Fluorescent Light

• Fluorescent light does not produce much heat, so it can be placed very close to plants so they get the most benefit from the light. Cool-white fluorescent grow lights provide plants with plenty of the light in the blue range of colors that encourages leaf growth.
  
  

Incandescent Light

• Incandescent light provides plants with light that most closely matches the colors found in sunlight. In addition, flowering plants require extra light in the red spectrum, and this is typically found in higher proportions in incandescent light than fluorescent light.
  
  

Bottom Line

• Fluorescent light tends to be better than incandescent light for growing plants because the bulbs do not produce as much heat and use less energy than incandescent bulbs producing the same amount of light. Supplementing fluorescent light with incandescent light may help encourage flowering.