Monstera Light Needs: How Much Does is it Need
The light is one of the most important concerns and factors to remember when you are trying to grow a full, lush Monstera.
It is extremely important if you want to raise a beautiful and healthy monstera to provide it with the right amount of light. If your monstera needs more light, you need to recognize the signs that it requires it.
This rainforest plant Monstera Deliciosa enjoys a sunny environment and will usually be happiest near a bright window.
Leaves that are not directly exposed to the sun's rays. Monstera grows much better under the indirect light of a bright sun.
We consider the monstera plant one of the best houseplants of the year due to its ability to grow even in less-than-ideal conditions such as light or darkness.
In This guide, we will explain how much light monstera needs if the light isn't getting enough & how your monstera does get enough light.
Let's start to know about monstera light needs.
How Much Light Does a Monstera Need?
What is the required amount of light for a Monstera? Most Monstera species require 8 to 10 hours of bright but filtered or indirect light per day.
There is no doubt that monstera can survive in low light conditions, but if you want them to thrive, you will need indirect light that's bright to make sure they are comfortable.
To prevent leaves from sun burning and turning pale, limit their exposure to direct sunlight to 1-2 hours per day.
Read More
Brown Spots On Monstera Leaves
How to Propagating Monstera Plant
Signs Your Monstera Needs More Light
When you give your Monstera more light, there may be a difference in your plant's speed and quality of growth. The opposite is true when inadequate lighting is present.
1. Growth Stunted
In low light conditions, your Monstera will go into survival mode to survive. With the degradation of light conditions, it will no longer be able to produce leaves.
The plant does not grow new parts but maintains existing ones instead of growing new ones. This plant has an average growth rate of 1 to 2 feet per year. It is important to remember that if the light is poor, no growth will occur.
2. Leaves Are Not Perforated.
A monstera plant is beautiful due to its splits and lacy holes, and we believe this is part of its beauty and monstera also need proper care . On the other hand, without perforations, however, they look awkward, unattractive, and unattractive.
Perforations can only be found on mature leaves. The lack of adequate light causes slow plant maturation and fenestration to be delayed.
3. Foliage is Small
The leaves of the Monstera plant are shaped like hearts. The leaves are deep green and are usually split or perforated.
Small leaves will be on your plant if there isn't enough light due to its slow growth and small leaves. If you keep your Monstera in low light for several months, it will stay immature and only produce few or no leaves.
4. During Watering, the Soil Remains Moist.
As long as you are not overwatering your Monstera plant, but they still seem to be soaked in water, it may be a lack of sunlight causing the soil to remain saturated.
Long-term moist soil can cause rot to the roots of Monstera, which makes it dangerous. If you place your plant in a low-light area, it is important to monitor how much water you provide.
Leca balls are the best soil for your Monstera because Leca balls contain all the nutrients needed by Monstera plants. If you read about the Brown Spots On Monstera Plants: Causes and Solutions, click here to read more.
5. Poorly Developed Aerial Roots
As with most rainforest climbing evergreens, Monstera aerial roots sprout at nodes along its branches. Besides providing support for the plant in its natural habitat, aerial roots can also serve as a way to climb and support itself.
If your plant does not receive enough light, the roots will become weak, and they will not be able to climb as a result.
6. Growing in a Leggy Way
A Monstera growing under low light conditions will grow leggy due to the lack of light. As the stems get longer, they are more likely to reach for more light; this does not happen accidentally.
All the symptoms mentioned above are caused by low light. If you see any of these symptoms in your Monstera plant, then your plant needs more light.
Too Much Sunlight for Monstera: Signs and Dangers
There is a filtered light environment at the bottom of the native rainforests, where Monstera plants grow in filtered light. The Monstera will develop an unsightly appearance if exposed to excessive direct sunlight.
Overexposure to direct sunlight can lead to the following diseases.
1. Browning of Leaves
Browning of the leaves - The soil has dried out faster due to the increased sunlight exposure and scorched the leaves. A leaf may go brown completely or develop large brown spots or sunburn marks that cause it to turn brown.
2. Crisping up Leaves
Leaves start to crisp up after being scorched – The scorched leaves will have a crispy surface due to their dryness.
3. Bleached Foliage
Too much sunlight can bleach the monstera leaves, resulting in whitewashed appearances on the leaves of these plants. It is important to note that the color of the plants may be either light green, grayish, white, or pale depending on the variety.
4. Symptoms of Leaf Scald
Monstera leaves are designed to receive light-filtered sunlight, making them susceptible to leaf scald. Scalding will occur on the leaves. In the process, they lose their ability to photosynthesize and appear white or pale.
4. Leaf Curling, Shriveling, or Wrinkling.
The leaves may curl up, shrivel, or wrinkle if they lose a great deal of moisture through evaporation. This can lead to them not opening or increased leaf moisture loss.
5. Stunted or Slowed Growth
Various factors may contribute to slowed or stunted growth of your Monstera, including chlorophyll degradation and other effects caused by light damage.
6. Drooping and Wilting In Monstera Due to Access Light
The plant is at risk of losing water through evaporation because it is exposed to excessive heat from the light and begins to wilt.
What are the Monstera Light Requirements?
Depending on your monstera light requirements, both intensity and duration are important. Monstera intensity is how strong the light is. Duration is how long they are exposed to the light.
It is important to understand light when choosing the perfect location for Monstera. As far as assessing the duration of light is concerned, that is much easier to do, but it can also be quite deceiving. To determine the intensity of the light in an area, you can use some easy methods.
Indirect, Bright Light
Firstly, we have to look at the intensity of your Monstera light in a particular area to determine whether it is receiving the correct amount of light.
Make Use of a Light Meter.
With these handy tools, you'll be able to do all the work yourself. Commonly used light meters determine the amount of light in an area, designed to measure how much light is available.
Light intensity is usually measured in foot candles, which is a unit of measure for light intensity.
In the University of Florida's guidelines for determining the light intensity, a reading between two and four-foot candles indicates low light.
A reading between two and ten-foot candles indicates medium light, and a reading of ten to five-foot candles indicates high-intensity light. To determine whether direct sunlight is present, the reading must exceed 1000-foot candles.
Some varieties of Monstera can thrive at a low or high light intensity, but others may perform best at a range between 100 and 500-foot candles.
Make Use of the Shadow Test.
No special equipment is required for this method; all you need are your hands to accomplish it, so it is quick and easy. Hold your hand about 12 inches away from your Monstera plant and spread your fingers about the same distance as the plant's stem.
Make a note of the shadow that your hand casts. Your Monstera plant is likely to thrive in the location if its shadow is light-colored with fuzzy edges and if it receives medium light from the location.
Bright, filtered light is best for Monstera. With some morning sunlight from an eastern window, it may thrive. It will suffer from the direct afternoon sun.
You can soften the sun's rays by hanging sheer curtains over windows facing west and south. Alternatively, if you do not want your Monstera plant to be in danger, you should move it several feet away from the window.
Summary
Make sure your Monstera receives plenty of bright, indirect sunlight if you want it to flourish and bear large, showy leaves. You should avoid direct too much sunlight on your Monstera plant. Also, you can take it outside in the spring for a few hours.
FAQs
How much light does a Monstera need?
To thrive, Monstera requires around five to eight hours of bright indirect light daily.
Does monstera need a lot of light?
The answer is yes, but not as much as you might think. Monstera is the right sunlight to grow optimally. You should try giving them at least 6 hours of indirect sunlight daily.
Read More About Light Requirement of Other Plants
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