Want to grow succulents and cactus indoors? Unless you have a very bright southern window, most succulents will have a hard time thriving indoors given the lower light conditions.

Even this bright windowsill doesn’t provide enough light for several succulents in these planters. They’ve become over-stretched and some have toppled over. These plants need a grow light!

If you love succulents, and want to grow them indoors, be prepared to provide supplemental light using grow lamps - HO T5 fluorescent and LEDs are good options.

New BOOK! Gardening Under Lights: The Complete Guide for Indoor Growers

Most succulents and cactus are happiest growing outdoors where they'll receive bright light and good air circulation. However, you may not be able to keep your potted succulents outdoors year-round.

If you live in a climate with freezing winter temperatures, you will need to bring many of your succulents indoors for the winter. Each type of succulent tolerates certain temperature ranges, and not all are frost-hardy, especially in containers. Be sure to provide succulents and cactus with bright supplemental light from grow lamps in the winter, for about 12-hours per day.

Gardening Under Lights Book

Most cactus, such as this sea urchin cactus, Echinopsis sp., require very bright light –and won’t survive indoors without grow lighting.

This particular cactus received the proper amount of light, and decided to show her gratitude with a bloom!

Gardening Under Lights Book

Echeveria is a genus of succulent plants, mostly native to Mexico and South America, that form rosettes of foliage in colors ranging from silver to orange-red.

Plants need bright light or they will quickly stretch and go into decline. Plant keepers often fail with Echeveria plants when they try to grow them in medium- to low-light indoor conditions. If you want to grow these succulents indoors, try a very bright south-facing windowsill, or add a grow light to keep plants healthy.

Gardening Under Lights Book

In addition to reflector hoods, you can also employ reflective wall coverings. Reflective material can help you bounce light around all areas of your plants without increasing the number of lamps you use.

There are different types of reflective wall covering, such as Mylar and black-and-white polymer. You will note that some reflective surfaces can absorb heat and get hot, so do not let your plants come into direct contact with the material.

Gardening Under Lights Book

When gardening under lights indoors, make sure you know how tall your chosen tomato variety will grow. If you grow vining tomatoes, also called indeterminate tomatoes be prepared for a tomato forest. They can grow 20 feet tall!

You must train indeterminate vining types of tomatoes onto support cables or trellises that will support their ongoing growth and increased size. Indeterminate vining tomatoes can continue producing new fruit as they grow.

Gardening Under Lights Book

If you are intensively gardening under lights, and are using grow tents or a greenhouse, dual arc lamps can be a good plant lighting choice. Dual arc grow lamps are hybrid HID lamps that blend the benefits of the cooler MH (metal halide) light spectrum with that of the warmer HPS (high-pressure sodium) lamps.

For example, a 1000-watt dual arc lamp combines a 600-watt MH and a 400-watt HPS lamp within the same bulb.

Gardening Under Lights Book

Ladybug larvae are ferocious predators of pests such as aphids and whiteflies. When you're gardening under lights indoors, you will have certain pest problems from time to time.

Somehow ladybugs always manage to find their way indoors when my citrus plants have whiteflies or aphids. If you find this valuable larvae on your plants, don't spray them! Let them do the pest control work for you.

Gardening Under Lights Book