Light is an essential factor in plant growth, morphology, and development. Light quantity, measured as daily light integral (DLI), and light quality (spectrum) are critical components of this process. Far-red (FR) radiation, though not traditionally considered photosynthetically active and excluded in the definition of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) or photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD), has been shown to play an important role in photosynthesis and significantly affect plant photomorphogenesis and development. While FR generally increases leaf surface area (LSA) and light interception in lettuce, leading to increased biomass accumulation, its effect on flowering bedding plants varies by species. In this dissertation, I investigated the combined effects of DLI and FR on petunia, a top-selling bedding plant in the U.S., within controlled environment greenhouses and growth chambers. A gene expression study was conducted to further understand the flowering mechanism of petunia under FR supplementation. Additionally, I assessed the economic impact of specific growing strategies, including lighting strategies, by constructing an economic model for plant factories with artificial lighting (PFALs) with various growing methods. The first chapter presents an applied study in the controlled environment greenhouses where four DLI (6, 9, 12, 15 mol·m-2·d-1) and two FR treatments (supplemental 28 μmol·m-2·s-1 FR for 16 h or no supplemental FR) were applied to rooted petunia cuttings for four weeks. Evaluation was conducted on the petunia liners/transplants and their subsequent flowering and finishing stages. DLI was found to promote flowering, branching, morphology, and biomass accumulation of petunia liners, with many effects persisting into the finishing stage. A threshold DLI of 9 mol·m-2·d-1 was identified, below which plant growth was not acceptable. FR accelerated flowering in both summer and winter but had limited impact on the number of flower buds and open flowers, branching, and shoot and root weight of the finish plants. Overall, both higher DLI and supplemental FR exhibited beneficial effects, but DLI stands as a more effective tool for petunia line production. The second chapter was conducted in controlled growth chambers with more precisely controlled FR gradient and DLI. A FR gradient of six distinct treatments (3%, 5%, 7%, 10%, 15%, 22% FR) was applied on petunia plants from seed to first open flower under two DLI conditions (17.5 and 9.0 mol·m-2·d-1 DLI). A linear relationship was observed, with decreased days to first open flower in response to increased FR percentage under both DLI conditions. Some cultivars also flowered earlier under high DLI compared to low DLI. Plants harvested earlier due to accelerated flowering showed no negative impact on the number of flower buds, branches, and shoot fresh weight (FW). High DLI resulted in more compact plants, while higher FR percentages led to stem elongation without affecting canopy area. Significant differences in cultivar responses to DLI and FR were observed. The third chapter was a continuation of chapter two, exploring the flowering mechanisms underlying the observed phenotypic response to FR. The expression of five petunia FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) orthologs, named PhFT1 to PhFT5, was analyzed across developmental stages under FR supplementation versus control. The expression patterns of PhFT2-5 indicated that they may be promoters of flowering, with PhFT2 emerging as the strongest candidate due to its increased expression over time and peak at flower initiation, particularly under FR supplementation. PhFT1 appeared to be an inhibitor or have minimal effect in flowering. PhFT2 and PhFT3 were highly responsive to FR supplementation, while PhFT4 and PhFT5 were less responsive. The final chapter provides an economic evaluation of PFALs with three varying growing factors: 1) replacing FR with white light, 2) adding air-side economizers to the climate control system, 3) supplementing CO2 to offset reduced DLI. Incorporating FR in the lighting spectrum in PFALs had the greatest economic value. The use of economizers and elevated CO2 combined with reduced DLI could individually enhance financial performance, but applying both strategies simultaneously resulted in a significant economic decrease. Overall, incorporating FR with either economizers or elevated CO2 (reduced DLI) yielded the highest profitability. The scenario without FR light but with both economizers and elevated CO2 resulted in the lowest profitability.