Plants are wonderful, living things we bring into our homes for many reasons, such as they’re beautiful to look at, they’re incredibly diverse and appealing (which is why you can’t have just one), and they provide air-purifying and mood-boosting benefits. So when you do bring a plant inside, thought and care is required regarding where to place. It may look great in that empty corner, but if your plant baby is too far from nourishing light, it will suffer. To make sure that doesn’t happen, Central Square Florist, Cambridge’s top florist, created the below guide so you will know how to properly “feed” your plant the light it needs.

 Clues to Knowing Your Plant Needs More Light

Leggy 

Leggy is a term used to represent plants that produce skinny stems with meager leaves. Light is food for plants, and if they do not get enough, it’s like they are on a diet and become too thin. This is a sign of trouble. Plants require light to maintain a lush, full, and thriving look. If your plant has skinny stems with leaves positioned far apart from each other, it is a clear sign of insufficient light.

Smaller Leaves

If new leaves don’t match in size the older leaves of the plant from when it was healthy, then it is not receiving enough energy to produce the usual-sized leaves. Adjust the lighting conditions and watch your plant flourish as it should.

Leaning

A plant that is visibly leaning is desperately attempting to absorb as much light as possible because it is not receiving enough in its current location.  To circumvent this problem, move the plant to a more desirable, well-lit spot and rotate it a quarter-turn once a week so the entire plant benefits from light and not just one side.

Abnormal Leaf Color

Pale green leaves and pale yellow leaves are another sign of possible light deficiency. Insufficient light prevents chlorophyll in the plant’s leaves from doing its job, and eventually, the green color of a leaf begins to fade, will turn yellow, and then drop off.

Slowed Growth or No Growth

Plants can survive with little to no energy but they will not thrive or grow to become lush and beautiful without adequate amounts of light. Plants with slow or stunted growth, especially during the spring and summer months, will benefit from being placed in a sunnier place.

Getting the Light Right

Making sure your plants absorb plenty of sunlight is not as simple as just moving it as close to a window as possible. There are but a few species of plants that can handle hours of direct sunlight, and those are varieties of palm plants, cacti, and succulents.

Medium light or indirect bright light is the best lighting condition for most plant varieties except shade-loving plants such as ferns and orchids. It will likely take a little bit of trial and error before finding the perfect balance of light for each of your plants. Just pay attention to them and monitor them for any of the above signs. If you are unable to place a plant in a location where it gets plenty of light, then invest in a grow light!