A light meter will help you better understand the light intensity that your plant is experiencing:
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1️⃣ You might feel this is “bright” when the sun reflects on a highly reflective building but how does this actually compare to direct sun?
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2️⃣ The clear sky plus the reflected sun produced 440 foot-candles.
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3️⃣ Later in the afternoon, it’s a clear day with the a direct line of sight with the sun: 5280 foot-candles (see the x10 on the screen?)
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Lesson: having a real, direct line of sight with the sun is 10x brighter than the sun reflecting off a mirror.
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I know many of you are reading this wondering “okay, so how much does my plant need?” – remembering that light levels vary with time of day (and through weather, seasons, and latitudes) – to get a plant to “grow nicely” (highly subjective), a lower light tropical foliage plant will be very happy with 200-800 f-c for most of the day. A “bright indirect light” plant would enjoy 600-1800 f-c for most of the day.
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But once you’ve measured with a light meter, you’ll find that these levels are only possible right up beside the window (in other words: WHERE THEY HAVE THE WIDEST POSSIBLE VIEW OF THE SKY) and you may even find some windows are too small to achieve this. Plants simply try their best with however they’re lit. Once you’ve measured light, you’ll see why there’s so much to discuss…
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