The sun that pours through your window is more than just natural light — it's a vital element in your houseplants’ survival. 

But how much sunlight do your LEAFY friends need? Some spaces have lots of rays to offer, while others remain shady throughout the day. 

Different amounts of sunlight will allow different types of plants to work their magic. The trick is knowing which plants to pair with which kind of sunlight, and for how long. 

Confused? Concerned? Don’t worry. With a little bit of know-how, you’ll be a sunlight expert in no time! Here's what you need to know. 

Types of Sunlight For Plants

Access to sunlight is vital to the survival of your plant. Light, after all, is your plant's version of food. 

Plants use light to complete the photosynthesis process. Its energy helps the plant to kick-start a slew of metabolic reactions, including the creation of sugars. This sweet byproduct is what your plant eats and uses to grow. 

When your plant gets the right amount of light, it can feed itself and flourish. You just need to know how to give your plant the light it needs.

The Color of the Light

If your plants look fresh and green, it’s not because they absorb green light — it's because they reflect it. 

Your plant needs full-spectrum sunlight because it absorbs the rest of the differently colored beams within the sun's rays. Remember grade school science, when you learned about the visible light color spectrum? That’s what we’re talking about. Red, orange, violet, blue, yellow — your plant uses all of them to metabolize sugar. Green light, however, it doesn’t actually use. 

The sun's rays also contain UV light, as well as infrared light. Our eyes can't discern this, but plants can. Sunlight provides your plants with a full spectrum of light. This is why, when it comes to healthy plants, a regular old lightbulb won't cut it in many cases.

Quantity of Light

The houseplants you choose will need varying quantities of light, too — but more on that later. 

First, let's quickly cover why some varieties need so much sun exposure to flourish, whereas others seem perfectly happy in lonely dim corners. 

Let's say you've got a flowering plant, or even a fruit-bearing plant, somewhere in your home. That plant is going to need intense light to fulfill its internal duties. 

Think about it: a flowering plant not only has to grow stems and leaves but buds and flowers, too. It’s going to need a lot of energy to do that. Since we know how plants need light to create sugar, which they consume as food, you can see why light gives your plant the energy it needs to go through all of these processes. 

Growing taller, sprouting leaves, bearing fruit, and creating flowers are all very labor-intensive to a plant. From the pigmentation in your plant's bloom to the expansion of its root structure, everything hinges on exposure to sunlight. 

Exactly how much light your particular houseplant needs will vary. These are the three most common lighting conditions in which houseplants thrive, but many species are most at home “in-between” different lighting levels. 

Bright Light Plants 

Bright light actually comes in two flavors: bright direct light and bright indirect light. 

Bright light plants — also known as full-sun plants — do not need any barrier between them and your sunny windowpane; they like bright, direct light. Any plant in this category will be happy to sit in the brightest spaces of your home. In nature, many bright light / full sun varieties hail from desert areas, where there’s lots of sun, and not much else. 

Expose bright light, full sun-loving plants to the sun for six hours a day for peak health and growth, but remember that no plant can stay in the sun all day. Allow them an 8-12 hour dark night time period and dawn and dusk when light levels are closer to medium. 

Bright, Indirect Light

Bright indirect light is the sunlight that you would usually find streaming in an South facing window on a sunny day or the light level in the interior of a room (a few feet from the windows) that is otherwise fully lit by the sun. 

These types of plants do well in bright rooms, but do not need to be on the windowsill (and would probably rather not be). They still need a minimum of 5 to 6 hours of sunlight per day, and the more the better. 

If you have a bright, full sun space that needs a plant, consider varieties such as succulents and palm trees. Other full sun plants are Crassula Ovata (you probably know her as Jade). Hypoestes Phyllostachya (AKA the ‘Polka Dot Plant’) grows its characteristic spots best in bright light.  

The charming Hoya Kerrii does equally well in bright and medium-light locations (and its heart-shaped succulent leaves make it a perfect sweetheart gift). The Pencil Cactus, while not technically a cactus, makes a great full light plant. It will change color from green to shades of yellow, orange, or pink in full sun, earning it the nickname “sticks on fire.” Bright, indirect light is also ideal for the charming Ficus Elastica Burgundy, whose stick sap can actually be made into rubber (but don’t confuse it with the Rubber Tree, a different species). 

