Understanding the Quality & Quantity of Light in Your Home
What you need
A compass (your smart phone has one!)
Knowledge of your plants light needs
An open mind and a willingness to learn!
It’s easy to bring a plant home and hope that all your love will keep them alive. Unfortunately, you’ll need to know a little about what your new plant baby needs from you.
If your plant is going to live, laugh, love in your home, they’ll need the proper water, light and care. Of all the things required to keep your plant happy, light is probably the most important. Let’s talk about understanding the quality and quantity of light in your home to give your plant what it wants (and needs) from you!
After researching the type of light your plant needs, you’re probably a little confused by all the different types of light. Here’s an overview of what type of light a window receives in each direction:
Understanding the different types of light
South-facing: most light, is brightest and hottest (direct light)
You can provide your light loving plants with bright indirect light by placing them up to 5 feet from a South-facing window. For those who love direct sunlight, keep them 2-3 feet from the window or in the windowsill if it’s small enough. A room that receives this type of light will stay bright throughout the day. Cacti, succulents, heavy blooming plants, birds of paradise and palms will thrive in south-facing light.
North-facing: least light, weakest and coolest (lowlight)
This type of lighting is very consistent, never harsh like the morning light peeking through the curtains or harsh afternoon sun. Plants can be closer to a north-facing window to receive the most light without getting scorched. Dark, leafy foliage plants like begonias, ferns, aroids, ivies, African violets, parlor palms, and calatheas love a good north-facing window.
East-facing: weak, cool morning light (indirect light)
This is the best type of light for plants that love to soak up the sun but can’t tolerate the harsh rays of a south facing window. An east facing window receives cool morning light that your plants will love. Think of those bright, slightly warm rays that flood your room in the mornings! Philodendrons, hoyas, monstera, fiddle leaf figs, umbrella trees, rubber trees, orchids, and plants that love north-facing light will thrive in these conditions too!
West-facing: strong, hot afternoon light (medium light all day)
If your window receives west-facing light, you’ll notice gold overtones shining across the room. Think of it as a warm afternoon glow. Peperomia, jade plants, snake plants, cordyline, aloe, croton, yucca, burrows tail, pony tail palms, strings of things, and plants that love southern exposure to light will be happy in western exposure.
Identifying the light conditions in your home
You may be wondering what to do with all of this information. No worries! Now we’re going to apply your new-found knowledge to find the best place for your plants to call home!
Take out a compass (or open your smart phone compass app) and determine what direction the light in your home is coming from by standing in the area you want your plant to live.
Position your compass so it faces the window you want to keep your plants near.
Now that you know what direction your window is facing, you can take inventory of your plants and group them by their needs.
A good tip for placing your plant is that the brighter the foliage, the more light it can tolerate. The darker the foliage, the lower light it can tolerate. If you’re looking around and notice that you don’t have an ideal home for you plants close to a window, or you love plants that are more high-light tolerant and can’t provide the conditions they need, grow lights are here to make all your plant dreams come true! They can be used to bring a medium-light window to a higher quality of light. They can also be used to bring a dark low light area to bright direct light that is a little less harsh.
You can purchase grow lights in a variety of bulb types and colors, and they can be used in a regular lamp or light fixture. Grow lights are a fantastic way to help your plants live in areas of your home that may not be ideal for plants. If you really want to get fancy, you can purchase grow lights that allow you to adjust the intensity and allow it to be close to your plant, if needed.