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That cheap LED grow light I bought on Amazon actually worked for my succulents
Honestly, I was skeptical of a $30 full spectrum light from some brand called Hytekgro, but my echeveria started stretching last winter in my Seattle apartment and I had to try something. After 3 months of using it 12 hours a day, the rosettes are tight and colorful again. Has anyone else had luck with cheap lights or is it just beginner's luck with my setup?
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grayh604mo ago
Are you really sure those cheap lights are doing the work though? I tried a similar $30 panel from a no-name brand last year and within a month my succulents started getting these weird pale patches that looked like sunburn but way weaker. Maybe your echeveria just bounced back because you gave it a more consistent photoperiod, not because the light actually has the right spectrum. I swapped mine out for a used T5 fluorescent fixture from a local greenhouse and the difference was night and day in terms of growth. What makes you think the light is giving them the right wavelengths instead of just tricking them into thinking it's summer?
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carter.thea4mo ago
Have you checked the actual PPFD output of those cheap panels? I picked up a similar one and my succulents were stretching like crazy until I used a phone app to measure the light and realized it was barely putting out 50 umol at the distance I had it. Moved it way closer, like 6 inches away, and that made a huge difference. Also, some of those no-name brands have horrible spectrum balances that just wash out the reds and blues your plants actually need. For me it wasn't the photoperiod, it was literally just getting the light close enough to actually matter.
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