People keep doing this to their houseplants

[@KillThisPlant]

Where is this information coming from? How do I know how much light my plant needs? Darryl Cheng (Houseplant Journal) has compiled a list of plants and uses information from Universities' (mostly University of Florida) published articles on ideal growing conditions for commercial houseplants. Check the description for his blog post.

[@aquafina6544]

Absolute best advice plain and concise. Ty. I know I don't get enough light and for the most part I've been lucky for decades. However, lately I invested in some plant lights just to see if they responded in a positive way. It's just having limited space to put more stuff..😂

[@PommyMommyRox]

Thank you!

[@AliJDB]

Me in my flat with exclusively dull north facing windows as winter approaches: we're gonna need more grow lights....

[@AliJDB]

For americans: flat=apartment.

[@loladlola2]

@@AliJDB 🤣@needing more grow lights (FACTS!!) and defining flat as apartment.

[@glen4075]

😂yup. Me in Wales where we have had about 12 hours of sunshine this year 🙄

[@loladlola2]

@@glen4075 Oh my, I’d thrive there!! I ❤️ cloudy and rainy days.😂

[@mechelleburk5680]

Make sure and get good grow lights.

[@tutips7365]

I once had a plant book that told me how many FC each common house plant needed. Wish more plant guides would list the Foot Candle for the plants instead of low, med, high. It really is a game changer. Maybe this is something you can start including in your future videos: the optimum foot candle range of the plant(s). Would be great!

[@KillThisPlant]

Would absolutely love to see that on those little cards that come with the plant.

[@ladyd8028]

As good plant parents, I guess it is our job to convert the foot candles to each "low," "medium," or "bright" light requirement. Somehow! I just closed my plant care app. I'm finally tackling some repotting chores. There is no talk of lumens, lux or foot candles there. I invested a couple of years ago in an old-school 3-in-1 light meter gauge that I very seldom use...

[@jburden590]

I got a light meter about a year ago. It didn't come with instructions, so down the yt rabbit hole I went. When I tell you that I have watched a ton of vids, many twice as long or more as yours, and was still confused. This was concise and so helpful! I really cannot thank you enough❤

[@KillThisPlant]

Glad to hear it! The light meter will be your best friend.

[@kristiemowry3267]

You finally convinced me to ask for a light meter for Christmas.

[@gbeagle417]

He convinced me to go buy one two mins ago

[@kittygoodtimes4922]

you're amazing-- I've NEVER heard it talked about like this. you've got thee BEST plantTube channel I've come across! thank you, sir.

[@Mdiesel13]

I enjoy watching a lot of different "plantubers" on youtube but I really appreciate how digestible your content is. I really feel like I understand a lot from your content. Thanks, Lee.

[@RangerPuff]

Thank you for a clear and concise lesson on light! Thank you, thank you!!

[@SeedtoSprout-k3f]

I just got my first DSLR camera today as a birthday gift, and then I saw your video-perfect timing!

[@HousePlantJournal]

Thanks for the feature of my website! I enjoyed the way you explained how all the current ways of trying to make sense of light don't really work. I would like to point out that when I said "let your plant see the sky" - as with catchy phrase, it lost a key element - it should be (when indoors) "let your plant see the widest possible view of the sky" - and this is only a broad guideline in the absence of using a light meter. Great video!

[@KillThisPlant]

Thanks for putting in your hard work and compiling the sources! I hope this video helps what you started and keeps pushing more people into getting their light meters.

[@marvelousgaming9138]

That light meter seriously changed my game, it's awesome! Secondly, I stumbled across your videos the first time the other day. The one specifically about thrips. Which I may or may not of caught by watching 😂 hopefully they still aren't a problem, but if so I have successfully beaten thrips a couple times, with green lace wing larva!! They come with a ferocious appetite, eat every stage egg larva and adult, and seriously the thrips don't stand a f-in chance. The green lace wing larva are cannibalistic , so once the pest is gone they eat eachother. Boom no bugs!!! If I bring a bunch of newbies home, or think a pest might be a problem, lacewings here I come!!! Game changer, much like this light meter 🎉🫡😊

[@emmaconnell2586]

This was so helpful thanks! Scottish highlands in winter. Sun rises at 9am and sets at 3.15ish. Even if it’s sunny it’s still not great for indoors!

