Where to Put an Everfresh Tree: Light, Warmth and Drafts

Bright light is not optional

This is a tree from warm regions with intense sun, and indoors it behaves accordingly. Give it the brightest position in the house that is not scorching midday glass. An unobstructed east-facing window, a south-facing window a few feet back or filtered by a light curtain, or a west-facing window with some afternoon shading all work well. A north window is usually not enough on its own.

In too little light the plant does not simply grow slowly. It stretches, the gaps between leaves get long and bare, the fine branch structure that makes the tree attractive never forms, and the leaves start closing during the day because the plant is not receiving the light signal it expects. That daytime closing is the clearest early warning that the spot is too dim.

Warmth, and the drafts that undo it

The everfresh is comfortable in the same range people are, roughly 65F to 85F (18C to 29C), and it keeps growing at the top of that range. Below about 50F (10C) it stops and starts shedding. It is not a plant to leave outside once nights turn cold, and it does not have a dormancy that a chilling period improves.

What damages it more often than a cold room is a cold draft. A blast of outside air from a door opened in winter, a gap under a window, or the downdraught from an air conditioner all chill the foliage in a way that steady cool air does not. The plant answers with a sudden heavy drop of leaflets a day or two later, which is usually blamed on watering when the real cause is the position.

Check the spot on the coldest night of the year, not on a mild afternoon. Hold your hand where the foliage sits, near the window, late in the evening. If the air there is noticeably colder than the room, move the plant a couple of feet inward for the winter.

Moving it through the year

This plant benefits from being moved with the seasons, unlike many houseplants that resent it. The light that is perfect in midwinter is too fierce in midsummer, and the position that is too bright in midsummer is exactly right once the sun sits low.

1. In the coldest months, move it toward the window Light levels indoors fall sharply, so bring the plant as close to the glass as the temperature allows and remove any curtain filtering. At the same time, keep it clear of the cold layer of air right against the pane, and clear of radiators and vents.
2. As days lengthen, expect fast new growth Once light returns, this tree grows quickly. Turn the pot a quarter turn each time you water so all sides receive light, or the whole canopy leans toward the window within weeks and the shape becomes lopsided.
3. Move it outdoors only when nights are reliably warm It can spend the warm months outdoors in a sheltered, part-shaded spot once night temperatures stay above 60F (15C). Acclimatize it over two weeks, starting in full shade, or the leaves that grew indoors will burn within a day of full sun.
4. Bring it back in well before the first cold nights Come inside while nights are still around 60F (15C) rather than waiting for a cold snap. Check the leaf undersides and stems for pests before it rejoins the other houseplants, and expect a round of leaflet drop as it adjusts to lower indoor light.

Reading the plant to judge the spot

Everything about placement can be diagnosed from the canopy, because this plant responds to its position faster and more visibly than most. Give any new position four to six weeks before judging it, since some leaflet drop always follows a move.

Note the date you move the plant and where you moved it from and to, along with how the canopy looked a month later. Positions inside a house differ enormously between summer and winter, and your own notes will tell you next year exactly which corner worked.