Lighting: Direct, Indirect, & Low

[Alyssa Piombo]

By Maddy Hogan

Lighting is one of the key components to keep your plants thriving indoors. We often tell our customers at Riza that there is a ‘plant for everyone’ and that also applies to lighting, there is a plant for every light condition in your home. Whether you have a bright room with large south-facing windows or a more dimly lit area with a north-east facing orientation with space available further away from the window, there is a plant for you.

The brightest light will be in southern and western facing windows. Western facing windows will receive the most light in the afternoon, whereas eastern facing will have bright morning light. Northern facing windows get the least amount of direct sunlight shining through them, but there are plenty of plant options that will suit your conditions whatever they may be. In addition to directional facing of your windows, sunlight strength is also varying based on distance from the window. The brightest and most effective light will be right next to or in front of the window, where the further away from the window in any direction, including to the side of the window, will reduce the effectiveness and sunlight strength which can impact the health of your plants.

We have created the infographic below to assist in visualizing the information mentioned above.

Here are some plant recommendations based on the 4 zones defined in the infographic above:



Zone 1:

• Bird of Paradise
• Fiddle Leaf Fig
• Ficus Audrey
• Rubber Trees
• Sago Palm
• String of Hearts
• String of Pearls
• Succulents & Cacti
• Yucca

Zone 2:

• Airplants
• Aglaonemas
• Alocasia
• Anthurium
• Arrowhead
• Begonia
• Calatheas
• Croton
• Dieffenbachia
• Dracaena
• Ferns
• Fittonia
• Hoyas
• Marantas
• Monstera
• Orchids
• Peace Lily
• Peperomia
• Philodendron
• Pilea
• Polka Dot Plant
• Pony Tail Palm
• Pothos
• Rhaphidophora Tetrasperma
• Schefflera
• Snake Plant
• Spider Plant
• Staghorn Fern
• ZZ

Zone 3:

• Aglaonemas
• Arrowhead
• Dieffenbachia
• Dracaena
• Fittonia
• Monstera
• Neanthe Bella Palm
• Philodendron
• Pony Tail Palm
• Pothos
• Snake Plant
• Spider Plant
• Tradescantia
• ZZ

Zone 4:

• Dracaena
• Fittonia
• Jade Pothos
• Neanthe Bella Palm
• Snake Plants
• ZZ