I asked an experienced florist if indoor flowers need additional lighting - I share what I learned

Experienced florists are often advised to purchase phytolamps. Such devices provide additional lighting for indoor plants.

Newbies wonder if extra light can be dispensed with and how often to use the lamp. I decided to ask my friend about it, who is engaged in the cultivation of flowers for sale and knows many "tricks".

I am sharing the information he told me.

Why flowers don't have enough sunlight

The sun's rays on the street and in the apartment are not equally distributed. Trees and shrubs growing outdoors are illuminated throughout the day. In this case, the sun's rays hit the branches and leaves from different directions.

Within the walls of the apartment, even half of the lighting available on the street does not reach the plants. This is explained by the fact that some of the rays are delayed by glass.

If the windows in the room are shaded or face north, then the indicators will be even lower.

Speaking about the consequences, it is important to remember information from school biology lessons. Plants need sunlight for vigorous growth and good flowering. If there is not enough of it in the house, then the green spaces will often hurt, grow slowly and rarely release buds.

To remedy the situation, you can use additional lighting to make up for the lack of sun.

Do all plants need lighting

Before purchasing a phytolamp, you should pay attention to the types of plants that live in the apartment. Some shrubs do well in shady places, so they don't need a lamp.

Depending on the sensitivity to light, several groups of plants are distinguished:

· Very light-loving. These include citrus fruits, jasmine, eucalyptus, myrtle, bougainvillea and some others. In their natural environment, they grow in open areas with a hot climate and long daylight hours. To achieve good growth and flowering of such greenery, in most cases, additional lighting is required.

· Preferring indirect, diffused light.The lighting requirements for these plants are slightly less, but they also need the sun's rays. Hoya, azalea, pomegranate, Kalanchoe, amaryllis and orchids were included in this category.

· Flowers that prefer partial shade Such plants do not need additional lighting if they are on the windowsill. These are lithops, bromeliads, ficuses, gardenias and rhodochiton.

· Shade-tolerant. The peculiarity of such flowers is that in nature they grow in forests on the lower tier in the shade of trees. These include ivy, monstera, dieffenbachia, spathiphyllum and some others. They can do without phytolamp.

How to tell if a plant lacks light

To calculate the required amount of light for a particular plant, it is not necessary to use complex methods. It is enough to study the condition of the plant and its appearance. With a lack of light, pronounced signs appear:

internodes become long (internodes are the distance of a stem from one leaf to an adjacent one);

the size of the leaf plates decreases (the leaves become small);

the lower leaves (located near the roots) turn yellow, dry and fall off;

the color intensity changes (stems and leaves turn pale).

How much backlight is needed

Most plants require 12 hours of daylight to grow. If there is not enough natural light, the backlight should be turned on for a certain time.

However, flower growers should remember that excess light also negatively affects the flower, like lack. Darkness is extremely important for the plant, since important metabolic processes take place during this period.

For the greenery growing on the northern windows, the lamp will have to be turned on almost every day. The same lighting is required for all plants in winter. This is due to the reduction in daylight hours.