When winter arrives on our doorstep, the light in our home will be changing. Translation – the light available for your plants will be changing. Use “Caution” when moving your indoor plants.
Winter Light and Intensity Changes – Examine the Possibilities
As you start dragging out the holiday decorations, it is easy to “create” room by pushing your plants into corners or out of the way.
We know the light source and light intensity changes and/or decreases in winter.
Have you thought of the possible reduced light sources, light intensity and its affect on your houseplants?
You need to keep “lighting” in mind wherever you place plants, but especially indoors during the holiday season. All plants require some light whether natural or artificial like grow lights.
Generally, flowering plants prefer stronger light; foliage plants will tolerate lower light conditions.
During the holidays your household may keep the lighting a little lower to enjoy the seasonal colors.
The extra 3 to 4 hours of reduced lighting your plants would normally receive coupled with the possible plant’s movement to lower light areas can cause your plants problems.
This could mean a reduction of 30 to 50% or more of available light.
Many plants which survive in 150 foot candles may not fare as well in the 75 foot candle range. If this continues over a 6 week period you may spend a good portion of your time trying to revive your plant(s).
Future Light
With an architectural trend going on, where buildings are getting darker.
As building owners and managers attempt to reduce operational cost, some buildings have installed motion detectors – turning off lights if there is no movement for a period of time.
More upgrading continues to replace older lighting systems to new lighting with lower foot candles and energy requirements. All this boils down to plants having lower light levels and less light over time to sustain growth indoors.
Remember, if you’re going to put plants into low light levels and want them to look good, select the right plant.
Check out these 5 Tough Indoor Houseplants for some suggestions.
For the holiday season, if you cannot give your plants the light they need, consider moving them to an area where you can add some additional lighting. Check out Fluorescent Grow Lights and the Basement Gardens for more information.
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