---
title: Light: how the terrarium simulator works | Glass Jar Garden
description: The day's light, brightness times hours, drives growth. Each species grows well in a band of lux. Six hours of a lamp gives half the light of twelve. Inside...
url: https://glassjar.garden/guide/how-it-works/light/
---

How it works

# Light

The day's light, brightness times hours, drives growth.

- Each species grows well in a band of lux.
- Six hours of a lamp gives half the light of twelve.
- Inside the band a plant is healthy, growing fastest near the middle of its range.
- Below it, growth slows and stems stretch toward the light.
- Shade plants hold on far longer in dim light than sun lovers.
- Stones and tall plants shade what is under them.

## Stats

- Hold-on light: 20 to 60% of the band's low end, by shade tolerance

- Starving: up to 0.05 a day

- Shade under a stone: up to 55% less light

[See it in a jar](https://glassjar.garden/?guide=how-it-works/light)

[← Humidity and the lid](https://glassjar.garden/guide/how-it-works/humidity-and-the-lid/) · [Temperature →](https://glassjar.garden/guide/how-it-works/temperature/)