Black Hydrofarm FLF27D Desktop Plant Light with 27-Watt CFL Bulb

I love this lamp. Seriously. I cannot express how satisfied I am with this purchase. I had researched grow lamps for months before settling on this one. It doesn’t have any goofy colors - but it IS very bright when the rest of the lights are off. The tray was larger than I had anticipated, which was a welcome surprise as I had a few plants that needed some TLC. I have had this lamp for over a month now, and I am happy to report that my African violets foliage have deepened in color, have grown more leaves and are BLOOMING. I went a whole year without blooms until I started using this lamp. I don’t give them more than a few hours each day (4, maybe 5? And a full 12 on weekends) and I am amazed with the results. My pilea peperomioides is growing new leaves, my violets have buds and are deep green (the one in the white pot has sprouted new white/purple variegated leaves) ... I would highly recommend this lamp. Just make sure you know the dimensions of the height of the lamp as tall plants won’t fit under it. Fortunately I only needed it for small ones. But it’s great! I want to buy more for my other plants.

I've only just gotten this. I've tested it to make certain it works. It does. It's a size that fits nicely between counter and upper cabinets in my kitchen, so that is good. It will hold a pot with a maximum base size of about 6 inches, and the pot can have a flare shape and still fit. Beyond that, I'm just waiting for my seeds to sprout, and I'm not yet using the lamp, because I want to conserve the light. The seeds will likely sprout from sunlight at a window (where they are now), but they don't grow nicely there. The plants get spindly and are useless (herbs). I'm hoping the plant light will cause them to grow short and dense, with lots of leaves, as they should be. We'll see.I've had this item for nine months so far. Haven't been using it over the summer months, but I grew cilantro under the light all winter into spring, about five months. The light worked great! The cilantro grew thick and bushy, thriving in a way that I could never achieve at a window. I've found no defects in the lamp, and the bulb still works. I'd turn the unit off during the night, but unplugged it instead of using the switch so as not to wear it out. I'm still very pleased with this unit and have no regrets about purchasing it.

While this light is great, it doesn't come without its cons. Pros: it is incredibly bright, the section where your plant sits is large enough to fit most pots, the gooseneck is very easy to move around. The con, though, is that this thing is really big. It looks much smaller in pictures online and on the actual box, but you will need plenty of room and/or a large shelf to fit this thing. It also isn't very attractive. It does exactly as it should and does it very well, but this thing looks like a projector from elementary school. It has a big footprint, somewhat clunky, and an eyesore.Again, it does its job amazingly, hence my four star review. But it is much larger than what I anticipated it being. I'm considering returning mine just because of that. I can't fit it onto many shelves in my home, and the ones that I can put it on, it just looks really ugly. :(

I got this for a bonsai tree that I started growing from seed. I guess if I would have read a little further into the bonsai book I would have known that I wouldn't really need this light for at least another year... Or at all. Nonetheless, here is my review. It's bright, it's compact, it likely fits on a desk but as I do not have a desk to test this hypothesis on, it is pure conjecture at this point. The name of the lamp having the word "desktop" in it does lend some validity to my previous assertion I feel. However, it fits on my floor nicely. By nicely I just mean that it sits there like a lamp "do". I would not suggest looking directly into the lamp as you turn it on for the first time. Of course you are free to do what you want to. If you are anything like me... You probably have already done this and are reading this review after the fact (wishing you would have read just a liiiiiittle bit further) when you can see it between the never-receding after-images that have probably been permanently burned directly into the retinas of the eyes and if the scholars of old spoke true, the soul. The eyes being the now shattered windows to that place where the sun don't shine. If you are Not like me, well... All of us are not so fortunate.Since I have a year to go before I can actually test this on my bonsai tree, I can not say for certain how this performs in that capacity. In the meantime I am using this so-called desktop lamp to brighten what was certainly, if not completely dismal, a depressing and only slightly eventful future.10\10 Would blind myself again.

I love this light. I've had it for going on four years now and I use it in my office for displaying bonsai trees. I bring in a different tree each week Spring-Fall and then keep one tropical tree over the winter.The adjustable arm lets me accommodate different size trees. I did add a drip tray to it, even though it has a built-in one. This makes it easy for me to dump out the excess water.The bulb lasted three years before needing to be replaced.Brightness isn't top notch but when supplemented by the fluorescent lights in my office it provides enough light to keep the trees happy so they don't drop their leaves.

Very sad. I bought my first lamp in 2020, bulb went dead in 2022, bought a replacement bulb, but the entire light was non-working. New unit in 2022, same thing experience. It's now 2024 and the entire unit is now not working (sending the replacement bulb back and going to buy another brand of lamp this time). I use mine for orchids. It is on for ~ 11 hours/day on a timer.

We really like this light. It is perfect for my husband's bonsai that suffers without quite enough light. It does not look too industrial. It is fine for sitting in a living room or office. The adjustable arm makes it very effective as you can twist and move it almost an y way you need to. The little tray that the plant sits in is very helpful as dirt, water etc. don't run everywhere.

Perfect size for my desk at work. Plants are responding very well with new healthy growth. Excellent product and extremely quick delivery.

I really like this lamp and my plants seem to like it too. It's great for an appartment with limited light for growing plants. I had an issue with the first unit I ordered, it stopped working after a few months. I contacted Hydrofarm and they were really gracious, they replaced the faulty lamp at no charge. I will do business with them again for sure.

Bought this for my work desk, I moved in a windowless office, my plants were doing ok but the crown of thorn bulbs die before the flowers can bloom, it needs sunlight. I used this light for 2 weeks, I kept it on exactly from 9 to 5 on weekdays and it's off all weekend since I don't have a timer. The plants like it, I absolutely get a lot of new leaves (I mean lots of healthy new shoots and leaves and bulbs) BUT the bulbs still die at a certain stage before it can flower. CONCLUSION, this light is good to keep the plants healthy and steady growth, but not strong enough for flowering. Also keep in mind, it's only good for 2 plants, or 3 smaller plants. I use it on 2 small and 1 medium plants and they're doing very well.

Lifesaver for indoor growers that have limited space.I grow succulents at my apartment window and sadly we only have north-west facing windows so we don't usually get enough suns. So I placed the plants that need the most lights underneath and they are definitely loving it. I also use a electric outlet timer so I can control the amount of the time it stays on.Contrary to some of the users, I've been using this lamp since June 2014 and the original bulb is still perfectly fine right now, although I did already buy a replacement just in case.

I just bout a bonsai Fukien Tea for my office and knowing it needs lots of light to make flowers, I was worried. This lamp is just perfect. It fits on my desk perfectly and give plenty on light as expected. My bonsai is not blooming crazy!