By growing your Monstera in the best light conditions, it will reward you with faster growth, more leaf splits and fenestrations, and more resistance to overwatering and disease. Keeping your Monstera somewhere too dark, in contrast, will result in a plant that over time declines and dies. Light is the most important factor in the health of your plant!
This guide article will answer all your questions about how much light your Monstera needs, and what you can to do to provide it.
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Can Monstera grow in shade or low light conditions?
All plants, even those sold as “low light” plants, need some light to grow. While it may seem okay for a while, a plant in a completely dark area cannot photosynthesize to feed itself. Without food, the plant will stop growing and start to die.
Monstera naturally grow in shaded areas under the forest canopy, so you might assume that they can do without much light. A common misconception is that shade outside is the same as shade in your home.
In fact, plants outside are still getting light from all directions, through reflections of sun off the surrounding objects. In contrast, plants inside mostly get light from windows. Usually, the inside of your home is much darker than the shade outside.
Can Monstera grow in direct light conditions?
On the other side of the spectrum, it’s also possible to provide too much light. Monsteras in direct sunlight for long durations may experience sunburn, causing grey or black spots on the leaves.
You might wonder, how do Monsteras grow outside if they get damaged by direct sunlight? Monsteras grow to adapt to their light conditions, but plants can’t react quickly! Any changes should be made gradually to let the plant adjust.
To grow a Monstera in a very bright window, move it slightly closer to the light each week. Your plant will eventually be able to acclimate to receive a few hours of direct sunlight each day, especially weaker sunlight like in the morning or evening.
Never ever take your Monstera outside for the day to get some sun! Outdoor Monsteras also require slow acclimation and placement in shady areas.
Every summer I see heartbreaking social media posts from well-intentioned plant parents that take their variegated Monstera Albo plant or node cutting outside for some light and accidentally roast it to a crisp. Please don’t let that happen to you!
How much sunlight does a Monstera need?
Monstera can survive in low light, but need bright indirect light to thrive. What makes these terms confusing is that they are relative. It can be hard to tell what “bright” means exactly.
The intensity of light is measured in units called foot candles. Using a numerical measurement of light is more clear and consistent than relative terms. The University of Arkansas Agricultural Division published a list of indoor plant light requirements with measurements that you can easily reference.
Monstera Deliciosa light requirements are a minimum of 75- to 100-foot candles, and a preferred level of 200- to 500-foot candles. Other Monstera varieties, like Monstera Adansonii, will also be happy with the same light levels.
In comparison, direct outdoor sunlight on a cloudless day can be up to 10,000 foot candles! Even in full shade, outdoor plants receive 1000-2000 foot candles.
Commercial greenhouses keep their Monstera plants in sunlight under shade cloths or very bright lights to achieve 1000-2000 foot candles. These levels are the best light conditions for maximum Monstera growth.
It is possible to achieve greenhouse light intensity indoors by using a dedicated grow light, or very bright window.
Do variegated Monstera need more light?
Variegated Monstera light needs are higher than regular Monstera. This is because the variegated portions of the leaves do not photosynthesize.
Variegated tissue consumes the plant’s energy without producing any in return. While they look beautiful, variegated Monstera with large amounts of sectoral variegation (like the half moon pattern) are more high maintenance when it comes to light. In order to achieve the same growth rate as a regular Monstera, a variegated Monstera requires higher light to compensate.
How to measure the light conditions of your Monstera
Gauging the light conditions in your home is surprisingly difficult. If you’ve ever been confused about how to tell the difference between light levels, you are not alone!
Light Intensity is Confusing
Human eyes are well adapted to be able to see in bright and dim light. We are actually not very good at differentiating between light conditions. While your eyes might see a gradual gradient between light and shadow, your plants experience something else.
The intensity of light based on the distance from the light source follows the inverse square law. This simply means that if you double the distance, the amount of light is only one fourth as much. For example, the light two feet away from your window is only 25% of the light one foot from your window.
Estimating Light Levels
You can estimate the light levels of natural light based on visible shadows.
- Bright direct light looks like a pool of light, like a cat might sleep in. It feels warm on your skin, and shadows will be crisp with high contrast between dark and light.
- Bright indirect light has less difference between shadows and light, but the border is still clear.
- Medium indirect light casts a moderate shadow with a fuzzy outline.
- Low indirect light has a faint and blurry shadow.
- If there is no shadow, there is no light source.
Measuring Light Levels
If you want to take the guesswork out of lighting once and for all, the best thing you can do is buy a light meter. This will tell you the exact light measurement in foot candles. You can use this information to perfect the placement of every plant in your home. This the one I use. It is a great value, easy to use, and works perfectly. Click on the image or link to check the current price:
Dr.Meter 1330B-V Digital Illuminance/Light Meter, 0-200,000 Lux Luxmeter
There are some apps available that claim to use your phone’s camera to measure light. I’ve tried several with the highest reviews, but they were all inconsistent, and I wouldn’t recommend them.
Measuring your Monstera’s light conditions will teach you to better understand and estimate light levels.
The relationship between light and watering
Just like light, water is a key ingredient in photosynthesis. When a plant gets more light, it can use more water to grow. In the same way, when a plant gets less light, it uses less water and the soil dries more slowly. Understanding this relationship can help you figure out how much water your Monstera needs.
For example, you might have heard that you should water your Monstera less in the winter. This is because plants need less water when they have less sunlight in winter. Of course, if you have artificial lights, your plant won’t experience winter darkness and you can keep watering the same as before.
Artificial grow lights for Monstera
The trickiest part of growing houseplants is helping them thrive in a place they weren’t designed to be! Fortunately, there are lots of things you can try to successfully grow a Monstera in even the darkest apartment.
Grow lights vs regular lights
The light bulbs in your home do help your plants grow, but not very much. There are three reasons for this.
- First, your home lights are too far away to provide enough intensity. The distance between a ceiling light and a floor or shelf plant means that the plant only receives a tiny percentage of the light.
- Second, the lights in your house are usually designed to provide light in all directions. Most of the light isn’t pointing toward your plant. Plants benefit more from bulbs with a focused, one-directional beam.
- Third, house lights contain mostly colors that plants can’t use. Making a light that appears white requires a full spectrum, a combination of all the colors of light. Sunlight, and light bulbs that mimic sunlight, peak in the green and yellow colors. Since plant’s leaves are green, they reflect green light to our eyes, and absorb the other colors instead. As a result, plants use mostly red and blue light.
Fortunately, you can buy grow light bulbs specially designed to provide the spectrum plants need. Some only contain blue and red light. These grow lights provide good conditions for your Monstera but the resulting purple color may be unpleasant to look at. Others, called “balanced spectrum,” include some yellow and green light to make the overall color a more natural white. Click to see our picks for best grow lights for your Monstera plant.
For best results, place the grow light close to your plant’s leaves. Good grow lights should include instructions for the exact distance. Make sure to follow the instructions, because powerful grow lights can burn leaves just like the sun!
Want to use what we use for our Monstera plants? Check out our Monstera care product recommendations that you can purchase from Amazon.