Will this light bulb help my seedlings?

Today I purchased a couple of bulbs at a flea market and I'm wondering if they would be good for my seedlings, since I've run out of room under my 48-inch fixtures. It says tricolor on the pkg and puts out a different kind of light than regular bulbs. It's a Chinese-made, energy saving bulb, 20 watts which is supposed to be equal to 8 times the brightness, power consumption and last longer. We have replaced all of the bulbs in our home with low watt bulbs, but this one is different. I only paid $1 for each of them. If I find that they are grow lights, maybe I should have purchased more. It's not spiral like my other ones--more elongated, I guess. Does tricolor mean it's good for plants?

Although I don't currently use "grow lights", I plan to in the future.

From my experience, seeds will germinate with little or even no light. But once they start growing, they will need light. I have started different types of seed folded up in a damp paper towel and sat on top of my refrigerator. I can't say that it would work for all seeds. I've heard folks say that they put a bit (just enough to cover) in a zip lock baggy and leave in the fridge until they start to germinate. I guess it really depends on what type of seed you are dealing with.

From researching this I have found the following info (quoted from Wikipedia):


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grow_lights

Different light spectrums are used for the different stages of plant growth. The initial vegetative stage requires blue spectrum of light, whereas the later 'flowering' stage is usually done with red/orange spectrums. The lights can be bought by spectrum colour specifically, or some companies such as Sylvania Grolux produce a full spectrum bulb which caters for all stages of growth.

The light is usually used in conjunction with a reflector, to control and intensify the light emissions, and will include an electrical ballast to control the flow of current flowing to the light. This is required because of the high intensity of the light that is necessary to produce something akin to sunlight.

For indoor gardening one of the most important topics is light density, measured in lux. Light density is the amount of light incident on a surface. One lux equals one lumen (unit) of light falling on an area of one square meter. A brightly lit office would be illuminated at about 400 lux.

Cool white fluorescent lamps are sometimes used as grow lamps. These offer slightly lower performance, a white light, and lower purchase cost.


There are also special lights for artists. I know this because that is what I also do. They call them "day lights". They have the full spectrum of colors needed as in natural light. I've often wondered if they are the same as the "grow lights", as these artists lights are much more expensive.

My father uses plain white fluorescents. But he really only does daylilies.

Hope this helps.

Donna