Medium Light Plants

Not all plants want to bask in the sun all day long. Instead, some varieties prefer a bit of a barrier between them and the sun's rays.

If exposed to too much full sun, medium light-loving plants may wilt or burn. When it comes to sun, more is not always better. 

To keep medium light plants happy, make sure to position them away from bright, sunny windows. A distance of 3 to 6 feet is usually sufficient to keep them fed, preventing them from burning or drying out too quickly. 

Place these plants near a window that doesn’t get too much direct light, such as a north-facing window. Depending on your decor, you might consider adding a sheer curtain to a sunny window to deflect the sun. 

If you’re in a room without windows, there’s still hope! Some plants can do well with strong, full-spectrum overhead lighting, such as a Pothos Marble Queen or Dracena Janet Craig.

Medium-light plants usually hail from the lower levels of the rainforest, where they get some sun, but only when it can break through the dense foliage above. 

Monstera deliciosa, for example, is a very popular medium-light plant, which thrives in the lower levels of the rainforest. 

Members of the Fern family, like the spunky Bird’s Nest Fern, usually dwell on the lower levels of the rainforest. Placing them in direct sunlight would overload them with energy, causing them to dry out, burn, and eventually die. 

Low Light Plants

Finally, we have the plants best suited for your home's shady corners, tiniest windows, and loneliest offices - low light plants. While sometimes considered “low maintenance” (and many of these are), these plants still have needs for nutrition, water and care. But being bombarded with sunlight isn’t one of them.  

Low light plants do NOT want to be in full, direct sunlight. Even medium levels of light can be too much for low light plants. While many species require much more sunlight - low light plants can make particularly excellent houseplants. 

To keep low light plants happy, place them a few feet away from a medium level light source. Dark corners or the interior of rooms are usually good places for low light plants. 

Take, for example, Golden Pothos. This low light beauty grows long, stunning vines, in less light than most other plants need. These vines earned the Pothos plants the nickname "devil's ivy" because the vines grow over other plants and choke them out in nature. Indoors, these vines are quite angelic, growing easily and excelling in hanging planters or other raised pots that allow it’s vines to trail naturally. 

Other popular low light plants include the Spider Plant, the ZZ Plant, and even the majestic Peace Lily can survive in near-low light conditions, although the Peace Lily won’t flower quite as much without extra light.  

How Much Light Is My Plant Getting? 

Even knowing these light levels, it can be hard to tell how much light your plant is getting. Is it bright light or medium? Or medium for part of the day, and low light for the rest?  

Here’s a simple test to find out: Around midday, stand in the sunlit spot-in-question, and hold up a crisp piece of plain white paper. Then, hover your hand about a foot above the paper so that it casts a shadow onto the sheet. 

No, you're not doing this to create shadow puppets — although you can if you want to. Instead, you should analyze the crispness of your hand's shadow as cast onto the paper. 

If it's sharply outlined, then you're in bright light. A softer shadow will indicate that you're getting medium light. If your shadow is very fuzzy or the paper looks just a bit more gray than bright white, chances are that you’re in a low light zone. 

The Right Plant for the Right Spot

You can read up on all of the types of sunlight for plants, but it won't help until you know the particular conditions in which your houseplant wants to live. 

Before you purchase a plant, do two things:

1. Find out how much light your space provides, paying attention to locations that you might want to place your plant. 
2. Research the type of plant you want and how much light it needs. Make sure you can provide that level of light before you place your order. 

Of course, the light's only part of the puzzle. You have to water your plants properly and sometimes fertilize them or trim them, too. But once you’ve mastered the lighting equation, you’ve figured out one of the most important, and challenging aspects to prosperous plant parenthood. 

If you still have questions, don't worry — we can help you pick the perfect plant for your space. Don't hesitate to contact us and get started on the right foot with your houseplant journey. Or subscribe to our newsletter for plant care tips and special offers!