You may love how a particular plant looks in a corner of a room, but if it hasn’t grown much or seems less than lush, then it may not be receiving enough light from the windows. Light is food to plants and they need plenty of it to thrive and flourish. Plants that don’t get enough food, are limp, pale, and far from lush. Make sure your plants stay healthy and robust by spotting the below signs of insufficient light. Kansas City’s top florist, Toblers Flowers is here to provide you with what to look for in your plants and solutions to getting the amount of light just right. And, yes, plants can get too much light.

Marks from Inadequate Light in Your Plant

Leggy

Tall, thin stems with a meager amount of leaves give plants a “leggy” look, which is a clue that the plant is not getting enough sunlight. Another sign is large gaps between adjacent leaves on the stem. This space is known as the internode, and wide internodes indicate insufficient lighting.

Smaller Leaves

Small leaves in another sign of inadequate light. Plants get their energy from lights and if they don’t get enough, then they lack the energy to grow their leaves to full size.

Leaning

A lopsided or leaning plant signals your plant is turning all of its leaves and stems in an effort to get more light. To prevent this, make sure your plant is getting plenty of all-around light. Also, give your plant a quarter turn at least once a week to ensure all of the leaves are being adequately fed.

Abnormal Leaf Color

If your plant shows signs of pale, yellowing leaves or leaves dropping off, it probably needs more light.  Also, with variegated plant leaves, if they’ve lost their coloring and reverted to just green, then that is another sign of insufficient sunlight.

Slowed Growth

When a plant isn’t getting enough sunlight, it will conserve energy by slowing down its growth, or if it’s really light-starved, shutting down new growth altogether. During the winter months it’s natural for plant growth to slow down, but if you’re not seeing any noticeable growth during the spring and summer, then try to get more light to your plant.

Getting the Light Right

Depending on the species of plant, it’s size, and the amount of sunlight coming into your home, it may take some trial and error to get the light right for each one. Noticing any of the above signs, though, will help you take action. There is such a thing as too much light for plant, though, so only place sun-loving plants like palms, succulents, and cacti in full direct light for most of the day.

Otherwise, move the plants around to different widows, elevate them to sunnier spots, or get a grow light to keep your plant babies happy and healthy.