July 25, 2025
When you’re setting up lighting for your grow, it’s easy to focus on just the top of the canopy. You want an even spread, the right intensity, and solid coverage. This is important since the top of the plant does a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to photosynthesis. But there’s a hidden opportunity many growers overlook: getting the light to hit the plant from multiple directions.
Light directionality matters more than people think. Even if your top canopy is perfectly lit, what’s happening below that layer? As your plants grow, they start to shade themselves. Upper leaves block light from reaching middle and lower leaves and flower sites. That self-shading limits growth potential in those areas unless you do something about it.
One way to help is to deliver light from multiple points above the canopy. Instead of one big fixture casting light straight down, you can use multiple angled sources to help penetrate deeper into the plant. This can make a real difference in how much light reaches the middle of the canopy.
Another way to get more light onto harder-to-reach areas of cannabis plants is by adding under-canopy lighting.
When you light from underneath, you’re not just brightening up the grow space — you’re giving those mid- and lower-canopy flower sites a fighting chance. It creates a secondary lighting plane, filling in the shadows and improving light coverage across more of the plant. This can lead to denser flowers and better overall quality in the lower areas that would otherwise underperform. We’ve seen many of our under canopy lighting customers get 60% or more premium flower by turning C buds into A’s and B’s.
The bottom line is that it’s not just about how much light you’re using. It’s also about how it’s being used. Directionality helps you get more out of your setup, and more premium quality flower out of your plants.
Check out the video below to hear thoughts on improving light direction from JumpLights’ CTO and Co-Founder Matteo del Ninno.
