for a few hours, you can save some electricity and
not really affect growth.
Plants often use dark time to build up Florins which are hormones plants use
to bloom. This is why the light is often cut back during Bloom stage.


"Phillip Sherman" wrote in message
...
Michael Shaffer wrote:
Hi, I have a few water hyacinths that I'm keeping inside for the winter,
is it ok to leave the lights on 24/7?


Good one. Wink

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I live in zone 10a-10b