5 Best Grow LED Lights for Orchids

Have a home or apartment that doesn’t seem to get much sun? Things get worse during the winter months? Don’t worry, you can still keep your orchids in top shape with the help of LED grow lights.

Orchids can’t tell the difference between natural light and that offered by full spectrum LED lights, so check out these great grow LED lights if your orchids need more light indoors.

Best LED Grow Lights for Orchids

The following LED grow lights are great for artificially supplementing the light in your home or growing orchids on a larger scale.

I’ve reviewed them for you highlighting the pros and cons of each, so you can make up your mind much easier:

– Phlizon Newest 1200W LED Plant Grow Light

This LED grow light is a true powerhouse with full spectrum lights suitable for both the vegetative and flowering stage of the plant.

It comes with a humidity and temperature monitor, so you can keep a close eye on these essential parameters for your orchids.

You can change the lighting conditions via the two buttons on the side of the equipment, depending whether your plant is in the vegetative or bloom stage.

Pros

• Full spectrum design (contains all the type of lights your orchid needs)
• Double cooling fans for temperature control
• Heat-resistant design for extra safety
• Lifespan: ≥ 50,000hours
• 30-day money-back guarantee
• 2 years warranty

Cons

• Double fans have a higher noise output
• No heat sink for better heat dissipation
• Lights are heavy, makes it a bit difficult to install
• Not as aesthetically pleasing

– VIPARSPECTRA UL Certified 300W LED Grow Light

Ideal for indoor horticulture, the Vipaspectra is a UL certified LED grow light that will excellently support the growth of your orchids whenever indoor light conditions are less than ideal.

The grow light provides full spectrum light, ensuring that your orchid gets all the benefits as it would from natural sunlight.

The reflector design increases PAR output by 50% and it’s designed so it’s fire resistant, eliminating the risk of potential fire hazards.

Pros

• Full spectrum layout
• Convenient daisy chain function to use multiple LED lights with less outlet
• Fire resistant reflector for better PAR output
• Aluminum heat sink for better heat dissipation
• 3-years US warranty
• 30-day money back guarantee

Cons

• Can be a bit loud due to the cooling fans
• Small dimensions, you’d need more than one to cover the needs of multiple orchids

– Grow Light Abonnylv Floor LED Grow Light

If traditional design grow lights are not what you’re looking for, this floor-standing LED grow light from Abonnylv is a reliable alternative.

The Abonnylv grow lights feature a tri-head and come with a tripod for an easy, hassle-free installation. The LED lights are full spectrum, so your orchids can thrive just as they would in natural sunlight.

The height of the tripod is adjustable, which is especially good if you have taller orchids, or other tall houseplants that need artificial light supplementation during the cold seasons.

Pros

• Floor-standing design with tripod for easy installation
• Full spectrum lights, tri-head LEDs to reach more plants at once
• Built-in two-way timer, automatically turns on and off
• Six brightness levels of 360-degree gooseneck lamp

Cons

• Product a bit top-heavy
• Tripod stands at 47” tops, may not be enough for larger plants

– Relassy LED Grow Light for Indoor Plants

Unlike the previous LED grow light, the Realassy is a table-top model designed to supplement light for smaller ornamental or edible plants.

The flexible goose-neck design allows you to adjust the angle of the light. The bulbs are also rotatable and replaceable. The product also features heat dissipation design to manage excess heat.

The Relassy grow light features full spectrum LED lights suitable for seedlings, growing, blooming and fruiting.

Pros

• Tabletop, clip-on design for easy and quick installation
• Full spectrum lights
• Shell bulbs made of aeronautical aluminum for thermal control
• Fin-shaped heat sink design for better heat dissipation

Cons

• Rough construction
• Clip-on fixture can become damaged with extensive use

– SANSI 36W Daylight LED Plant Light Bulb

Sometimes having the right light for your orchids can mean simply changing your light bulb. This Sansi LED light bulb requires no special lampshade or lamp-base. Installs quickly and easily with a standard E26 socket.

