Your Plants are Talking - What Are They Saying?

We have looked at symptoms of plants that didn’t get enough light. In case you missed it you can read about talking Indoor Plants.

Now let’s take a look at the flip side… Too much light.

Most plants inside don’t have a luxury of getting too much light but it can happen. Most of the time it comes down to only a couple of things. .. Plants that cannot handle the high light are placed in the wrong light or the plant is experiencing heat build up or heat stress.

You’ll usually find these plants sitting in a south or west window where the sun will be stronger and the high rays will beat down on them for long periods of time.

You may ask yourself, if these plants can grow in so much light at the nursery how come they can get damaged in a home? Well the problem may not be so much the light but heat build up.

In the nursery the plants may receive more light but they also have air circulation… that usually isn’t the case in a home. Plants that are placed really close to a window can really build up some heat. Stick your hand on the glass. Then add to that little or no air movement and heat can become a real problem.

So what are some of the symptoms of heat stress and excess light?

Foliage That Curls Down

Not all plants will have the foliage curl down, but they just don’t show the vigor. The growth can become somewhat “tight” and drawn causing the leaf tips to curl.

Brown Or Bleached Out Foliage

When you bought your house plant it probably had dark green lush leaves but now… The leaves are a light green or a gray green. The tips may be brown and “crispy”. This is a pretty good sign of too much light in addition to heat stress.

Leaves Wilting During The Hottest Part Of The Day

Does your plant droop or wilt? Do you find yourself watering more often? After the heat of the day does the plant perk up? Putting undue stress on the plant can cause… brown tips and damage to the root system among other things.

Compact Or Stunted Growth

You know how you feel when you’re outside and the sun is beating down on you. The excess heat wears you down. The same thing happens with plants. Plants need to move the nutrients and water properly and the overheating interferes with these functions.

What Is The Cure?

Basically the “cure” for these symptoms is reducing the light and or the heat which can be done in a few different ways and depends on your situation.

Move the plant to a new location. This could be an east window where the plant would get morning light.

Move the plant just a little bit back from the window(s). Moving the plant from right against the glass to 12 inches back can make a big difference in heat alone.

Pull the curtains. Well not the curtains but sheers or tilt the blinds. This will allow a lot of bright light for the plant but help reduce some of the heat.

Plant trees outside to reduce the amount of sun on your windows… of course this may take a few years before they reach enough height to help.

You see plants are great communicators we just need to listen.

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