Pflanzenwand im Innenraum ohne Lampen

Plant wall in the interior without lamps

Is there no possibility to support the plants indoors with a lamp?

Although I always preach the use of a lamp, it is not always possible to work with lamps indoors. In this case, there are a few tips that should be followed and, of course, a recommendation regarding the plants. However, I will also point out possible symptoms of light deprivation so that it can be recognised as early as possible whether the plants can cope with the light situation in the long term.

Location

The location for a plant wall without artificial light must be chosen carefully. The aim is to have as bright a location as possible. The following points should be observed:

Windows

The plant wall should be as close to a window as possible. Preferably directly next to it, but up to 1.5m away from the window is still within the green range. From 1.5m it becomes more difficult.

The perfect window…

• …is large in area and lets in a lot of light
• …has no balconies or canopies to shade the window.
• …lies on the south side of the house
• …has no UV protection or particles for light reduction
• …is never darkened by blinds or shutters

If not all criteria are met, that’s no big deal. This is the ideal location that offers the most light and should be taken as a guide.

Interior

The right room is, of course, as bright as possible. The walls reflect the light that comes from outside. Therefore, make sure that the walls are as light as possible. Dark pictures or furniture absorb the light, especially if they take up a lot of space. For this reason, it is ideal if the furnishings are also bright. If this is not the case, it is not a tragedy as long as the plant wall is not mounted directly in front of a large black cabinet.

If the room is a little dark, a mirror can also bring a lot of light into the room, as long as the outside light shining in hits the mirror.

The perfect room…

• … has light-coloured walls, preferably painted white
• … is brightly furnished and large-scale decorative elements are not too dark
• … is adorned with a mirror that distributes the outside light 1:1 in the interior.

Location

The location is crucial. Which wall is best suited for the plant wall? Where is it brightest? The best judgement is our own feeling. To deal with the situation, it is important that we put ourselves in that position. This means that we stand exactly where the plant wall should be and assess the situation according to our own feeling. For comparison, you can also stand against another potential wall and compare the two locations.

As a guideline, however, I can say that the ideal location…

• …is opposite the window, so that the light hits the wall from the front.
• …is as close as possible to the window
• …ensures that the wall is not covered by large objects (e.g. a sofa).

If the light comes from the side of the plant wall, the plants on the window side grow strongly and take the light away from the plants on the other side. In this case, it is important to prune the window-side plants frequently to ensure that all plants get some of the coveted light.

Smartphone Luxmeter App mit Adapter

Luxmeter-Gerät

Luxmeter App without adaptor

Definition Lux

Measure Lux

Lux is a unit that describes how much light hits a surface. This makes it easy to determine where the brightest location in the room is and how bright it is. This is especially important for plant selection, because the Lux tell you your options. To show this more clearly, I have provided a table below with the lux requirements of various plants.

How do I measure Lux?

Lux is measured with a so-called lux meter. This is available in a wide variety of versions. On the one hand, it is available as a small device in every DIY store. On the other hand, you can download it as an app for your mobile phone. There are also different providers. Some work only with the camera of the mobile phone and others need a special adapter that can be plugged out of the phone. I know from experience that the devices are the most accurate, then come apps with adapters and at the end the apps that work with the camera. But that does not matter. To get a feel for the lighting conditions in the room, the simple free app is enough.

A green wall example

This indoor plant wall has very little light, so although it is still supported by a small lamp, I had to resort to very stubborn, almost indestructible planting. I recommend this planting to anyone who is not sure or has trouble finding the right plants.

Plants

Three-master flowers

Tradescantia zebrina

Bolivian Leaf Cactus

Lepismium bolivianum

Mountain palm

Chamaedorea elegans

Sheath leaf

Spathiphyllum

All these plants cope well with low lightindoors. But they don’t need much water either. So do not water too much.

These plants grow very slowly. The plant wall should be planted more densely right from the start.

Top 10 plants in rooms with little light:

Light deficiency in plants

If the indoor plant wall is not supported with an artificial light, it is very important to recognise the lack of light in plants as soon as possibleso that they can then be replenished with light or replaced with a more robust species.

• The most important sign of light deficiency is etiolation. In the process, the plants become unnaturally long and the stem remains largely bare, except for a few leaves that are far too small. This happens because the plant tries with all its might to grow towards the light.
• Another point is the fadingof the leaves and flowers. In the case of variegated, mostly exotic plants, the strong colour fades in low light – the leaves turn greenish.
• If the plants are too dark, they will drop their flower buds or they will dry out.
• The light energy absorbed is not sufficient for flower formation. No flowers.

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