Contents
Houseplant Care and Basics
How to Buy Houseplants
Houseplants and Light Conditions
How to Water Houseplants
How to Fertilize Houseplants
Temperature, Humidity, and Air Flow
Houseplant Pots and Repotting
How to Maintain Houseplants
How to Propagate Houseplants
How to Take Houseplants Outdoors
Common Houseplant Diseases
Common Houseplant Insects
Types of
Houseplants
Flowering Houseplants
Foliage Houseplants
Succulent Houseplants
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Houseplants and Light Conditions
Plants need light to conduct photosynthesis, a process that converts light into energy. But not all plants have the same light requirements in terms of the duration and intensity of the light they receive:
- Duration: The number of hours of light plants need in a day (generally more in summer and less in winter).
- Intensity: The strength of light that a plant receives. Light that reaches the plant without any intervening barrier, such as an awning or a sheer curtain, is called direct light or full sun and has the strongest intensity. Most plants can’t tolerate full sun and need at least some protection from the sun’s direct rays.
Houseplants are classified by four types of light needs:
- Full-sun plants: Direct sunlight for 5–6 hours per day; strong light for the rest of the day. Strong light means as much available light as possible but no direct sun. An example of strong light would be light from a south-facing window diffused by a curtain.
- High-light plants: Direct sunlight for 2–3 hours per day; strong light for the rest of the day.
- Medium-light plants: Direct sunlight only in mornings and evenings; moderate light at all other times. An example of moderate light is the light a few feet from a window that gets no direct sun.
- Low-light plants: No direct sunlight; only weak light throughout the day. Weak light is about enough light you’d need to read a book.
Where to Put Your Houseplants
Where you put your houseplants determines the type of light the plants get. The best way to determine where to put your houseplants is to think of each room in terms of its windows. Though all windows provide some light, the intensity and duration of that light depends on two factors:
- Obstructions: A window may receive either direct light or (due to obstacles, whether curtains or an awning or a tree outside) filtered or indirect light.
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Exposure: A window’s exposure refers to the direction the window faces: north, south, east, or west. Plants in a south-facing window receive southern exposure, for example. Different exposures provide different light intensities:
- Northern exposure: The least intense light
- Southern exposure: The most intense light
- Eastern exposure: Intense sun in the morning
- Western exposure: Intense afternoon/evening sun
Matching Plants’ Light Requirements with Locations
To determine where a particular plant will thrive, you need to know the plant’s light requirements and the exposure of the windows in your house. Once you’ve got that information, follow the guidelines below.
Where to Put Full-Sun and High-Light Plants
Full-sun plants can be placed 2 feet or less from a southern exposure, while high-light plants can be placed 2 feet or less from an eastern or western exposure or 2–6 feet from a southern exposure.
Where to Put Medium-Light Plants
2–6 feet from an eastern or western exposure or 2 feet or less from a northern exposure.
Where to Put Low-Light Plants
6–10 feet from a southern exposure or 2 feet or less from a northern exposure.
The ideal place for your plant will often depend on where you live. A certain type of plant in Florida would not be placed the same distance from a window as it would be in Maine, for instance. Check with your local garden store to confirm the best place to put your plant.
Using Artificial Light
Natural sunlight is the most effective light for growing plants because it contains the full spectrum of light colors required for photosynthesis. But if your houseplants can’t get the light they need from the sun for some reason, you can also use artificial light to grow them. If you want to do so, follow these guidelines:
- Use fluorescent: Regular incandescent bulbs are too hot and don’t provide a wide enough spectrum for growing plants. Fluorescent lights are far superior.
- Keep the right distance: Fluorescent lights work best when plants are 12–18" from them. Since distance from a light source directly affects light intensity, this distance will vary according to individual plant requirements. You can position the lights correctly by buying lights that can be installed above your plants or by keeping your plants on a bench beneath a bank of lights.
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