Question about spectrum of light

well i used 26watt clf's to veg my plant but when i am ready to flower should i use a cool white cfl i notice they give off more an orange like glow but im not sure i cant afford my hps yet but i will after this grow please any advice that can help me cfl wise

I'm not sure what your seeing, but cool white or daylight bulbs refer to a more white or blue light, usually in the 5000-6500 kelvin range.

Warm white is what will give you the more orange spectrum in the 2700 kelvin range.

Sorry, I forgot to add that 2700k is what you want to use for flowering.

A good idea (though I have no test results to back it up) is to mix match a little of the light to provide a broader spectrum. The plants use all frequencies to some degree (practically no green is used and reflects back which is why plants look green). The different chlorophylls create different chemicals/hormones and this is why changing to a warmer frequency range helps trigger flowering. Just like it's good for us to have a wide range of diet, plants are more healthy with broad spectrum light. Tri-phosphor bulbs will have a lot of gaps in the spectrum. If this is what you have, then it's good to provide something else to overlap those blank areas. 5-phosphor bulbs don't matter because they cover everything more evenly.
I don't know if my bulbs are tri-phosphor or 5-phosphor so I like to mix match a daylight in with 5 soft white. See if you can find a spectrum curve for your bulbs. You don't really need to go into that much detail but it's always good and fun to know what's going on in your plants at a cellular level.


Tri-phosphor CFL is like a diet of only twinkies, rice, and bananas.



5-Phosphor CFL is part of a balanced breakfast.