Seeing the Light.
Your location plays a big role in the plants that you can support with your environment. Light, temperature, and water are some of the biggest factors you’ll need to consider when determining what type of plant is best for your conditions. Many homes are equipped with temperature controls like air-conditioning and heating. Fortunately, most plants are comfortable in the same temperatures that we find livable all year round, between 55-75 degrees. As for water, we can also control how often we water our plants and how we adjust the humidity within our homes. Natural light, however, we have less control over. Sure, there are always grow lights, of which I’m a big fan, but it’s important to know how to identify your natural light so you can maximize it. This gives you knowledge and flexibility that help you support your jungle. As plant enthusiasts, it’s easy to choose the plant that most appeals to you, only to bring it home and find that you can’t support its needs. In order to prevent a plant fatality (it’s okay, we’ve all been there) it’s a good idea to understand your light. The following information is based on the Northern Hemisphere, and it’s worth noting that the closer to the equator that you are, the more intense your light will be. The level or “story” you’re on will also be a factor. Generally, a first story window will take in slightly less light than a second story window or higher.
The Quintessential Houseplant Connundrum.
What is bright indirect light?
I, for one, am guilty of overthinking this one, hence it’s inclusion at The Midwestern Jungle at all. I suspect I’m not alone, though. Defining bright indirect light can be tricky. Low light is just bright enough to read a book, and direct light would indicate that the sun’s rays are beaming directly onto your plant. So in theory, bright indirect light would be somewhere between those two extremes, right? The rays are not making contact, but the room is illuminated enough to see clearly, book or no book. Most plants seek more light, not direct light, just more. If your plant is casting a soft shadow but not within the direct rays of the sun, it’s likely receiving bright indirect light. Any window that receives light can give you bright indirect light. You can always measure with a light meter. A free light meter app is easy enough to find.
Let’s Break it Down.
South
This is the brightest and most intense exposure in the household. Barring obstructions like trees or buildings, southern exposure, especially if some direct light slips through, will be too scathing for many houseplants. South facing windows see the sun from the time it rises to the time it sets, but intensity peaks around midday, 12-2pm. It might be fine to allow plants morning light from the south, but protect them with a sheer curtain midday or if any direct sunlight passes through.
I use southern exposure for some of my Hoya, a succulent like burro’s tail, and well protected African Violets. I also have an insatiable Philodendron Green Congo that accepts nothing less than a South facing window.
East
Often called “morning sun” an East exposure, in my experience, is a real plant pleaser. The sun rises in the East, but it’s rays are not yet intense. The light is softer and less scorching than it’ll become later in the day. Many plants can prosper thoroughly in an East facing window. I have succulents that find it satisfactory, and Hoya that are still fulfilled enough to bloom in an East window.
Monstera and Philodendron do especially well in East windows and can even take some morning sun as long as it’s mild. Hoya and Jungle Cacti as well as Begonias love an East window. Ivy, spider plants and Snake plants also do well here. Boston ferns are happy here with some protection.
North
Northern light is the least intense but the most consistent light source throughout the day. It remains relatively the same throughout the day, making it a good choice because 12 good hours of consistent, mild indirect light can be, in my environment, as nourishing as 4 good hours of bright indirect light. I’ve been impressed on more than one occasion how well my plants have taken to Northern light.
Philodendron, Thanksgiving and Easter cacti, Syngonium, ferns and Epipremnum are all good choices for the North.
West
I have some of my most hit-or-miss moments with Western exposure. There isn’t much going on in my true western exposure until midday. That’s when the fun begins, but it can be intense fun. I consider Western exposure second in intensity to Southern exposure. If you don’t know that your plant can tolerate it, stepping it back a few feet from the window or using a sheer curtain in the afternoon are both appropriate moves.
This is where the Hoya happen for me. Both my Hoya and my Orchids bloom nonstop in the West. Lipstick plants can also handle the heat, as well as specific Philodendron, or former members thereof, such as Thaumatophyllum Selloum. My Strings of Hearts as well as some desert cacti also enjoy living in a West window.
Not every home, apartment, dorm, or office is built perfectly square on the compass rose. Sometimes, you’ll find yourself with a window that faces SE, SW, NE or NW. Your SE window is likely going to receive light from sunup all the way through midday, at which point the light will begin decreasing for the rest of the day. A Southwest window will receive less intense light in the morning but midday through sundown will literally be its moment to shine. NE will be consistent throughout the day with the morning having a spell of rays as the sun rises. And SW will, like SE, have consistent but less intense light all day long with the exception of a brighter afternoon period.
Never Fear.
It can be challenging to find exactly the right spot for your houseplant. Don’t be afraid to experiment a little. Moving a plant around too much can be detrimental, but there is a payoff when you find the right location. It isn’t terribly uncommon for some of my plants to have two or three homes before they finally settle into the perfect spot. Finding the right light in your home for a plant can be a bit like Goldilocks and the Three Bears. It has to be just right. And when that happens, you’ll see new growth that seemed to appear overnight, nice full foliage and possibly even flowering.
Want to see more here about lighting? Let me know.