Welcome to my WTF Gardening series, where I take common gardening terms and explain them for those who are new to the world of plants.
Today’s post is all about positioning houseplants in indirect light. If you’ve ever seen plant care advice on a label, you’ve probably seen a very simple note about plant light, position or placement:
Full sun
The labels of some plants such as succulents and cacti will likely mention ‘full sun’ as these plants are happier with lots of natural light. These plants can be placed in a position where they receive as much sunlight as possible.
Low light
Conversely, the labels on plants such as Devil’s Ivy and Heartleaf Philodendron will usually talk about low light. These can get away with being placed high up on a shelf where direct light doesn’t reach them at all.
Indirect light
Indirect light, however, requires a little more of an explanation. This means that the plant receives lots of natural light, but that no direct light actually touches the plant. Now, this sounds similar to low light, but it’s not. These plants really need to be placed around three feet away from a window (preferably east-facing); too much or too little light and they might get sick.
Indirect light: Houseplants
Houseplants that are suited to indirect light include:
ZZ Plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia)
Image by Mokkie on Wikipedia Commons under this licence
Dracaena fragrans
Image by Lazaregagnidze on Wikipedia Commons under this licence
Maranta leuconeura
Image by Ural-66 under this licence
Bird’s Nest Fern (Asplenium nidus)
Image by Kent Wang on Flickr under this licence
Money Tree Plant (Pachira glabra)
Image by Karl Thomas Moore under this licence
What would you like to see me cover next in my WTF Gardening series? Let me know in the comments section!
Michael has been involved with gardening and plants since he was just five years old. He is a self-professed Plant Geek, and was listed in the Sunday Times top 20 most influential people in the gardening world, thanks to his plant hunter role at Thompson & Morgan.
Michael was responsible for new plant introductions such as the Egg and Chips plant and the FuchsiaBerry and keeps busy travelling the world in search of new plants as well as lecturing worldwide, including stints in Japan. He is very active on social media – so why not give him a follow at @mr_plantgeek or Facebook – and writes a plant-focused Substack called Grow This, Not That.
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