"Mea505" wrote in message
...
Hello all:

I am a relatively new member of this group, and I looked over the most
recent messages before I decided to write this post. I have a question
dealing, specifically, with the general 'household plant," and the
degree of sunlight that is warranted for such plants.

Question: Is there a means by which one can identify those plants that
require varying degrees of sunlight? Is there a mean of relating this
to the type of leaf, for example?

There is no such rule that I know of. Many houseplants come from jungles etc
where they naturally get filtered sunlight but still some need more than
others. Most benefit from at least strong indirect light and many benefit
from some sun. You cannot grow anything but fungi in near dark. How much
light each plant wants is dealt with in good books on the subject. Some are
rarely seen at their best or never flower because they don't get enough light.

And, if this is true, is it also
true that the typical "household plant" lights that one sees in local
stores are almost as effective as natural sunlight?

Well no because the sun is much more powerful, it takes very strong artificial
light to be as bright as the sun which chews up lots of power. Normal house
plant lights are useful as a supplement to natural light if you don't have
sun-facing windows but it would be rare for them to be able to replace it.
Also the brighter the light the more heat it produces which can be an issue.
Some types are more efficient than others but all produce some heat. There is
also the factor that the strength of light falls away quickly with distance,
so the plant that is right under the lamp gets way more than one at the side.

If the answer is
"yes," or "perhaps," then would it be normal to think that one should
use such a light during the normal "rise and fall" of the sun
throughout the day, for example, during those days and weeks of little
to no sunlight for various reasons.

I don't think the timing makes any difference.

David