eli5: Why do seeds need indirect light while propagation?

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Not just to seeds but indoor plants in general as well. But what I want to know is why seeds need an indirect light source? wouldn’t an direct source give them more energy? Or will that dry them out?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

These are pretty broad questions, as different plants need different light and have different ways of handling it, but I’ll try!

Most species’ seeds don’t actually need light to sprout – there’s a common technique of putting them in a wet paper towel, for example, or just think of all the seeds that people plant by covering in dirt. They sprout just because the temperature is warm enough and they have enough water, and don’t need light at that stage because there is energy stored in the seed to get them started. Once they’re seedlings with leaves they do need light of course, but it actually depends on the type of plant, some need direct and some indirect.

Common indoor plants were chosen as houseplants because they can survive the indirect light of the house, but some of them will still grow faster in direct light, they just don’t die in indirect. Others have adapted to the indirect light of their native habitat (like a shady forest floor) by trying to maximize the amount of light they take in, for example by having really wide thin leaves so there’s a really big area to catch the light. But for the leaf to do the chemical reaction of photosynthesis, it has to let in air through openings that also let water escape from the plant. So those plants do get dried out from direct light, like you said, because their strategy to let in more light also lets out more water, and thin leaves aren’t as protected from damage.

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