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Most beginner gardening frustration comes from one decision: putting the wrong plant in the wrong light. This is the cheat sheet that prevents that.
How to figure out your spot’s sun
Pick a sunny day. Every 2 hours from sunrise to sunset, note whether your spot has direct sun, partial sun, or shade. Add up hours of direct sun. That’s the number that matters.
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| Hours of direct sun | Category |
|---|---|
| 6+ | Full sun |
| 3-6 | Partial sun / partial shade |
| 0-3 | Shade |
Full sun plants (6+ hours direct sun)
Vegetables
- Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant
- Cucumbers, zucchini, squash
- Corn, melons
- Strawberries
- Bush beans
Herbs
- Basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage, lavender
Flowers
- Marigolds, petunias, zinnias, geraniums (pelargoniums)
- Sunflowers, cosmos
- Lantana, salvia, verbena
- Most roses
Indoor (sunny windowsill)
- Succulents, cacti
- Jade plant, aloe vera
- Citrus (with bright direct sun)
Partial sun plants (3-6 hours direct sun)
Vegetables
- Lettuce, spinach, arugula, kale (prefer cooler partial sun)
- Carrots, radishes, beets
- Swiss chard
- Bush peas
Herbs
- Mint (tolerates anything from partial to full)
- Parsley, cilantro, chives
- Chervil, tarragon
- Lemon balm
Flowers
- Pansies, violas
- Begonias (some varieties)
- Impatiens (tolerate partial sun in cooler climates)
- Foxglove, columbine
- Heuchera (coral bells)
Indoor (medium-bright)
- Spider plant, philodendron
- African violet
- Chinese evergreen (some varieties)
Shade plants (under 3 hours direct sun)
Edibles
- Mint, parsley
- Lettuce (prefers part shade in summer heat)
- Most edible greens in summer (they bolt in too much sun)
Flowers and foliage
- Hostas (the shade plant)
- Ferns – many varieties
- Impatiens (the classic shade flower)
- Wax begonias
- Astilbe, bleeding heart
- Coleus (foliage colour without sun)
- Ivy (trailing)
- Lamium, lungwort
Indoor (low light)
- Pothos, snake plant, ZZ plant
- Peace lily
- Cast iron plant
- Parlor palm
- Heart-leaf philodendron
Plants that bridge categories
Some plants tolerate a wider range than the strict definitions suggest:
- Mint: happy anywhere from full sun to deep shade.
- Pothos: medium light to low light.
- Snake plant: bright to very dim.
- Hostas: partial shade to deep shade.
- Heuchera: partial sun to shade, depending on variety.
These are good starter plants when you’re not sure of your light conditions.
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The most common sun-shade mistakes
- Buying basil for a north-facing balcony. It’ll grow tall and weak. Switch to mint or parsley.
- Putting succulents in a “bright” room without direct sun. They etiolate. Move to a south or west window or add a grow light.
- Planting lettuce in full summer sun. It bolts in days. Use partial shade or grow in cool seasons only.
- Growing tomatoes on a partly shaded balcony. They’ll grow but produce few fruits. Need 6+ hours.
The bottom line
Match plant to light, not the other way around. The wrong plant in the wrong spot will struggle no matter how good your other care is. Use this list as a quick check before buying.
For more depth, see how much sunlight do plants need and best low-light indoor plants.
How to use this cheat sheet at the garden centre
Bring this list with you when you shop. Garden centre plants are often grouped by family rather than light needs, which means you’ll see a sun-loving lavender three feet from a shade-loving fern with no obvious sorting. The plant tag will say “full sun” or “partial shade” but you can also cross-check against this guide before buying.
A quick decision tree at the shop:
- What’s the actual measured sun hours in your space? (Not “it feels sunny” – actual measured hours of direct beam sunlight.)
- Match the number to the right column above.
- Confirm the plant tag matches.
- If you’re between two columns (4-5 hours), choose plants from the lower of the two for safety.
Mixed light situations
Most real-world spaces don’t have uniform light. A balcony can get full sun for two morning hours, then partial shade for the rest of the day. A window receives bright direct light in summer but only weak indirect light through winter. Indoor rooms vary dramatically by distance from the window.
Practical adjustments:
- Variable balcony: place sun-loving plants where you measured the most direct sun (often the railing edge). Shade-tolerant plants go behind, against the wall.
- Seasonal indoor light: rotate plants between rooms as the seasons change. A south window plant in summer often moves to bright indirect in winter when sun angle shifts.
- Filtered light: a sheer curtain converts direct sun to bright indirect. Useful for sun-sensitive plants on a south-facing window.
What happens when you guess wrong
Plants in the wrong light don’t always die immediately – sometimes they slowly decline over weeks or months. Early warning signs by mismatch type:
- Sun-lover in too little light: tall leggy growth, pale leaves, no flowers, weak stems that flop.
- Shade plant in too much light: crispy or bleached patches on the side facing the sun, scorched leaf edges, fading dark colours.
Either way, the fix is the same: move the plant. The earlier you catch the mismatch, the faster recovery is. For more on identifying sun damage, see signs your plant is getting too much sun.
