You may know it as a Swiss Cheese Plant but the correct name is Monstera plant.
It is a tropical plant that hails from the rainforests of Central and Southern America.
In its natural location, a Monstera gets indirect light which filters through the rainforest canopy.
But how much light does a Monstera need when it lives indoors?
What Kind Of Light Does A Monster Plant Need?
(Bright Indirect Light NOT Direct Sunlight)
This is very important, your Monstera is going to need bright indirect light for several hours a day.
It will die in direct sunlight as, over time, it will dry out in the bright light of direct sunlight. And in low light? It will fare badly too, failing to live up to its growth potential as low light conditions offer too little light for the Monstera plants to thrive.
Indirect sunlight is the best way to simulate the natural conditions that the plant would receive in the rainforest and yes, it’s important for it to be a bright light too.
What do we mean by indirect bright light? We mean that the area around your Monstera ought to be lit up, almost as though it was in direct light, and the plant should cast a very well-defined shadow.
How Many Hours Of Light Does Your Monstera Plant Require?
The Monstera Deliciosa (to give the plant its full name) needs these light conditions for somewhere between 5 and 8 hours a day.
You can use more than one light source to ensure it gets the right light conditions, we like to leave hours standing between South and North facing windows with each of them delivering about 3 hours worth of bright indirect sunlight each day, for a total of about 6 hours a day.
We should note that certain varieties of the Monstera will require even more light to thrive (particularly those with variegated leaves) this is because variegated Monstera leaves don’t contain enough chlorophyll to fully convert the sun’s rays into food for the plant.
They must rely only on the green sections of the leaf to do the work.
What Are Signs Of Too Much Light?
As we said earlier too much sunlight and too much direct sunlight, in particular, can cause serious problems for this plant.
You should watch out for signs that your plant is getting more than enough light and these include:
- Excessive dry soil. Your plant should sit in moist soil, if the soil’s always dry, it’s getting too much natural light.
- Lack of humidity. If the air around the plant is especially dry, it may be trying to get extra moisture from its surroundings.
- Browning leaves. Low humidity and dry soil mean that the leaves start to “burn” rather like when humans get sunburned from too much sun.
- “Leaf scald”. This is a condition caused by the light intensity preventing the plant from producing chlorophyll and typically sees the leaves becoming pale and withered.
What Are Signs Of Too Little Light Or Spending Too Much Time In Low Light?
Give you plant too little light and the low light environment will stunt its growth. It may not seem unhealthy or sickly as it would with too much light but you will be preventing this rainforest plant from reaching its full potential due to a lack of natural sunlight.
Final Thoughts On Monstera Plants And Light
There you have it. A Monstera is actually a pretty tough plant but you can’t just dump it in a bright window and hope for the best. How much sunlight it gets will affect whether you get a striking Monstera, a Monstera suffering from slow growth, or one which fails to survive in low light.
If you’re looking to add a Monstera to a room at home theres a variety of online nursersies and plant delivery services?
And then use these awesome plant apps to learn more about caring for your plant.