[@jtaysma]

4:40 Before this video I thought something was wrong with me because I couldn’t understand the sky part🤣. Thanks for clearing that up.

[@Darenim]

I got a light meter today for my birthday, just a couple of hours before you posted this video. Yay!

[@KillThisPlant]

@@Darenim great timing. Happy birthday

[@mikelyman3297]

Awesome video! Your content rocks. I love that your tips are based on measurable data

[@bleh5409]

I live in zone 3 and most of my indoor plants are north east in the living room and dining room. I wanted my kitchen to be south facing for the sunlight in the mornings because it get so gloomy and dark in the winter. I get some light for the plants and they survive but dont look very lush. Thank you for this tip, ordered my light meter and will probably buy grow lights. Although i heard regularly ldg works just fine and buy " grow lights" is a waste of money. I am relatively new plant mom, always had plants just never really mothered them. I am loving it snd your videos are amazing 🙌 😍

[@Flyig_Walrus]

I love your videos! 'm so sick of the plants need to see the sky BS and the south facing window thing. I live in very high altitude and south facing sun will scorch most of my leafy plants.

[@Phebestreet]

So, so, so helpful. I have been wondering about this since I started expanding my plant collection. Thanks!

[@courtneyharris6390]

Very clear and informative thank you! Valuable info x

[@glen4075]

❤thank you Lee. You finally gave me the push I needed! Light meter today! Super helpful video

[@ahnjane]

Really great video. Well thought out. Here I go, down a rabbit hole of your videos!

[@KillThisPlant]

Enjoy the rabbit hole!

[@PommyMommyRox]

Thanks a lot dude! 😊 I've spent my whole weekend playing with my new light meter app LOL I have just been gifted a propagation of a plant I've been coveting forever. So the first thing I did (other than pot it immediately, which I didn't) I put it in some fresh water and placed it in a place of honor near my kitchen window. BUT in the first few seconds of your video you reminded me, I don't know the type of light that this was propagating in at its first home. I could have totally sizzled it.

[@ameliamurphy8416]

Thank you! I have been going back and forth with getting a light meter, and downloaded the iOS one, in the end followed your Amazon link and purchased what I needed. I appreciate all your advice and all your videos! Thank you again!

[@celeste9129]

Excellent information, thanks!

[@dorf8853]

My south windows have mature trees blocking them all day. My mostly north facing sun room stays sunny.

[@Unknownlll123]

It is true about the light that plants need, I have three cheese plants, two are in a back room and it isn't bright but they are fine, I can't afford grow lights but just knowing that they both look beautiful and in lovely condition, my other is directly near the window and it's just got two new leaves and with fenestrations that are so detailed, the only bonus I have is that if I hadn't bought the others that don't get as much light they would have died due to not having any TLC. ❤.

[@beardielover2115]

Thank you, thank you for this video. I bought a Measure reader last year and it’s just been sitting around now. I understand how I should use it.

[@moorflower4118]

This is very helpful!! Thank you!!!

[@benora1535]

I love your channel 💗 informative and straight to the point!

[@cherie.23]

Ty for this informative video!

[@ladyd8028]

Greatly helpful remedial lesson. 👍🏾

[@braukorpshomebrew6039]

Thank you for the app suggestions, as well as the amazon product link. I recently expanded my house plant collection, and I'm a little worried about where some of the houseplants are placed.

[@angeredsmile2]

great video! thanks for this one!

[@eaganhinds8023]

Thank you so much for the information!!!😊

[@ot7stan207]

the PBS of plants!

[@KillThisPlant]

peanut butter sandwich!? . . . nice.

