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A couple of my succulents have bent as they've grown over the past year or so. I suspect they're "reaching" for sunlight (they're next to a window, bending southward, and I live in the northern hemisphere -- though it's possible this is just a coincidence).

I'm wondering if it's ok to rotate these plants (spin them 90 degrees) to encourage them to grow straight again. I don't suspect doing so would immediately kill these little guys, but I don't think such a readjustment would ever happen in nature, either.

Is moving houseplants unhealthy?

J. Musser
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samthebrand
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  • Hmm, whether it's healthy is a different matter than whether it should be done, in my opinion. In my personal experience, it seems to depend on the plant and the health of the plant. Light-searching, struggling tomato seedlings, for instance, don't seem to appreciate having to turn themselves around (it seems to be a stress to them), and seem to dwindle when constantly turned around, whereas if you just let them lean over, they can focus on getting stronger, and they get more sun. However, for an already strong houseplant, it seems to be great to keep the plant even and looking good. – Brōtsyorfuzthrāx Oct 17 '14 at 21:04

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Houseplants should be turned regularly to enable all parts to receive daylight at various times, so no, it won't kill your plants. If you're talking about moving them to a different room or another position entirely in a room, for some plants, that might be a problem. Ficus benjamina, for instance, hates draughts, so moving it elsewhere from where it's happy might cause a problem with that particular plant, but for what you're intending to do, and the plants you're speaking of, no problem, in fact, its advantageous.

Bamboo
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