Soltech Versa™ Tabletop Grow Light
No drill. No ladder.
Just a light that leans over your plant.
Grove bar on an adjustable arm for a desk, dresser or side table. Aim the light at the top of the plant.
Bringing plants in for winter? Pests often come in with them. Prevention sachets go up before there's anything to see.
- Free ground shippingWhen lights, pots and Arber come to $75
- 100-day returnsLike new, within 100 days of delivery. See returns
- 5-year warrantyFrom the maker, Soltech
01 · Right for you
Is Soltech Versa right for your space?
A desk, dresser or side table, with nothing to install.
Check before you order
- The plant sits within about 17 in below the arm
- An outlet the 6 ft cord can reach
- Light for
- Bright, indirect to low-light plants, set by distance
- Goes
- On a desk, dresser or side table
- Costs to run
- Under $1 a month at 12 hours a day
- If it isn't right
- 5-year warranty from Soltech, and 100 days to change your mind
02 · Meet the light
Soltech Versa
Grove bar on an arm
About 17.5 in tall with the arm level, about 35 in straight up. Aim it at the top of the plant.
Touch dimming
Dims from 10 to 100% on the bar, so it can sit beside a desk without glaring.
A base that stays put
Steel and aluminum, 9 lb in all. Move the arm and the base stays where it is, which is the whole point of a base.
03 · Where it goes
Find your plant.
Set the light there.
- Hours a day
- 10–14 hours a day suits most houseplants, then a dark night. A timer remembers so you don't have to.
- Plant light
- 17 µmol/s (PPF) from 11 watts
- Reach
- About 17.5 in tall with the arm level, about 35 in straight up
- Dimming
- Touch control, 10–100%
- Color
- Warm white, 3000K
04 · Set it up
The setup is the short part.
The plant does the rest.
- 01
Set it beside the plant
On a desk, dresser or side table, with the bar over the top of the plant.
- 02
Set the height
6–12 in below the light for bright, indirect plants; 12–17 in for low light.
- 03
Plug in the timer
It's in the box. Set it once for your plant's hours plus a dark night, then stop thinking about it.
- 04
Dim to suit
Touch the bar to dim from 10 to 100%, and watch the new leaves.
05 · The daily dose
Plants keep a daily tab.
Brightness times hours.
A plant doesn't care how bright the light is at any one moment. It adds up the whole day. A bright light on an 8-hour shift and a softer one on 12 run up the same total, so a light set a little farther away can make up the difference with an extra hour or two on the timer.
Illustration · not to scale06 · Field notes
A desk lamp, but for the plant.
Point it at the leaves.
The science
Aim at the top of the plant
Versa's own chart has bright-light plants 6 to 12 inches below it and low-light plants 12 to 17. The top leaves are doing most of the catching, so aim there, not at the pot.
The science
Plants and people see different light
Our eyes judge brightness mostly by green and yellow light. Plants do most of their growing with red and blue. So a room can look bright to you and still be dim to a plant, which is why the plant-light figures on this page matter more than how it looks.
Design
Turn the head away from your chair
With a desk light, the bright face of the bar is easy to catch in your eye. Tilt it so it faces the plant and away from where you sit.
07 · What you'll see
The old leaves have made up their minds.
Watch the new ones.
Leaves that grew in a dim room were built for a dim room, and they mostly stay that way. The next leaves to open are the ones that tell you how the light is doing.
Illustration · not to scaleNew growth reports first
Judge the light by the leaves that open under it. The ones already there are old news.
Stretching is a complaint
Long gaps between leaves, and small, pale new ones, mean the plant is reaching for more. Move the light closer, or add an hour.
Bleaching is a louder one
Washed-out or crisp patches on the top leaves mean it's too close. Raise it or dim it.
More growth, more water
A plant under a good light grows faster and drinks faster. Check the soil more often for the first few weeks; the old watering routine was written for a darker room.
08 · What you need
What's in the box,
and what isn't.
In the box
- Grove bar on a Versa stand
- Power supply with 6 ft cord
- Outlet timer
You'll also need
Nothing else. Plug it in.
09 · Not your space?
Choose one of these instead
If your space is different, one of these fits better.
Before you order
Your questions, answered
Something else? Ask Toby in the chat, bottom right.
How many hours a day should it be on?
10–14 hours a day suits most houseplants, then a dark night. A timer remembers so you don't have to.
Will it raise my electric bill?
Barely. Versa uses a Grove bar: at 12 hours a day, Soltech puts it at about 4 kWh a month, under $1.
How long does it last?
Rated for 50,000 hours, more than 11 years at 12 hours a day.
Do I still need a window?
Not necessarily. These lights are made for rooms that don't get enough sun. A window still helps: the sun is the strongest light in the house, it just doesn't keep regular hours. On bright days the light has less to make up.
Is it bright enough for my plant?
For bright, indirect plants like monstera, keep the top of the plant 6–12 in below the bar; for low-light ones like snake plant or pothos, 12–17 in. An odd corner? Toby can check a photo.
Does it get hot?
No. The bar runs warm at most; Soltech rates it at no significant heat and under 0.4% UV, so it's fine on a desk around pets and kids. If the top leaves bleach, raise the arm or slide the plant back.
Why does it cost more than other grow lights?
The bar is rated for 50,000 hours, there's a 5-year Soltech warranty, and the 9 lb steel and aluminum base keeps it put on the desk for all of those years.
How long until I see a difference?
In the new leaves, over weeks. They come in bigger and closer together; the old ones stay as they grew. Leave it a month before you change the distance.
What if it's not right for my space?
You have 100 days from delivery to return it in like-new condition. If it arrives damaged or doesn't work, we send a prepaid return label; for any other reason, return shipping is yours. Full return terms.
What's the warranty?
5 years, from Soltech, the maker.
More about Soltech Versa
Versa is a desk lamp for plants. It's a Grove LED bar on an adjustable stand, so you can light the herbs on the kitchen counter or the pothos on your desk without installing anything. Plug it in and point it.
The arm tilts through 180 degrees and turns 310 degrees, so you can bring the light close over a small plant or angle it across a few. The weighted steel base keeps it steady in a tight spot. It has a matte finish with gold accents.
Black.
What's in the box
- 1 Versa adjustable stand
- 1 Grove LED bar light
- Outlet timer
- Power supply with 6 ft cord
Warranty
5 years from Soltech.
Made by Soltech.
Ready when you are
Soltech Versa
No drill. No ladder. Just a light that leans over your plant.