[@janeesimone]

Very informative video!! Taking notes 📝🙋🏾‍♀️

[@sagemeridian8920]

What if getting grow lights is the only way to improve the light level? Does the foot candle rule still apply when it's artificial light and should I increase the artificial light slowly?

[@KillThisPlant]

@@sagemeridian8920 it does. A more accurate way to measure would be to use PAR but a good par meter is $200. A light meter will get you close enough.

[@noora7773]

It’s best to first set the plant light a bit further of the plant and then decrease the distance over time. Cheap lights usually require you to put them very close to the plants so you don’t have to be super careful with those. I don’t remember that I would have ever burned my plant with plant lights with other than the hot light actually touching the leaves…that happens fairly often!

[@ThylineTheGay]

7:00 it also looks confusing when you convert round lux values to FC :) 9290.30 4645.15 2322.57 929.03 464.51 92.90

[@KillThisPlant]

@@ThylineTheGay very confusing! 😮

[@DoodleBoon]

Thank you and also God bless

[@barefootcontessa3963]

This video is everything, thank you 🙏 taking my see the sky ass to the store to buy some grow lights.

[@KillThisPlant]

@@barefootcontessa3963 😁

[@danih7577]

What, I feel like I just learned the secret handshake! Everyone’s getting a light meter for Christmas from me😂 woohoo thank you. I love gardening, but never invested too much in houseplants bc I was always uncertain about lighting for even indirect lighting plants. First time learning FC also. I feel a little ignorant tbh. 😊

[@AliJDB]

Are light-meter readings from grow lights just as accurate as from natural light?

[@KillThisPlant]

@@AliJDB yes and no. Unless you're willing to spend +$200 on a PAR meter and then do a bunch of additional math it'll get you close enough for normal conditions. Unless you're going industrially on a large scale to sell plants a light meter in all other cases is good enough.

[@melfuz]

Voice fading away..."I can still see the sky" 😂

[@goodiesgumdrops1164]

Love your snark! 😂

[@anders2920]

I bought a light meter last year to find out that my 20 foot wide floor to ceiling windows was only giving me 50 FC of light. Grow lights are required to sustain my entire collection despite having what people would assume to be the "optimal" windows.

[@TheInnozenz]

Thanks for the app suggestion and thank you in general for your channel. :) Have a nice 2025! I bought some grow lights a few days ago because my flat is not the lightest one. Maybe it'll help.

[@andresnguyen8494]

Thanks dude! I have recently slowly moved my plant onto my patio with an umbrella over it. I thought that they needed the umbrella to not get sunburnt, and I was right, but I used the app, and see that they are barely at 400 Foot candles. So I will be building out a mesh instead to block out some of the light to prevent sun burns while increasing light levels. Any recommendations on how to build some outdoor areas for my monsteras?

[@KillThisPlant]

possibly a rated shade cloth, but that might be a very ugly method. Join the discord, sounds like something my community would be interested in giving you feedback on.

[@parvathitiruviluamala9870]

You know, you are very good ! Appreciate your sharing your knowledge. Can i use the phone also for light levels for outside plants ? This concept is new for me ( but shouldn't be!)

[@KillThisPlant]

@@parvathitiruviluamala9870 the android app is highly inaccurate at levels over 3000fc. The iPhone app remains fairly accurate.

[@kathyvettraino2267]

Lots of good information. Thank you for a great video. I downloaded one on my phone, but it is hard to understand, and it doesn't work well. I'll get a real light meter.

[@KillThisPlant]

Which app did you get?

[@kathyvettraino2267]

@KillThisPlant Photone. I'll have to look tomorrow, but I can't get it to show me in foot candles.

[@kathyvettraino2267]

I fixed all those typos! 🍃

[@KillThisPlant]

@@kathyvettraino2267 use the app I suggested or convert the values into FC using Google.

[@iamnotjack.whydidichange]

I only have north facing windows and only tropical plants were able to survive, because they used to darker forests

[@KillThisPlant]

what kind of FC or LUX do you get from your north windows?

