Best Indoor Flowers for Grow Lights: Beyond Marigolds

If you're growing flowers from seed under grow lights and have only succeeded with marigolds, try these reliable indoor bloomers:

• Cosmos – choose short varieties like 'Sonata' or 'Cosmic'.
• Begonias – wax or tuberous types bloom well under lights.
• Impatiens – shade-tolerant and floriferous.
• Scarlet runner beans – ornamental vines with edible flowers; they can bloom in winter on a sunny windowsill.
• Love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena) – delicate, quick-blooming annual.

Select seeds with fast germination and short days-to-bloom. Also consider edible additions like lettuce for quick harvests. Keep lights 6–12 inches above plants, run 14–16 hours daily, and maintain even moisture.