Welcome to the Bloom and Grow Radio Blog!
Check out our Product Reviews, DIY tutorials, Garden to Table Recipes, podcast show notes, and more!
You are likely overestimating how much light you have in your home for your houseplants, plant friends! Yes, it's a tough truth to swallow. In fact, the largest cause of houseplant death is a misunderstanding of light. That’s because our houseplants perceive light differently from us. Don’t worry, because I have your back. I've spent seven years learning about light and distilling everything I've learned into this one short episode to break down how you can confidently assess the natural light in your home and buy the correct plant that will do well in that environment.
Growing Joy: The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness (and Plants) by Maria Failla, Illustrated by Samantha Leung
so you don't miss the amazing episodes we have coming up!
If you go back and remember science class when you were 11 or 12 years old, you learned about photosynthesis. It is how plants use light to make their food. They essentially make carbs and sugars via the chemical energy of sunlight. So if there's no sunlight, plants can't make their own food.
Chlorophyll, the green pigment that gives plants their green appearance, is found in the cells that make up plants. They absorb photons of light. Fun fact: most plants appear to the human eye as green because chlorophyll absorbs red and blue light and kind of bounces green light back.
Most plants that are marketed as low light are not low light “loving” plants; they are low light “tolerant” plants. Most plants would be happier with more light if they could get it.
The light we have indoors is so much less than the light that plants are getting in nature. There are plants like the snake plant that will tolerate low light. Meaning they won't grow that much, but they won't die.
So how do you investigate the light situation in your home? Here’s how:
Remember, this is in the Northern Hemisphere:
Note: your home is unique, so you've got to consider things like trees that lose their leaves in winter, or tall buildings that might block your sun.
Direct sunlight – the sun is beaming straight onto your plant's leaves. Do the hand test—if you see a clear shadow, that's direct light.
Indirect light – within about a foot of a sunny window, or direct light filtered through a curtain/dust.
Low light – it's dim and more than a few feet from a window.
If your plant starts getting leggy (long spaces between leaves), it's probably stretching for more light. Basically, plants will angle their leaves towards the light source. That's called phototropism, and it's your plant's way of saying “I need more light over here!” Just rotate your plants every now and then to keep them growing straight.
Now that you're a light expert, you can choose plants that'll grow best in your space:
If you want a personalized plant list, take my Plant Parent Personality test! It'll give you a tailored list of plants that match your lifestyle and light situation.
Understanding your light is the first step to becoming a successful plant parent. Understand your window orientation, understand if you have obstructions, and then pick the right plants for what you've got going on. And remember, when you're shopping for new plant babies, look for those Proven Winners Leaf Joy tags—they've got some of the highest-quality plants out there.
If you want to have success with houseplants, you’ve got to have two things: the knowledge to care for them successfully and healthy plants. Meet my new favorite houseplant grower: Proven Winner’s leafjoy™. With only the best plant genetics grown in a state-of-the-art, European greenhouse, you will not be disappointed in the variety and quality of your favorite plants from Proven Winner’s leafjoy™. This company has taken the guesswork out of plant shopping with plant tags that include scientific names and care guides, as well as color-coded collections for the different areas of your home that you want plants in!
Find plant joy in leafjoy™. Head to provenwinners.com to find your local leafjoy™ dealer and let me know which plant you take home on socials!
Follow Maria and Growing Joy:
Order my book: Growing Joy: The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness (and Plants) by Maria Failla, Illustrated by Samantha Leung
Join the Bloom and Grow Garden Party Community Platform & App AKA the plantiest and kindest corner of the internet! Get your FREE 2-week trial here!
Take the Plant Parent Personality Quiz (Get the perfect plants, projects and educational resources for YOUR Lifestyle)
Support Bloom and Grow Radio by becoming a Plant Friend on Patreon!
Instagram: @growingjoywithmaria
Tiktok: @growingjoywithmaria
Subscribe to the Growing Joy Youtube channel! /growingjoywithmaria
Website: www.growingjoywithmaria.com
Pinterest: @growingjoywithmaria
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Stop wasting money on plants that don’t fit with your lifestyle.
Take the Plant Parent Personality™ quiz, and get curated recommendations for plants, projects, and podcast episodes inspired by your lifestyle to unlock your Plant Parent Potential!