[@evie12799]

"I can still it......" 😂

[@Pyro-XIII]

what about those plantlights? can i use those if i can´t find a good place or is it not sufficient enough ?

[@KillThisPlant]

@@Pyro-XIII yes you can use grow lights to supplement the light in your home.

[@gondorious]

I recently got into the plant hobby... but then was forced to face reality living at 53N deg longitude with north facing windows only :(

[@KillThisPlant]

growlights are your friend!

[@michellecastro2475]

What is yoir recommendstion for a grow light and wattage??

[@KillThisPlant]

@@michellecastro2475 my growlight sponsor is Soltech, link in my description. If you join our discord community we can help you find a solution that will suit your needs and space.

[@jstamps9578]

Excellent information. Do you by chance reccomend any particular light meter? You should get sponsored as you've just sold a bunch of them to us plant growers.

[@KillThisPlant]

@@jstamps9578 thanks and no, just buy whatever is cheap and has a decent review on Amazon.

[@MyLocsMyPlants]

big # big....... small # small ........😂😂😂 idk why that made me laugh so much

[@aminaa5824]

The android app you mentioned is actually available in the App Store, if i use it will i still need to use the paper? Like was that an iPhone thing or that apps problem?

[@KillThisPlant]

The one by Marina Polyanskya just straight up doesn’t work. Use the one I recommended

[@RonnieAlmendarez]

Subscribed. What's your favorite plant. My mom had a plant that would come out and with one flower in the night and if you made a sound it would close up. Do you know what that one is called. Have a good weekend bro

[@gaelp.5847]

It's not really the "distance from your light source" you have to take into account since the sun is so far away, 10 m difference doesn't change anything. The important thing about diffused light is.. how it's diffused and absorbed by your room ; In a room covered with clean mirrors you'll have the same light close to your window and 10m away. Now in a real world living place you want to watch out for your walls, floor and ceiling reflectivity and diffusion and then how are placed your plants relative to your furniture. For example any fabric, like a carpet, will absorb part of the light depending on mainly its color and will then diffuse a lot (in all directions) the light it receives - because fabric is an highly irregular surface. Same goes for rough walls. So If you're lacking space for your plants and have a 10 meters depth area with nothing standing between your window and plants, a somewhat reflective floor - like a waxed floor - and common bright walls, just put a mirror on the back of the area (for example on the back of a furniture which would delimit the area) and you'll have a wide area with homogeneous luminosity perfect for your plants

[@KillThisPlant]

@@gaelp.5847 a mirror in your home is not going to defy the inverse square law. Light is going to fall off regardless of where you put your reflective surface. Light will fall off the further away from your light source and continue to fall off (-10% of the light due to mirrors being mirrors) at the same rate after it bounces off the mirror. If you think 10 m won't make a difference I suggest you take a light or PAR reading.

[@gaelp.5847]

@KillThisPlant The sun is 149 million km from you. The sun is the light source. So you're telling me moving 10 m away is going to change anything? What we want here is to get the maximum indirect light, i.e. light that bounces off surrounding surfaces. That amount is directly proportional to the reflectivity of those surfaces. Now on a rough surfaces it will not bounce evenly in all directions (unlike a mirror) ; it will diffuse the light (resulting intensity is an inverse cubic function btw, dunno what is that inverse square law you're talking about). Which is why if you place a mirror behind you'll reorient the diffused light from your walls/others to the area your plants are in (instead of being absorbed by the rest of your room with furniture etc..) And I never said you'll have the same light 10m away since part of the light is absorbed, part of the reflected diffused light will go out of your room by the same window it came in, etc.. However you can achieve to have a sufficient enough luminosity for your shade plants to thrive

[@KillThisPlant]

@@gaelp.5847 I would suggest you look into the inverse square law. Yes 10m, even 5m can make a massive difference in useable light for your plants because we are talking about indoors, through windows. You can run this experiment yourself indoors by taking a light reading 10m away from your window and comparing with a mirror behind it. Or run the experiment with a grow light.

