Foiling a Common Problem

If you have ever grown plants indoors you have probably dealt with the problem of plants bending towards a window.  Plants in these circumstances often become very thin and tall.  They rely on light for their metabolism and have very intricate internal mechanisms for maximizing light exposure. In short, they can sense the directionality of light and grow their green parts towards it.  This response is called phototropism; in this case positive phototropism because the plants grow towards the light source.

The obvious problem here is that your plant is going to grow in a lop-sided fashion and may eventually break or fall over under it's own weight.  To compound the problem, these window-fed plants are often also exposed to too little light, resulting in thin, weak stems that will break even more easily.  If the plants eventually go outside they often topple or break due to mechanical stress from wind or increased growth that results in a top-heavy body on a stem too weak.

These problems were affecting a Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) that I recently allowed to re-emerge from winter dormancy.  I decided to try a little camping trick I developed. When camping in some stone shelters at a local state park we often use tea lights (candles) to provide light.  Unfortunately, they provide little light. (Perhaps one candlepower?)  One provision often present, even as a waste item, is aluminum foil.  If smoothed and bent around the back of the candle the reflection can appreciably increase the light in the shelter, especially if several candles are being used.

I applied the same method to the Butterfly Weed and noticed immediate results.  The plant has remained nearly vertical for over a week now, whereas before I was rotating the plant twice a day.  It was reaching an angle near 45 degrees in just a few hours.  I can't guarantee that this method will completely prevent the symptoms associated with low light levels, but it certainly has improved the situation.  Give it a try and see what kind of result it produces for you.