Direct sunlight

[Rio1593]

Is direct sunlight really that damaging to the leaves? It's around 20 degrees celsius where I am in UK, and my Kentia is near a south facing window. The reason I moved it closer to the window is because the spot it was in before today was too far from the window. I'm now just hoping the leaves don't scorch, and I'd imagine they'd only scorch if it was hotter weather (25 degrees celsius and above). Thoughts? 

[Silas_Sancona]

20 minutes ago, Rio1593 said:

Is direct sunlight really that damaging to the leaves? It's around 20 degrees celsius where I am in UK, and my Kentia is near a south facing window. The reason I moved it closer to the window is because the spot it was in before today was too far from the window. I'm now just hoping the leaves don't scorch, and I'd imagine they'd only scorch if it was hotter weather (25 degrees celsius and above). Thoughts? 

In a nutshell, damage incurred from exposure to direct sunlight depends on what sort of adaptation(s) a plant has to protect itself from sun.


In the case of your Kentia, while they like lots of bright light, full sun can damage them, even in places like coastal S. Cal where they do pretty well.

If the window it will sit next to does get a lot of direct sun, yes, that can burn the foliage ....esp since a window can act like a magnifying glass..  Any damage seen can be worse if the palm had been sitting where it sees only bright, indirect light and then is suddenly shifted to a much harsher spot.  ..Pretty much what happens when you plant a palm ( or many other things )  that had been grown under shade at a nursery into direct sun.. They're going to go through an adjustment period ..and / or suffer sun related damage.

On the other hand, if that same south facing window gets tons of light ..but no direct sun shining through it this time of year,  you may be ok.. 

 

[Rio1593]

16 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

In a nutshell, damage incurred from exposure to direct sunlight depends on what sort of adaptation(s) a plant has to protect itself from sun.


In the case of your Kentia, while they like lots of bright light, full sun can damage them, even in places like coastal S. Cal where they do pretty well.

If the window it will sit next to does get a lot of direct sun, yes, that can burn the foliage ....esp since a window can act like a magnifying glass..  Any damage seen can be worse if the palm had been sitting where it sees only bright, indirect light and then is suddenly shifted to a much harsher spot.  ..Pretty much what happens when you plant a palm ( or many other things )  that had been grown under shade at a nursery into direct sun.. They're going to go through an adjustment period ..and / or suffer sun related damage.

On the other hand, if that same south facing window gets tons of light ..but no direct sun shining through it this time of year,  you may be ok.. 

 

Okay thank you for the advice! With my south facing window, the direct sunlight hits some of the plant from around 4pm for 2-3 hours at the moment. So I imagine this would be enough to damage the foliage! 

[JohnAndSancho]

I cooked some Dypsis Lutecenses putting them in a south facing office window that got blasted with sun. 😬