Are all of your indoor plants currently squished into the one spot in your house with bright light? Thankfully, there are many houseplants available at our plant shops that can tolerate the low light spaces in your home!
A low light area technically has between 50 and 250 foot-candles of light—a foot-candle is a unit of light intensity defined by one lumen per square foot. The direction that your windows face also makes a difference in quality of light. For best results, place a “low-light plant” within:
2–3 feet of a window with northern exposure
3–5 feet of a window with eastern exposure
4–10 feet of a window with western exposure
10–18 feet of a window with southern exposure
Houseplants Tolerant of Low Light
Browse these low-light houseplants at one of our local Portland plant shops or garden centers.
- Arrowhead Plant – Syngonium podophyllum
- Bamboo Palm – Chamaedorea seifrizii
- Cast Iron Plant – Aspidistra elatior
- Chinese Evergreen – Aglaonema
- Dumbcane – Diffenbachia (best in medium or indirect bright light)
- Dracaena ‘Janet Craig’ – Dracaena deremensis ‘Janet Craig’
- Heartleaf Philodendron – Philodendron scandens oxycardium
- Kentia Palm – Howea forsteriana
- Lady Palm – Rhapis excelsa
- Nerve Plant – Fittonia albivensis
- Peace Lily – Spathiphyllum (may not bloom heavily in low light)
- Pothos or Devil’s Ivy – Epipremnum aureum (pinch back occasionally for fuller appearance)
- Prayer Plant – Maranta leuconeura
- Rattlesnake Plant – Calathea lancifolia
- Snake Plant – Sansevieria trifasciata or Dracaena trifasciata (certain cultivars prefer brighter light; new leaves grown in extreme low-light levels may be long and thin)
- Spider Plant – Chlorophytum comosum
- ZZ Plant – Zamioculcas zamiifolia
Although most outdoor ferns are shade tolerant, many indoor ferns prefer indirect, bright light to low light, but cannot tolerate prolonged direct sun. Staghorn Ferns and Asparagus Ferns are especially low-light tolerant.
Other Factors to Keep in Mind
- A houseplant growing in low light requires less water and fertilizer than the same plant living in brighter conditions.
- A plant that is tolerant of low light may grow faster in brighter, indirect light.
- Variegation or vibrant color in a plant’s leaves is often lost or muted in low light.
Other Ideas for Low Light Spaces
1. Supplement indoor natural light with full-spectrum light bulbs! We carry a decorative pendant-style LED grow light or a simple wide angle LED bulb that can be installed into existing fixtures.
2. Give indoor plants a 90-degree angle turn each month to promote balanced growth by exposing different sides to the window.
3. In darker rooms, consider purchasing two of the same plant and switching them out every 2 to 4 weeks; keep one plant in more ideal conditions while the other is in the darker space, then switch them before the “dark” plant shows signs of decline.
The best way to decide which low light solution works best for you is to experiment! Play around with these options to find out what’s fitting for your plants and current light conditions.