The bulb features a ceramic module, allowing for better heat dissipation than aluminum designs. The full spectrum light with each led chip having an evenly distributed spectrum between 400-780nm (no individual colors for each led chip).

Therefore, if heavy equipment or grow light installation would not be suitable for your home, the Sansi light bulb offers a great alternative.

Pros

• As easy to install as switching a light bulb
• 5-year unlimited warranty
• 30-day no questions asked return policy
• Full spectrum uniform light of same intensity

Cons

• No integrated timer, requires manual switch on/switch off
• Lifetime around 1-1.5 years with constant use

As you can see, there are plenty of options to ensure your orchids get enough light even in homes without enough sunlight.

Is LED Light Good for Orchids?

With the advances in LED grow light technology, you can help orchids that struggle to grow and bloom indoors. LED lights now offer full spectrum light that’s needed for all plant growth stages.

A good orchid LED light will cover the full Photosynthetically Available Radiation spectrum from about 400nm to 750nm that plants need to grow, bloom and produce fruit.

Therefore, LED grow lights are just as good for orchids as natural light. What’s more, LED light allows you to better control the duration and intensity of light.

How Many Hours of Light do Orchids Need?

The amount of light an orchid plant kept indoors should receive is often a topic of debate. Some will say, orchids do best if they get around 15 to 16 hours per day. Of course, this should be lower during the winter months.

It’s understandable that normally, orchids kept indoors will not receive fewer hours of light than this. One thing is certain — Orchids are light-hungry plants.

In my experience, orchids will do great with 8 to 12 hours of light per day. At a minimum, orchids will require 6 hours of light per day. Fewer than this and problems will start to appear.

There are, of course, some orchid varieties that will tolerate lower light conditions, but the orchid that’s most commonly kept as a houseplant, the Phalaenopsis, is not one to adapt to lower light conditions.

One of the challenges with providing the right light conditions to orchids is that they require indirect light.

Early morning sun or late afternoon sun is unlikely to cause trouble, but blasting the orchid with strong direct sunlight will cause it to wither and eventually die.

Keep your orchid a few feet away from windows that receive full sun all day. Find a location closer to an east-facing window.

Therefore, the longer your orchids receive light during the day, and especially in the growing season, the better.

How Do You Know if Orchids Need More Light?

If you know how to read your orchid, you will figure out its needs quickly enough. This will enable you to make changes that will benefit your plant.

Your orchid is pretty good at signaling if it doesn’t receive enough light. You only need to check the color of its leaves to draw a few conclusions that will help you decide if you need to give your orchid more or less light.

Healthy orchids will have fresh-looking, light to medium green leaves. Here’s what’s not a healthy looking leaf on an orchid:

• Yellow bleached leaves — if your orchids’s leaves are turning yellow and dry, it’s a sign that it’s getting too much light. This usually happens when orchids are getting direct light (e.g. when they’re moved outdoors in the summer). Move your orchid out of direct sunlight.
• Deep green leaves — your orchid isn’t getting enough light. Move your orchid to a location with more light.

If your orchid doesn’t get enough light indoors, don’t hesitate to supplement lighting with LED grow lights. Your orchid will be thankful for it and reward you with splendid growth and blooms even in the winter months.

Can You Keep Orchids in Direct Sunlight?

Although a light-loving plant, orchids don’t need direct sunlight. Nor will they fare well if exposed to the strong rays of the sun.

The leaves of the orchid will get burned and dry out. In fact, left to the mercy of the sun, the whole plant can dry out.

That said, gentle early morning sun or gentle late afternoon sun is unlikely to damage your orchid.

Wrapping Up

Keeping light-loving plants indoors is always challenging, especially if said plants require many hours of light per day. Luckily, lack of enough light indoors is no longer a problem.

The LED grow lights available on the market today offer full spectrum light, just like natural light. Your orchid will not be able to tell the difference between the two.

The orchid LED grow lights I reviewed are suitable for indoor growing and some even for growing orchids on a large scale.