Giving your Indoor Plants Enough Light

The three things that all plants need to survive are food, water, and dirt.  Plants create much of their own food when enough light is provided.  The water and dirt part of the equation are pretty straight forward as long as you follow the recommended care instructions and don’t forget to water your plants.  But how do you ensure that your indoor plants are getting enough light?  Finding the right location in your home may require some trial and error before you find the perfect spot.

Image by vigilant20 via FlickrBefore deciding on what type of plants you will have in your house, look into the light requirements.  The four categories that describe the different light requirement for plants are low, medium, high, and very high.  If you have a sunroom or skylights in your home which get a lot of light, and can position your plants in or under them you can purchase plants that need high or very high light exposure.  Be aware that some plants can get too much sun, in which case the light that comes in from a regular window should suffice.

There are options you can utilize if you want a certain type of plant and know that your house is not going to provide it enough light.  You can purchase specially designed grow bulbs to supplement the amount of light the plant is getting.  Be aware of the light requirements for your plants when choosing this lighting method.  Although plants require a lot of light to grow there is such a thing as too much light too.  The exact ratio for your plant may differ but a good guideline to follow is about 14 hours of sunlight to 10 hours of darkness.

Your plants will let you know if they are getting too much or not enough light (either they will begin to look dry or will become limp).  Try different locations in your home to find the best place for them, and optimize the growing conditions for your indoor garden.