What you consider a well-lit room with a window that lets in plenty of light, still may not let in enough light for your plant to thrive. If it’s too much light or not enough, after a while, your plant will show signs of stress indicating improper lighting. Stressed plants are more likely to suffer from pests, diseases, and early death. Here at Busch’s Florist we want to help you make sure that doesn’t happen. Read more below for signs of inadequate lighting and solutions to ensure your plant remains healthy and thriving for many years to come.
How to Determine Your Plant Needs More Light
Leggy
Leggy is used to describe plants that have sparse leaves and skinny stems. Light is food for plants, and if they don’t get enough, it’s like they’re on a diet and they get too thin. This is not an ideal situation. Plants need light to become lush, full, and thriving and, in turn, help keep indoor air clean with their air-purifying qualities. If your plant has skinny stems with leaves located far apart from each other, then it’s a clear sign of insufficient light.
Smaller Leaves
If new leaves still haven’t matched in size the older leaves of the plant from when it was healthy and thriving, then the plant is not receiving enough energy to produce the proper-sized leaves. Improve the lighting conditions and watch your plant bloom as it should.
Leaning
A plant that is visibly leaning is desperately seeking to absorb as much light as possible because it’s not getting enough in its current location. Another sign of a leaning plant has one side full of leaves and growth and the other side bare. To prevent this problem, move the plant to a better lit spot rotate it a quarter-turn at least once a week so the entire plant benefits from light and not just one side.
Abnormal Leaf Color
Pale green or yellow-colored leaves are likely a sign of light deficiency. When there is not enough light the chlorophyll in the plant’s leaves can not do its job. So the green color of a leaf starts to fade and then will turn yellow and soon drop off.
Slowed Growth or No Growth
The sun is what gives a plant the energy to grow and thrive. When a plant doesn’t get enough food one of the signs is that it is not growing like it should or there is no new growth at all. Plants can survive with little to no energy but they will not thrive or grow to become lush and beautiful.
Getting the Light Right
Making sure your plants get enough sunlight is not as simple as just moving it as close to a window as possible. There are only a few species of plants that can handle hours of direct sunlight, and these are palm plants, cacti, and succulents.
Medium light or indirect bright light is the optimum lighting condition for most plant varieties except shade-loving plants like ferns and orchids. It will likely take a little bit of trial and error before discovering the perfect balance of light for each of your plants. Just pay attention to them and carefully check your plants every so often to make sure they are not showing any signs of distress but are happy and healthy.
