Guest Carrie McLaughlin joins host Michele Driscoll Alioto to explain how to create more light for your plants and make better use of small spaces to display them.
First, determine the light situation in the area of your home where you want to have plants. A good way to do that is to perform the hand-shadow test. Hold your hand about eight to 12 inches above the place where you'd like to place a plant. If there is high or direct light, a distinct shadow of your hand will be cast. (This usually occurs in southern windows.) If a fuzzy but definite shadow is cast, the window is probably facing east or west; this is considered medium light. A low-light situation will result in only a faint or indistinct shadow of your hand.
One easy way to intensify existing natural light is to set a grouping of plants on a tabletop mirror. Add some white rocks, marble chips or perlite around the base of plants as a reflective mulch.
If natural light is practically nonexistent, you can always resort to artificial light in the form of fluorescent tubes (broad-spectrum types are best for plants), plant-light bulbs or new daylight bulbs. Place the plants within 12 inches of these light sources, making sure to turn the light off at night so the plant can rest. For success, you must use this type of lighting because regular incandescent light will not help plants grow, says McLaughlin.
Suggested low-light plants for small spaces include:
- baby tears (Soleirolia soleirolii)
- maidenhair fern
- miniature ivies
- sansevieria
Larger low-light plants include:
- Boston fern
- dracaena
- palms
- peace lily
- split-leaf philodendron
Here are some indicators that plants are receiving too little light:
- Lower leaves dry up and fall
- Plant grows slowly or not at all
- Flower buds fall or don't form
- Flowers fade quickly
- Variegated leaves turn all green
- Plant has small, pale leaves
If leaves seem dull, lifeless or wilting, your plant may be receiving too much light.
The ultimate solution for a low-light/small-space situation, says McLaughlin, is to plant a terrarium. Terrariums do very well in such conditions and allow you to get creative with the container and the plants and decorative accessories inside.
