Plant care - light

Plant Care - Light

Introducing you to the essentials of plant maintenance, James illustrates the importance of light and light levels to keep your plants healthy.

Lesson Summary

• In nature, there are no gardeners. Plants have been evolving over millions of years.
• It's important to understand the environment that exists in your home and to pick the right plants to fit that niche.
• Plants selected and known by the term houseplants have been chosen for their ability to;

1. Handle low light
2. Cope with low humidity
3. Tolerate neglect
4. Look good

• Plants need watering once every few weeks or so, but they need light every day as a necessity.
• Plants are living, biological solar panels.
• I recommend a Light Meter App or a digital light meter can be used to measure the amount of light the room gets.
• A metre into the room, the light level is more than half, two metres into the room, half of it again.
• Cacti and succulents can go right up against the window sill, some even surviving on a south-facing window sill.
• These are the only plants that will survive a position like this, as they have evolved to handle high heat and low water levels.
• Bright and indirect light is normally one to two metres away from the window in a south-facing room. The kind of place where you could comfortably sit and read in summer.
• Variegated plants will have lighter patches (more variegation) when grown in a brighter side of a room.
• Rainforest plants need bright but filtered light. Those are the conditions in most average living rooms.
• Low light levels are to be found in rooms with small or north-facing windows, or when there are trees or buildings outside blocking the light. It can be difficult to grow plants in these conditions if you're not using artificial light.
• When using artificial light, plants prefer infrared (red), UV light (blue) and daylight (white lightbulbs).
• I recommend using LED daylight lightbulbs to create your own grow lamp as a cost-effective and energy-efficient option. The bulb described in this lesson is the Ikea VÄXER LED cultivation bulb.

Shade

• Sansevieria (Mother-in-law's tongue)
• Spathiphyllum (Peace Lily)
• Aspidistra (Cast Iron Plant)
• Zamioculcas (ZZ plant)
• Chamaedorea (Parlour Palm)
• Epipremnum pictum
• Argyraeus (Satin Pothos)
• Nephrolepis exaltata (Boston ferns)
• Tradescantia zebrina (Silver inch plant)
• Hoya bella
• Dracaena sanderiana (Lucky Bamboo)

Medium Light

• Asparagus (Asparagus fern)
• Phalaenopsis (Moth Orchid)
• Hedera (English Ivy)
• Fatsia (Castor Oil Plants)
• Monstera deliciosa (Swiss cheese plant)
• Chamaedorea elegans (Parlor Palm)
• Dracaena 'Gold Star'
• Dracaena 'Green Jewel'
• Chamaedora seifrizii (Bamboo palm)
• Rhapis excelsa
• Howea (Kentia palm)
• Spathiphyllum

High Light

• Haworthia (Zebra Plant)
• Aloe
• Gasteria (Ox Tongue)
• X Gasterialoe
• Tillandsia (Air Plant)
• Aloe 'Lizard Lips'
• Hippeastrum 'Samba'
• Cycas revoluta (Cycad)
• Crassula minor (Mini Jade Plant)
• Crassula 'Horntree' (Hobbit Jade)
• Aloe vera
• Codiaeum variegatum (Croton plants)
• Cacti & succulents

Your Assignment

Look around your house and create a list of all the houseplants you own and whether they prefer shade, medium-light or high-light. Now check if you've placed these plants in the best location for the light level they need.