Most indoor plants direct sunlight is not what they want at all. The typical houseplant does better with bright indirect light instead of harsh direct rays. Direct sun can burn their leaves while too little light makes them yellow. Finding the sweet spot keeps your plants green.
I used to line my plants up on south-facing windowsills thinking more sun meant healthier plants. Half of them got scorched with brown crispy patches on their leaves. The other half that I moved to darker corners turned pale yellow from low light yellowing. Neither spot was right for them.
The University of Maryland found that plants in too little light make thin pale yellow leaves that can't make enough food. But shade plants put in direct sun develop scorch marks and bleached spots. Both extremes cause problems that look different but hurt your plants just as much.
Here's why most houseplants want indirect light plants get in nature. They grew up on forest floors under tall trees. Filtered light came through leaves above rather than hitting them head on. Your home works the same way when you place plants a few feet back from windows.
Houseplant light requirements vary by species so you need to know what you have. Pothos, philodendrons, and peace lilies thrive in low to medium light. Succulents and cacti want more light than most tropical plants do. Fiddle leaf figs need bright indirect light but burn in harsh direct sun.
You can tell if your plant gets too much or too little light by watching its leaves over time. Low light yellowing shows up as pale leaves that grow smaller than normal. Leaves reach and stretch toward the nearest window. Growth slows way down and the plant looks leggy with long spaces between leaves.
Too much direct sun creates different warning signs on your plants. Brown crispy spots appear on leaves that face the window directly. The leaves might curl up or turn a bleached pale color. These burns happen fast on hot summer afternoons when sun hits at its strongest angle.
Match your plant to your space by checking what each species needs before you place it. A north window gives low light good for pothos and snake plants. East windows offer gentle morning sun that works for most tropicals. South and west windows need sheer curtains to filter the strongest rays.
I moved my burned plants 3 feet back from the sunny window and hung a sheer curtain for extra filtering. Within a month the scorching stopped and new leaves came in green and healthy. The plants in dark corners got a spot near an east window where they bounced back from their pale yellow state.
For spaces with no natural light at all, grow lights work well for many houseplants. Set them on a timer for 10-12 hours daily to mimic natural day length. This option lets you grow plants in bathrooms, offices, or rooms with tiny windows that let in almost no sun.
Read the full article: 10 Reasons Why Leaves Turn Yellow
