Most of us love filling our home with lush, gorgeous green plants for their beauty and for their air-cleaning health benefits. Too often, though, we place them in a spot we think has plenty of light and go about watering them regularly until it seems they aren’t thriving as well as they should. Before changing your watering routine, Wilmington’s top florist, Julia’s Florist, wants you to check for these signs first to determine if your plant needs to be in a sunnier spot.

Signs Your Plant Wants More Sun

Leggy

A plant with skinny stems and sparse leaves is known as “leggy” and indicates insufficient sunlight. Also, is the space is wide between adjacent leaves, it’s another sign of meager light.

Smaller Leaves

In an effort to conserve energy when a plant is not getting enough light, its new growth may be smaller than normal. Compare the size of newly grown leaves with older leaves when the plant was healthy to see if there is a marked difference.

Leaning

Plants that lean in order to absorb as much light as possible from a not close enough source will become lopsided or one-sided. To prevent this, make sure the area where the plant is getting adequate light and turn the plant every so often to ensure all leaves get ample light. .

Abnormal Leaf Color

Chlorophyll is what gives leaves their green color and is an essential part of  photosynthesis that converts light into food for the plant. Insufficient light hinders chlorophyll from doing its job resulting in pale green or yellow leaves. Eventually, these leaves will fall off if the problem isn’t remedied.

Slowed Growth

Plant growth should be obvious on healthy plants that get plenty of sunlight. If you’re not seeing significant growth or no growth at all, then your plant is most likely not getting enough light. Light is food for plants and without it, just like humans, the plant will not grow as it could.

Getting the Light Right

For most indoor plants, medium light or indirect bright light is adequate. An example of this is a well-lit room that gets dappled light or sunlight diffused by a sheer curtain.

Sometimes is not possible to have a plant in a spot that gets enough light, so it may make sense to invest in a grow light that mimics natural light. This will allow you to grow plants in any lighting condition.

Finding the right amount of light for your plants takes time and patience, but as long as you listen to what your plant is telling you, eventually, you will find the right light.