WHERE GROWTH BEGINS...

In the past, grow lighting has been provided by technologies designed to illuminate areas for humans, which also happened to grow plants. Fluorescent / induction lights work for very short plants, but are inefficient and lack the intensity necessary to grow taller plants. HID lighting provides this intensity and better efficiency, but limits plant growth due to inadequate spectral coverage and intense heat. All of these technologies were designed for use illuminating areas for people, not plants.

LED technology allows the creation of lighting with both high efficiency and a completely-tunable light spectrum. Black Dog LED was founded to create the perfect light to grow plants, not to illuminate areas for people! Our proprietary Phyto-Genesis Spectrum® is the result of many years of research-- and even more importantly years of research grows-- to fine-tune an LED light spectrum for growing plants that maximizes yield, quality and efficiency.

We started by researching photosynthetic reactivity, which is how efficiently a plant can carry out photosynthesis at different wavelengths of light. By carefully controlling ratios of different colors of light we can not only efficiently fuel plant growth but also affect their morphology, creating denser, more-compact plants which waste less of their energy creating stems, leaving more for flowers and fruits. But we aren’t satisfied with merely fuelling plants' growth- the Phyto-Genesis Spectrum® maximizes quality as well!

Beyond PAR™

Photosynthesis isn't the only light-driven process in plants. Secondary metabolites (compounds) are created in a process called photomorphogenesis, many based on colors of light not used directly for photosynthesis.

The Phyto-Genesis Spectrum® includes ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) light to stimulate plants to create these quality-enhancing compounds. While UV and IR are both outside of the PAR lighting region, they are both present in natural sunlight and are critical to achieving plants' full potential.

Maximizing Efficiency

When plants are given colors of light they can't use efficiently, the wasted energy warms up their leaves. The Phyto-Genesis Spectrum® is so efficiently utilized by plants that it doesn't warm up their leaves like other lighting spectrums do. Since plants' leaves operate best at a particular temperature, Black Dog LED lights allow you to run your growing area's ambient air temperature around 10 °F warmer than with other lights, saving you money associated with cooling costs! For more information, see our study of Leaf Surface Temperature and LED Grow Lights.

When you are tired of the hype and ready to grow using peer-reviewed science, Black Dog LED is the only choice.