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Check out these four tips for light and houseplants! Worried you don’t have enough light to keep your plants happy? Wondering why some plants are overwatered, but not others? I’ll tell you!
Tip 1 – Light level affects watering
If your plant is in very bright light it’ll need to be watered more frequently than if it’s in low light. It also depends on the time of year and temperature. This is important to pay attention to—it can make a difference between thriving plants and dying plants!
Check out the video I included in this post to see my sunburnt Monstera Delicosa. When it was inside, I was watering it every 10 days to two weeks. It was in low light and in a relatively cool temperature compared to outside.
Well, I just recently moved it outside and I totally forgot that last summer I was watering my outdoor plants practically every other day because of how hot and sunny it gets! I went five days without watering it, and let’s just say it’s going to need ample recovery time…
Tip 2 – You (probably) don’t need as much light as you think
Most houseplants can live in lower light levels than you probably think. For example, think of a jungle floor. Plants underneath that thick canopy layer are not getting the perfect amount of bright, indirect light on a regular basis.
If you don’t have a prime spot on the windowsill for all of your plants, that’s OK! Monitor your plants and if it looks like they need more light—if they’re not growing, if they’re becoming leggy, if they’re losing leaves—then you can assess whether you need to do some rearranging. But don’t worry about getting the perfect light level for every single plant immediately.
Tip 3 – Unexpected factors can add more light
Unexpected factors can brighten up your space and make it more conducive to plant growth. White walls and mirrors reflect some light and can help plants that would otherwise be in dark corners.
In addition, light bulbs that you already have in the fixtures around your home may help too. LED or fluorescent light bulbs are best, whereas incandescent bulbs can get too hot depending on how close they are to the plant.
Just keep in mind that a single lightbulb won’t help if the plants are alllll the way on the other side of the room. Plants need to be relatively close to the light source.
Tip 4 – You can take proactive measures
If you’re still concerned, I get it. Luckily, you can take proactive measures such as purchasing grow lights. While not always necessary, they CAN make a huge difference and will also allow you to grow plants virtually anywhere throughout your home.
Full-spectrum light is best for the all-around growth of houseplants (while blue light is helpful for foliage and red light for flowers and fruit). These are my favorite full-spectrum LED grow lights. I have multiple sets of them and have been using them for years. They clip on to just about anything and you can bend the two gooseneck lights to face in any direction you need them to.
Something else you can do is swap plants from in and out of window space. Now, I recognize this isn’t ideal, and you have to make sure you have plants that aren’t super sensitive to being moved (like the notorious fiddle leaf fig!). However, switching plants in and out of window space once or twice a week can work in a pinch and make a good temporary solution.
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