Lighting requirements of plants

There are many different house and garden plants, each with its own light requirement: one grows fastest with lots of sunshine, the other grows better in the shade.
The best way to determine where to place your houseplant is explained here.

The average best location

Determining the best location is very complicated. This is because there are more than 390,900 plant species, and they all have their own wishes in terms of light, temperature and water.

There are 3 different light spots that you have in your home. We will explain them briefly here.

Sunny pitch

For plants that long for a sunny spot, it is very important that they get a spot where the sun shines for at least 5 to 7 hours. This will promote growth and ensure that the ornamental value increases, a nice reward.
Some plants that like a sunny spot can also stand in a more shady spot, e.g. Trachycarpus Fortunei palm tree is a good example of this. The only thing that will happen if you don't have it fully exposed to the sun is that it will grow a little slower.

For houseplants it is different. It is best to place these as close as possible to a window where the sun will shine for about 5 hours.

Semi-shade pitch

For garden plants this is often in a place where a tree or hedge stops the sun, but where the sun can reach an average of 2 to 5 hours. Most plants do well here because their leaves do not wither in the sun.

For indoor plants you can determine the half shade based on the number of meters from your window. For indoor plants, half shade is about 2 to 3 meters from the window, where the sun shines for 3 to 5 hours.

Shadow pitch

If a plant needs a shady spot, the best thing to do is to give it a shady spot, and not a spot in the sun at all, because in the sun it can lead to withered leaves.
For outdoor plants, it is best to place them close to a wall, or use them as ground cover for a palm tree, for example. Ferns are known to require a more shady spot, but for the garden it means that the sun doesn't shine for more than 3 hours a day.

For houseplants that require shade, you should bear in mind that the plant should not be completely in the shade, and will therefore not receive any light at all. The best location for a shaded area is 3 metres from the window, where there is less than about 3 hours of sunlight a day. Please note that houseplants that like shade also need light, so they are not completely in the dark!

What are the advantages of the right location?

The advantage of having the room or garden plant in the right place is mainly that it gives it a higher ornamental value.
If, for example, a houseplant is an air purifying plant, it will also release more oxygen, if it is put at ease, by providing it with the right number of hours of sunshine.

The advantage for flowering plants is that they hatch their flowers more often.

Can houseplants be placed in full sun ?

In almost all cases this is possible, unless the plant really needs a shady spot. It is best to let the houseplant get used to it by putting it a little closer to the window every 2 to 3 days. Don't immediately put it in the full light if it isn't used to this, because it could get uglier instead of prettier.

How to determine if the plant is in the wrong place

The best way to determine the wrong spot is to look at the plant. If your houseplant is in the wrong place, you can see this from the following consequences.

Too much sunlight for the plant

This can be seen on the leaves, which usually turn yellow when there is too much light. Please note that yellow leaves can also be caused by getting too much water.

Too little sunlight

If your plant does not get enough sunlight, this can result in leaf loss. We recommend that you gradually place your plant closer to the window, or in a sunnier place.
Too little sunlight can also block growth and cause strange stems with thin leaves that become longer than normal. This is because they are looking for light.