When a plant gets too much direct light, the leaves become pale, sometimes burn, turn brown, and die. Therefore, during the summer months, protect plants from too much direct sunlight. Additional lighting may be supplied by either incandescent or fluorescent lights. Incandescent lights produce a great deal of heat and are not very efficient users of electricity. For photosynthesis, plants require mostly blues and reds, but for flowering, infrared light is also needed.
Incandescent lights produce mostly red, and some infrared light, but are very low in blues.
Fluorescent lights vary according to the phosphorus used by the manufacturer. Cool-white lights produce mostly blue light, and are low in red light. Foliage plants grow well under cool-white fluorescent lights, which are also cool enough to position quite close to plants. Blooming plants require extra infrared which can be supplied by incandescent lights, or special horticultural-type fluorescent lights. Water Overwatering and underwatering account for a large percentage of tropical plant losses.