I finally learned why my plants kept dying in the same corner of my living room

Honestly, I was blaming myself for overwatering for like 6 months. Then my neighbor mentioned the corner gets direct afternoon sun through a window that actually magnifies the heat. Turns out the temp hits 95 degrees there on a warm day. Has anyone else measured the actual light or temp in spots they thought were fine?

3 comments

3 Comments

johnson.river4d ago

Yeah I actually heard about this on a gardening podcast once. Someone was talking about how south facing windows can basically turn into little ovens with some trim or window films that create a weird greenhouse effect. They were saying the actual temp can be 20 degrees hotter right in that spot compared to the rest of the room. I think they even recommended those cheap laser thermometers just to check the soil surface temp before you put anything there.

fiona_carr264d ago

Honestly, grab one of those $15 laser thermometers before you cook your plants.

tessaperry3d ago

The whole thing about measuring and assuming is such a trap... @fiona_carr26 is totally right about those laser thermometers though. I've noticed this pattern everywhere in my house, not just with plants. The corner by my kitchen window looks fine but the counter is actually hot to the touch by 3pm, and I never would have known without checking. It's like we assume a room is one temperature but small pockets can be totally different. Even in my bathroom, the spot next to the vent is freezing while the rest of the room is normal, so my aloe started dropping leaves. People just put things where they think they should go without actually testing the microclimate first.