Gardening Houseplants Light Needs of Plants

Take Your Houseplants for a Spin

Houseplants tend to lean towards the light. Ill.: weibo.com & laidbackgardener.blog

To maintain good symmetry, a plant needs to receive light from all sides … and that is almost never the case indoors where all the light in a room comes from one direction, because most rooms have windows on only one side. As a result, the average houseplant tends to lean towards its one source of light, ruining its natural symmetry. In fact, some plants lean so far they need staking to keep from flopping over!

20190120b gifer.com
Give your houseplants a regular quarter turn to keep them symmetrical. Ill.: gifer.com

Fortunately, this is easy to prevent. Simply give the pot a quarter turn clockwise every time you water. That will ensure the plant receives light from all directions and will stay symmetrical.

Why clockwise? Actually, counterclockwise would work just as well. The important thing is to be consistent and turn it in the same direction each time you water.

Simple, n’est-ce pas?

Garden writer and blogger, author of 65 gardening books, lecturer and communicator, the Laidback Gardener, Larry Hodgson, passed away in October 2022. Known for his great generosity, his thoroughness and his sense of humor, he reached several generations of amateur and professional gardeners over his 40-year career. Thanks to his son, Mathieu Hodgson, and a team of contributors, laidbackgardener.blog will continue its mission of demystifying gardening and making it more accessible to all.

2 comments on “Take Your Houseplants for a Spin

  1. Pingback: Dieffenbachia: The June 2021 Houseplant of the Month – Laidback Gardener

  2. Pingback: Put Heavy Pots on Wheels – Laidback Gardener

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