Lighting tips for your houseplants.

The no.2 biggest killer of houseplants is improper light intensity.

There are only a few plants that can tolerate a dimly lit room interior. Plants growing in proper light intensity are better able to withstand the rigors of growing indoors.

Light requirements for flowering plants

All flowering plants require moderately bright light, but should be kept out of direct sunlight as the flowers will get too hot and whither more quickly.

South, east or west facing windows are excellent for most flowering houseplants.

There are some species of flowering houseplants that require a lower light intensity, such as the African Violet which prefers the low light intensity of a north facing window.

Light requirements for foliage plants

Foliage plants are divided into those that are better suited to:

• Low light intensity
• Moderate light intensity
• Hight light intensity

For a fairly simple test to determine the light intensity in a particular location, use the following:

Hold your hand 12 inches in front of a sheet of paper.

If there is a definite shadow, the light level is high.	If there is a fuzzy shadow, the light level is medium or moderate.	If there is a faint or no shadow, the light level is low.

Before you position your houseplant, do a little research and find out the correct light requirements. You can find this information for more than three hundred different houseplants in The Pocket House Plant Expert by Dr. D. G. Hessayon.

Take into consideration the following:

• Light levels decrease rapidly as plants are placed further back from a window.
• Houseplants with variegated leaves need more light than plants with plain green leaves as they have pale or colored sections that don't contain any chlorophyll necessary for photosynthesis. To compensate, the rest of the leaf must be exposed to more light.
• Plants grow towards light and if they are not rotated regularly, they will become disfigured. As necessary, turn plants to maintain fullness on all sides.
• The amount of light that comes in through a window changes with the seasons. You may need to move some plants away from the strong sunlight that pours in through south-facing windows in the summer.

What to do if there is not enough light

All is not lost if your room is too dark to successfully grow houseplants...

You can supplement light levels with fluorescent lights that have been specifically designed for growing plants in low light conditions. These have to be positioned approximately twelve inches from your plants.

Some ingenuity may be required on your part to fit them into your decor and for the well being of your houseplants, you are well advised to use electric timer switches to turn the lights on and off at the same time every day.

Important - Normal incandescent light bulbs do not emit the right light wave lengths for plant growth.

The 250W and 400W lamps you will see in advertisements are industrial fittings designed for use inside a greenhouse. They are not suitable for indoor use.