Which Houseplants Like Direct Sunlight?
It may come as a surprise to you but not all houseplants like direct sunlight. Yeah plants need light to survive but they need light to varying degrees and there are many plants that don’t like direct sunlight, there are plants that are low light plants and can be left in pretty dark corners of rooms and some plants even get sunburned. But of course, there are houseplants that like direct sunlight, in fact there are plants that absolutely love it. These houseplants like direct sunlight:
- Cactus
- Jade Plant
- Sunflower
- Snake Plants
- Ponytail Plan
- Indian Laurel
- Succulents
- String of Pearls
- Hibiscus
- Papyrus
- Bird of Paradise
So they are which houseplants like direct sunlight, keep reading for more information about each plant and their basic care requirements.
Cactus
Of course we had to mention the Cactus. This is the ultimate direct sunlight houseplants as they live in the desert. A Cactus is a low maintenance houseplant that has been popular for decades. A Cactus can happily sit in direct sunlight all day long and needs very little in terms of care. It likes drier air, slightly acidic soil and it only needs to be watered when the soil has dried out.
Jade Plant
The Jade Plant is a beautiful succulent plant with thick round leaves. It’s not only easy to propagate but it puts out new growth incredibly quickly during the growing season and can grow surprisingly tall. The plant will become heavy as it grows, so when your plant becomes larger you may need to way your pot down with decorative stones or move it to a heavy based pot that can handle the weight. This is also a plant that needs to be allowed to dry out between waterings.
Sunflower
Although many people keep non flowering houseplants in their homes, we wanted to include our favourite flower in this list as it is a plant that absolutely loves full sunlight. I mean, the clue is in the name but the Sunflower will thrive in direct sunlight and there’s no reason you can’t keep it in as a houseplant even though many people have them as garden plants. Under the right conditions the Sunflower can grow to amazing heights and a fun thing to do is have a growing competition with whoever you live with. Buy two sunflowers, see who can find the best spot and see whose plant can grow the tallest by the end of the year.
Snake Plants
Our most hardy, resilient plant; the Snake Plant! We absolutely adore this plant because it can take so much from us and still give us growth and love. People often say Snake Plants are low light houseplants but this isn’t true, a Snake Plant can tolerate low light conditions but it can also handle full sun. Snake Plants really are an amazing plant, if you have a bright spot that needs a plant put a Snake Plant there, if you end up with lots of direct sunlight loving plants you can move your Snake Plant to a different spot and it’ll still be fine. Just make sure you allow their soil to dry out between waterings.
Ponytail Palm Like Direct Sunlight
We’re halfway through our list of which houseplants like direct sunlight and we have the Ponytail Palm! Ponytail Palms are a super fun plant that aren’t actually a palm at all, instead they belong to the succulent family. Ponytail Palms can handle full sun and require low watering as they store all of their water in their amazing trunk. In fact that trunk of theirs gave them the nickname Elephants Foot, as that’s people think the trunk resembles. We’re not convinced but we think it’s a great name.
Indian Laurel Plant
Laurel Plants are one of the most unusual plants that we look at because they resemble the Mandrake from Harry Potter. These plants like bright light and can tolerate direct sunlight in countries that don’t receive strong sunlight all day. However, if you live in Spain or Arizona or somewhere with similar levels of sun, you might actually need to pull your Laurel away from the light source as its leaves can become scorched.
Succulents
You didn’t think we’d write a list about which houseplants like direct sunlight and not include succulents did you? Succulents will do well in full sunlight and are yet another plant that need to be left to dry out between waterings. One important thing to note about this plant is that although they like sunlight, young plants can actually be burned or scorched by the plants and may need to be introduced in stages. So when the plant is young try protecting it from the strong afternoon rays and only exposing it to full morning sun. You can build this up as the plant matures until it sits in sun all day long.
String of Pearls
String of Pearls are a fantastic little houseplant that gets its name from the pearl like strings that trail down over the side of their pots. String of Pearls are classed as a succulent but we wanted to give them their own special mention as their look is so unique. One of our favourite things about the String Of Pearls is how easy it is to propagate. Propagation can be done via stem cuttings and very quickly you can have lots of new Strings of Pearls around your home.
Hibiscus
Our second entry on the list of a plant that is chosen for its flower and we have the Hibiscus plant. Hibiscus are popular in many peoples gardens but more and more are we seeing them in people’s homes as less of us have gardens and we want to not only bring the green indoors but we also want to bring our flowers indoors. Hibiscus need lots of direct sunlight throughout the day in order to bloom so if you want to see those amazing flowers you’ll need to get them in a sunny spot pretty quickly.
Papyrus
Papyrus is a less common houseplants and we don’t know why, we think they’re super fun and they look great. Papyrus plants like it hot and sunny. You can place this plant in your south facing window and it will thrive. You may also be able to use grow lights with this plant as it likes to be nice and bright. One of the main differences between Papyrus and the other houseplants that love direct sunlight is that instead of allowing this plant to dry out between waterings they tend to prefer their soil to be a bit moist.
Bird Of Paradise
This Bird Of Paradise is our final entry of which houseplants like direct sunlight and we think we’ve saved best for last. The Bird Of Paradise has amazing large green leaves and really is a statement plant. It gets its name from its amazing flowers that resemble the heads of tropical birds. Yours may not flower but if you’re lucky enough you’ll see their beautiful bright colours.
Note! Many people ask us do houseplants like direct sunlight? Always remember that each of your houseplants has different needs and you need to be asking ‘do Cacti like direct sunlight?,’ do Calathea need direct sunlight?’ ‘Which houseplants like direct sunlight?’ rather than asking about houseplants in general. Though the fact that you’re here is a very good sign. Remember to learn about your individual plants needs and that way your houseplants will thrive.
So there you have it, our list of which houseplants like direct sunlight. And most of the houseplants have similar care needs in common. Many of them prefer drier air (though not all of them), many of them prefer to be left to dry out between waterings and many of them don’t need a lot of care. If you think we’ve missed out any great houseplants that like direct sunlight then be sure to let us know in the comments below.
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