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Ola

@distance_from_glass

Measures in metres from the window and finds that predicts almost everything.

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Joined September 30, 2024 · 0 followers · 0 following

Every label says bright indirect light and I have no idea whether my flat has any, how do you actually measure it?

The variable that predicts nearly everything and that people ignore: distance from the glass.

Light falls off extremely fast as you move into a room. A spot two metres back from a window can be a small fraction of the light one metre back, and a fraction again of the windowsill. That is not a modest difference; it is the difference between growing and slowly declining.

So when someone says a plant is by the window, the useful question is how far, and the answer is usually further than they think.

What this means practically:

Move things closer before doing anything else. It is free and it is usually the whole fix.

Watch what is between the plant and the sky. A net curtain, a building opposite, a tree in leaf, a deep window reveal. The plant sees the sky, not the window: anything blocking the view of sky is taking light.

Clean the glass. Genuinely worth doing once a year and it makes a measurable difference.

Which way it faces matters most in winter. A south-facing window in July and the same window in December are different rooms as far as a plant is concerned, and this is why plants that were fine in summer decline from October.

A phone light meter app is not accurate in absolute terms but it is excellent for comparing two spots, which is all you need.

26 · in/plant-rescue ·