Do plants need sleep?

Question

Turns out that you can do indoor farming these days via hydroponics and specialised LED lights. My mother, who has a large garden, warns me from exploring this as a hobby. She mentions that 'plants need to sleep too' and that having a LED light on them 100% of the time might be bad for them. Is there any sense in this? Is it true that plants would grow suboptimally if the sun was on them 100% of the time or would they in fact grow quicker? Is there any research on this?

Answer 1

Hi,

Your Mom is on to something. Plants require time with and without sun. The amount of time varies by species and ecological habitat. It's really important for plant hormonal regulation AND for flowering. For example: some plants are know as "long day" plants and some are "short day" plants. These names can be a little misleading.... what is critical is NOT the length of light exposure, but the length of uniterrupted darkness. If this period of darkness is interrupted, the plant will not flower as expected. This is a fairly basic botany concept --- You might want to look up "photoperiodism" to learn more about this. :)