Choosing houseplants for a shady room
A room with small windows or a view of a wall can still hold healthy plants. No houseplant grows in darkness, but several cope with low light and keep their leaves looking good if you place them well and water them sparingly.
How dark is your room?
Before buying anything, watch how the light changes through a whole day. A spot near a window that never gets direct sun, or a bright corner well away from any window, counts as low light for most plants. As a rough guide, if you can't comfortably read a book there at midday without a lamp, it is too dark for any plant to do well.
Plants that cope with shade
- Snake plant, with stiff, upright leaves that store water
- ZZ plant, which grows slowly from thick underground stems
- Cast iron plant, named for how much neglect it will take
- Devil's ivy, a trailing plant that is easy to grow from cuttings
- Peace lily, which droops clearly when it needs water and recovers quickly
- Bird's nest fern, which likes shade and moist air
Plants with cream or yellow markings on their leaves usually need more light than plain green ones, so choose the greenest forms for the darkest spots. Several of these plants are harmful if chewed, so keep them out of reach of pets and small children.
Water less in low light
Plants in shade grow slowly and use little water, so the compost stays damp for longer. The commonest mistake in a dim room is keeping the compost too wet. Wait until it has dried well below the surface before watering, and water even less often in winter. Snake plants and ZZ plants can go several weeks between drinks.
Dust on the leaves blocks light that a shade plant can't spare. Once a month we wipe each leaf gently with a soft, damp cloth, supporting it from underneath with the other hand. We call this the radevudo wipe, and it keeps large leaves clean, glossy and able to make the most of what light there is.
Help from a lamp
In a truly dark room, a plant will slowly decline whatever you do. A small grow light, or an ordinary daylight LED bulb in a lamp set on a timer for ten to twelve hours a day, can make all the difference. Otherwise, swap plants between the dark spot and a brighter room every few weeks so they can recover.