[@gbeagle417]

What fc range u use?

[@washingtongumballs]

So repotting all of my plants in regular potting soil right before winter was probably not a great idea. No wonder why my plants are looking sad :(

[@tanyav2289]

I didn’t do any of this stuff ….south facing window , facing ocean within 10 feet, from the ocean 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@KillThisPlant]

@@tanyav2289 some people have all the luck 😌

[@LettyMatamoros]

Why didn't he mention grow lights?

[@meikahidenori]

Where I live in Victoria, Australia, you end up shuffling plants away from the windows in summer (they burn and fry otherwise) and closer to them in winter (as it gets weirdky dark down here even in a very well lit living room like ours with two giant sliding doors on two sides of the room & very large windows in-between.) A light meter here isn't worth the price unless your in a Unit (flat/apartment) with only one window that's faceing another wall from your neighbours as it's pretty easy to work out when there's too much sun - if you get sun burnt by sitting at the window, so will your plants! Also darker foliage plants don't mind less light than grenner ones, the darker leaves of a punk princess or philo dark lord are designed to absorb more light from being towards the ground of the jungle floor where there is far less light than something higher up. They burn so easily here by the windows if you're not careful 😅

[@KillThisPlant]

I wonder what your windows are rated? I would be still curious to know what your indoor light levels are at the peak of summer. It'll help me make better content for viewers in different climates.

[@kellyngrey4950]

Same here in South Texas. Radiate heat is real.

[@tradehut2782]

Oh wow looks like my plants have been surviving in under 20 F.C 🤡 Your info can be a game-changer for me. The balcony of the room gets 500 FC to 10000 FC So I'm going to put my plants there for some hours a week 😊

[@louiepreciado5672]

"no more talking about how your plant has to "see the sky" shots fired lol

[@Theoddert]

I can tell how bright a particular window in my place is because I have a little monstera cutting leaning at 45 degrees with its biggest leaf planted fully on the glass like a kid at a toy shop like, yes.. thanks I get it ill move you when space is freed up stop being so dramatic

[@cutebloons]

i wanna see you do a regular non baity thumbnail just one time

[@KillThisPlant]

@@cutebloons no

[@louish5121]

OF COURSE a unit only useful for US people that measure in footstep and candle is better than a internationnaly choosen unit directly related to lumen which is the most used unit in all the led industry (and by the way, 1 000 lux / 5 000 lux / 10 000 lux / 25 000 lux / 50 000 lux / 100 000 lux is completly right and understandable, you chose to make it look complicated with an un aligned dot and useless precision ...)

[@ladyd8028]

😏

[@gingermunchkin6177]

Awe, good job, smart-@ss. Here's a cookie, now run along and play nice.

[@TinanRyan]

So use lux measurements. No one's stopping you for goodness sakes. Here's another cookie to hopefully shut you up.

[@KillThisPlant]

@@louish5121 lol this got heated fast. Ironically I am Canadian and use the metric system. 10,000fc outdoors is full sun. 5000fc is indoors south facing windows in direct sun through triple pane windows. It being 1/2 is a much easier way to understand the indoor/outdoor different "max light" levels. In lux that would be 108,000lux and 54,000lux. 4000 isn't really a rounding error. 4000lux is enough for an awesome plant. This is why I prefer FC. Also numbers with less 0s are easier for people to understand. But again, use whatever you want and convert it? Everyone can relax now.

[@mnj640]

​@@gingermunchkin6177we're so sorry you couldn't understand it😂

[@loladlola2]

Excellent video and yes, that picture describing lighting conditions is NOT helpful.😂 Sadly for me however, I have ONE west facing window, so 98% of my plants live there. Hey, we're a close plant family.😂🪴🪴🪴🪴🪴

[@Raszagil]

This was so helpful, thank you!!!!!

[@Lilithliin]

Fabulous video and tips, thank you!