Low light houseplants are some of the most sought after plants. People are drawn to low light houseplants because they can live in many places throughout your home, unlike most other plants.
I want to be clear that in each genus I list there may be slight variations to whether or not something should be living in low light. All the plants I listed will be able to tolerate and grow in low light but won't necessarily thrive to their fullest potential. That being said, these plants will do the best in your low light environments within your home.
Snake Plant
This is a staple low light houseplant that can do well in almost any lighting situation. You may not see very fast growth, and your plant may stay smaller, but it will still grow at a slower rate. I had a snake plant sitting at work with no windows and it is doing great. All of my snake plants at home as well are nowhere near a window and they are doing great! I have the yellow variegated and the dark green varieties and they all do wonderful.
If you have the space to put them near a window, or at least in medium light, that would help them thrive a bit more, but they still do well with little light.
ZZ Plant
The ZZ Plant is also considered a stable low light houseplant. I've had my ZZ in corners away from windows and it has done well there. I've noticed if you place ZZs in more light, they will grow much faster. Being in low light, your ZZ just won't grow as fast and may become a bit leggier. This means the space between each leaf on the stem will become greater.
I would suggest placing your variegated ZZ plant in at least medium light to encourage the variegation to continue. In low light the variegation may be lost or very minimal.
Peace Lily
Peace Lilies are great low light houseplant as well. The foliage for a Peace Lily can still get very large and they can bloom in low light. Mine was nowhere near a window and it was still growing and it did bloom with one flower. I would not expect it to bloom a lot but it still can in low light. Now I have it at work and it's still doing very well too! I would avoid placing any of the variegated varieties in low light situations.
Philodendron
I want to start by saying NOT ALL Philodendron can tolerate and grow in low light. Most of the varieties I have at home do very well in low light! For example, my Brasil, Micans, and Lemon Lime do well in low light but become very leggy. Varieties light Thai Sunrise, Black Cardinal, Birkin and Prince of Orange would still do okay in low light but they really need to be placed in at least medium light. You may notice those varieties stretching and also becoming a bit leggy in lower light environments. Any variegated Philodendron should be placed in medium light so I wouldn't bother trying low light if you have a Pink Princess, White Knight, White Wizard, etc.
Pothos
This is also a great low light houseplant, but only if you have the plain green varieties. If you place the variegated varieties in low light, you will lose the heavy variegation on the leaves. So I would always place variegated Pothos in at least medium light.
I currently have a jade Pothos off of a north window I grew from cuttings and it is doing great! All my other Pothos are variegated (Golden Pothos pictured here) so they are in medium light, bright, indirect light, or under grow lights.
Instagram Q&A
I asked followers if they had any specific plant questions I could address in this podcast and blog. Here are the questions and answers for the Low Light Houseplants...
"Are there some low light, humidity loving plants? For bathrooms"
I would say all the plants I listed besides a Snake Plant would benefit from living in a higher humidity. Even though it isn't required for any of them, these plants are native to more tropical climates. Snake Plants are a bit more drought tolerant so even though I'm sure it wouldn't cause any harm to them, they just don't need it. Out of all the plants I listed, the Peace Lily would benefit the most.
"What plant is the best option for low light?"
Snake Plant, in my opinion, is the best. They are very reliable, can tolerate almost any low light situation and they are extremely low maintenance. If you are interested in learning more about low maintenance plants check out Podcast Ep# 27 and the Low Maintenance Houseplants Blog.
"Because they're low light does that mean you water less? Or more? Or is it entirely plant specific?"
This is mostly plant specific but placing something directly in a warm window in summer will cause the plant to dry out quicker. In the winter, having the plant in a window doesn't dry it out much quicker since the sun isn't as direct like it is in the summer.
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Love, Holly
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