Plants need light from different parts of the spectrum during different stages of their life cycle. During vegetative growth, metal halide (MH) bulbs are used to emit blue light. Blue light encourages robust, leafy growth and leads to the production of more bud sites. Once the plant is ready to flower, high pressure sodium (HPS) bulbs are used. These bulbs produce red/orange light, and this results in heavy, dense flowers. Plants need both MH and HPS lights to grow to their full potential.