Houseplants have become a popular way to bring nature indoors, but understanding the lighting needs of your indoor plants is crucial for helping them thrive. With Vancouver Island’s variable daylight throughout the year, it’s especially important to choose the right plants and provide optimal lighting conditions for each season. We stock a large variety of topicals and indoor plants year round for you to shop.
Understanding Light Levels and Directions
For houseplants, light isn’t just about brightness; it’s also about intensity and duration. Natural sunlight exposure varies by direction, so consider these basic orientations:
- North-facing windows: Offer low, indirect light and are ideal for low-light plants like pothos, ZZ plants, and ferns.
- East-facing windows: Receive soft morning sunlight, ideal for medium-light plants like peperomias and calatheas.
- West-facing windows: Afternoon sun is more intense, so these windows can support medium to high-light plants, but keep an eye on leaves for signs of scorching.
- South-facing windows: These provide the brightest light, great for high-light plants like succulents, cacti, and fiddle-leaf figs.
For plants further from windows, consider rotating them every week to ensure all sides receive light. We like to set this up so that we are rotating our plants every time we water.
Using a Light Meter
A light meter is a valuable tool to measure the actual light intensity in your space. Many light meters provide measurements in foot-candles (fc) or lux (lx), and knowing these levels can help ensure you’re placing plants in appropriate conditions. Here are basic ranges to keep in mind:
- Low-light plants: Require around 50-250 fc.
- Medium-light plants: Require 250-1,000 fc.
- High-light plants: Thrive in 1,000-2,000+ fc.
If you don’t have a light meter, you can use a smartphone app, or try the “hand shadow test.” Place your hand about 6-12 inches above the plant—if you see a faint shadow, the light is low; a well-defined shadow indicates medium to high light.
Supplemental Lighting for Winter
Vancouver Island’s winter months bring shorter days and lower light levels, so artificial lighting can be helpful for supporting houseplants. LED grow lights are a great option because they’re energy-efficient and emit specific wavelengths plants need. Place lights 12-18 inches above plants, depending on their light requirements. Remember to turn grow lights off at night to give plants a natural dark period, mimicking the day-night cycle.
Signs of Too Little or Too Much Light
It’s important to watch for signs that your plant may not be getting the right amount of light:
- Too little light: Slow growth, leggy stems, yellowing leaves, or leaves dropping can indicate insufficient light.
- Too much light: Browning or yellowing at leaf tips, especially with intense midday sunlight, can indicate your plant is receiving too much light.
Lighting is essential for photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert light into the energy they need to grow and stay healthy. Adjusting light conditions, whether by moving plants to a brighter window, supplementing with grow lights, or rotating pots regularly, can make a world of difference in the health and longevity of your indoor garden.
Have questions? We have some great really wonderful people on staff who would LOVE to talk more about plants with you!
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