Basic Plant Needs

Plants, like people, have a set of basic needs that must be met for the plant to survive and develop optimally. These conditions include an adequate supply of water, light, nutrients and carbon dioxide, and they also have requirements for temperature and humidity. When growing plants, it is necessary to ensure that all these requirements are adequately met.

Light

Light is essential for plant development. Light requirements vary considerably between plants, and it is also important to realise that a plant has different light requirements at the beginning of growth and in the flowering stage. In general, it could be said that before reaching the flowering stage, a plant requires up to 18 hours of light per day, while for flowering plants the requirement is reduced to 12 hours. Plants are very sensitive to light (intensity, duration), because it tells them what time of year it is, and they gradually begin to prepare for its arrival.

Water

Water requirements are determined by the plant species, the length of daylight and the age of the plant. If a plant does not have enough water, it may wilt as a result of a drop in hydrostatic pressure, which ensures the plant’s firmness. In other words, once a plant does not have enough water, individual cells lose volume and the plant wilts and dies.

Carbon dioxide

Plants also use atmospheric gases for growth. Their deficiency can have harmful to critical effects on plant health and development. The most important gas from this group for plants is carbon dioxide (CO₂), which, together with water and light, is essential for the process of photosynthesis, which ensures the production of glucose (which serves as nutrition for the plant).

Temperature

If you grow plants indoors, it is essential to regularly monitor and adjust the temperature. As already mentioned, the essential components for photosynthesis are water, light and carbon dioxide. However, the course of this process is also significantly affected by temperature. The plant uses light as an energy source to convert water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and glucose, which the plant urgently needs for growth. Once the temperature starts to lag, photosynthesis cannot take place properly and a whole range of negative effects can be observed on the plant.

Air humidity

In indoor growing, air humidity is often the overlooked parameter. At optimal air humidity, the plant achieves higher and better-quality yields, and the risk of disease is also significantly reduced. At the beginning of growth, the plant usually requires higher air humidity. The absorbed moisture then sustains the plant until the root system develops. During the growth and flowering stages, it is recommended to reduce humidity as a prevention against mould or other harmful fungi.