Encapsulated strawberry shoot tips converting into plantlets (Fig. 1G) on hormone-free MS medium were transferred to nonsterile vermiculite substrate, where survival capacity, growth and morphology of these plantlets were affected by different light mixtures after 6 weeks (Table 2 and Fig. 2B). Strawberry plantlets survived ex vitro conditions at significantly higher frequencies (90–94 %) under all LED mixtures than under fluorescent lamps (76%) (Fig. 2B). Fluorescent lamps provided longer shoots but with slightly abnormal growth of plantlets (Table 2). Other growth and morphological attributes were improved under all of the mixed LEDs than under FL-radiation, resulting in vigorous growth of plantlets under LED mixtures (data not presented). The R7B3 treatment consistently provided one of the highest growth values while the FL-treatment consistently provided one of the lowest growth values (Table 2). For example, plantlets had the largest leaves (2.3–2.5 cm2) under R7B3, R5B5 and R3B7 LED mixtures and the narrowest leaves (1.1 cm2) under the FL-radiation. Plantlets grown under the R7B3 radiation, as compared with FL-radiation, had increased leaf chlorophyll contents by about two-fold (26.2 SPAD leaf−1 vs. 14.3 SPAD leaf−1), root fresh weights by more than two-fold (233.3 mg plantlet−1 vs. 110.2 mg plantlet−1) and root dry weights by more than three-fold (19.9 mg plantlet−1 vs. 6.0 mg plantlet−1)(Table 2), although all plantlets had healthy roots (1 J). The R7B3 light also induced healthy plantlets with thick, dark-green and expanded leaves as compared with FL-radiation which produced plantlets with thin, light-green, slightly-folded and relatively-fragile leaves (Fig. 1I vs. Fig. 1J).