Keeping your plants as lush, green, and healthy as the day you picked them out from the nursery can be a little more complex than you thought. Besides getting the watering routine down, you need to make sure your plant is getting adequate amounts of light as well. After all, sunlight is a plant’s food, and if they receive too little, or too much, it will show in their outward appearance. Before it gets too extreme, Yonkers top florist, Blossom Flower Shop, wants you to keep an eye out for the below signs of light issues with your plants.

Look for These Signs of Inadequate Light in Your Plant

Leggy

Leggy is a term referring to plants with stems that are long and skinny due to the plant reaching for enough light. Another aspect of leggy stems is a wide space between adjacent leaves. This space is called the internode, and extended internodes are signs of a plant with insufficient light.

Smaller Leaves

Small leaves are another indication of adequate lighting. If new growth doesn’t ever get the size of leaves that are older and larger, it means the plant is conserving energy and unable to grow to its fullest because of inadequate lighting.

Leaning

Plants with insufficient light will lean towards their primary light source in an effort to get more. Place your plant closer to the light source and turn a quarter of the way every so often so all of the plant gets enough light.

Abnormal Leaf Color

The chlorophyll in leaves is what makes them dark green and able to perform photosynthesis. This is the process where light is transformed into food and energy for the plant. Without enough light, chlorophyll stops working like it should, resulting in leaves that are pale green or yellow.

Slowed Growth / No Growth

Lack of sufficient light causes stunted growth or slower than normal growth. If you suspect your plant isn’t growing as much as it should, put it closer to a window and see what happens.

Getting the Light Right

Look for the above signs of light deficiency and then do what you can to increase their light in your plants. This could be as easy as moving it closer to a window, opening the blinds, or placing you plant in a window that gets more sun naturally, such as a southerly or westerly facing window.

Be sure to not place your plant too close to a sunny window or in an area where it gets more than 4 hours of direct, bright sunlight, as it is possible for your plant to get too much light. Only those few sun-worshipping plants like succulents, cacti, or palm trees should get direct light. Medium-light that is somewhat diffused is good for most houseplants.

It could take some trial and error but giving attention to your plants and noticing the signs of poor light will help you keep them happy and healthy.