What kind of light does my plant even need?

February 4, 2020

We all hear "low light," "bright indirect light," and "medium direct light," but what does any of this mean? In this post, we explain each lighting term and which lighting situations are best for different plants!

Indirect light- the suns light is diffused by something in its path. What does this look like? Your plant should be at least a few feet away from the window.

A great way to diffuse light to have more indirect light would be using shear curtains, a plant creating shade, or a tree outside of the window creating shade.

Plants for this lighting: Chlorophytum Comosum (Spider plant), Zamioculcas Zamiifolia (ZZ plant), Aglaonema (Chinese Evergreen), Fittonias (Nerve plant).

Direct light- the sun has a direct path to the plant. This looks like placing your plant in the windowsill. LED grow lights are also a great addition for rooms with minimal windows

Plants for this lighting: Aloe barbadensis (Aloe Vera), Euphorbia trigona (African Milk plant), Crassula argentea (Jade plant), Dypsis lutescens (Areca Palm plant).

Bright light- in front of the window, full sun.

Medium-Low light- in the same room with good lighting - in a room with minimal lighting.

Most plants that will survive in "low lighting" still do better in medium light. Low light does NOT mean no light.

If your plants' leaves seem to burn and crisp try moving it into medium indirect light.

Now you know what you need to know about lighting!