The greater majority who write with flowing ecstasy of their success are quickly forgotten, for this is merely how it should be. These `plant death' ladies generally fall into a certain pattern. They are usually workers in offices or factories who leave their homes in the morning and return in the late afternoon.
Even a dark, dirty winter day produces from ten to fifty times more light outside than in the average home and a bright summer day can have more than a thousand times the light intensity. So take advantage of this life-giving (and free!) light by using your windows.
Yet because they leave their homes before the sun is giving its best and return only after it has passed its peak, artificial light is their natural source of illumination, a type of light bright to the human eye but not strong enough for plants.
Where a room is small or narrow a situation opposite a south window can be as helpful as a good west window and as all plants tend to turn their flowers and foliage towards the light, this means that plants in this location look into the room rather than out of the window.
So for your south facing windows reserve space for cacti and succulents, begonias, saintpaulias, pelargoniums, poinsettias, all bulb flowers such as daffodils, hyacinths and tulips, and all flowering plants such as chrysanthemums, cinerarias, primulas and the like.
On the other hand, let us not dismiss too quickly all possibility of growing colorful plants under poor light conditions. First, it may be possible to move plants closer to a light source, that is, closer to the nearest window. Secondly, it may be possible with minor reorganization to move plants nearer to a south or west window than to the east or north where they normally stand. A light painted wall or a strategically placed mirror or other reflective surface can add substantially to the total quantity of light available, as a light meter will quickly reveal. Any or all of these possibilities should be investigated where there is any doubt about the total quantity of light available.
Even a dark, dirty winter day produces from ten to fifty times more light outside than in the average home and a bright summer day can have more than a thousand times the light intensity. So take advantage of this life-giving (and free!) light by using your windows.
Yet because they leave their homes before the sun is giving its best and return only after it has passed its peak, artificial light is their natural source of illumination, a type of light bright to the human eye but not strong enough for plants.
Where a room is small or narrow a situation opposite a south window can be as helpful as a good west window and as all plants tend to turn their flowers and foliage towards the light, this means that plants in this location look into the room rather than out of the window.
So for your south facing windows reserve space for cacti and succulents, begonias, saintpaulias, pelargoniums, poinsettias, all bulb flowers such as daffodils, hyacinths and tulips, and all flowering plants such as chrysanthemums, cinerarias, primulas and the like.
On the other hand, let us not dismiss too quickly all possibility of growing colorful plants under poor light conditions. First, it may be possible to move plants closer to a light source, that is, closer to the nearest window. Secondly, it may be possible with minor reorganization to move plants nearer to a south or west window than to the east or north where they normally stand. A light painted wall or a strategically placed mirror or other reflective surface can add substantially to the total quantity of light available, as a light meter will quickly reveal. Any or all of these possibilities should be investigated where there is any doubt about the total quantity of light available.
About the Author:
A beautiful indoor garden houseplant is Aechmea rhodocyanea that has grey green rosettes of leaves.
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