Guides to indoor plant light requirements and placement
Low light for plants means roughly 50 to 250 foot-candles of light intensity, the kind of dim, indirect brightness you’d find a few feet back from a window, in a north-facing room, or under office fluorescents. Low-light plants are especially prone to sunburn. If yours gets too much sun, here’s how to fix a sunburned plant….
Most indoor plants need 12 to 16 hours of light a day, but how much of that light needs to be direct, indirect, or artificial depends entirely on the plant. A snake plant will survive fine in a dim corner that would slowly starve a monstera. The real issue isn’t just hours, it’s intensity, and…
To use grow lights for indoor plants, place a full-spectrum LED 6 to 12 inches above the foliage and run it for about 12 hours a day on an automatic timer, giving plants an equal stretch of darkness to rest. Adjust the distance and hours slightly depending on the light’s strength and what you’re growing,…
Discover 20 indoor plants that thrive in direct sun, from croton to aloe vera, plus how to test your room’s light and care for sun-loving plants. That last part matters more than most plant guides admit. A lot of people buy a sun-loving plant, place it in a room they think is bright, and watch…
Determining light levels in your home is the single most important step in keeping your houseplants alive—and most people get it wrong. Your eyes adapt to dim conditions within minutes, making a room feel brighter than it really is. But plants don’t have that luxury. A spot that looks “bright enough” to you might be…
What Is Bright Indirect Light? Bright indirect light is bright, filtered natural light that reaches a plant without direct sun rays landing on its leaves. It’s the light you get a few feet back from a south-facing window, or behind a sheer curtain. It’s bright enough to cast a soft shadow but not warm on…
Houseplants typically need 100–1,000 foot-candles of light for 6–8 hours from a window or 12–16 hours from a grow light, depending on the species. Snake plants thrive at 75 foot-candles; citrus trees need 1,000+. Learn how to measure light for indoor plants and match your home’s light levels to the right plants. Measuring your light helps you avoid…
