How Does Daylight Saving Time Affect Your Houseplants?

Get ready to “spring forward” and set your clocks ahead one hour, because Daylight Saving Time is upon us. This is the tough one where we lose an hour of sleep because when our alarm goes off at 6:00 AM, it’s going to feel like it’s only 5:00! Yikes.

What Does Daylight Saving Time Do?

Besides making it even darker just when we were finally getting sunnier mornings, DST is meant to maximize the daylight hours after a typical 9-to-5 workday. Its effectiveness is hotly debated, and it seems to mostly just make everyone’s internal clock go a little bit bananas for a couple of weeks every year. In any case, we’re stuck with it for the meantime, so try to get some extra rest this week to prepare.

What Does DST Have to Do with Plants?

Here’s the real question: why are we talking about DST on a green thumb blog? There’s not much evidence that the seasonal time warp will affect your plants, since they can’t tell time. However, it is important to consider the amount and angle of sunlight your area receives during the spring and summer.

We learned in grade school that the Earth is tilted on its axis, and it’s not straight up and down with the North Pole on top and South Pole on the bottom. As we approach spring and summer in the Northern hemisphere, we’re tilted more toward the sun while the Southern hemisphere is tilted away from the sun and experiences winter. This means the sun’s light is more direct and intense during the summer months, and temperatures rise because we’re spending more time under the sun, sort of like the heat lamp keeping your fries warm at your favorite guilty-pleasure diner.

Scientific yadda yadda aside, what this means for your plants is that you’ll want to make sure their location doesn’t get extra sunny or hot as the seasons warm up.

What to Look for in Your Plants

If your plants enjoy a habitat near a sunny window, keep an eye out for sunburn spots on their leaves. These brown or black spots mean your plant is getting a bit too much sun and you should move them to a location with less intense light. Remember to keep your succulents and foliage in areas of bright, but indirect, sunlight.

If your home gets a little warmer in the spring and summer, monitor your watering schedule to make sure plants aren’t drying out in the higher temps. If your home stays below 85 degrees you should be fine with your regular watering routine, but it’s good to check in with your leafy buddies and be sure.

When in doubt, check our care page!