If your home light isn’t flooded with sunlight, don’t worry! Here are what we consider to be the best low light indoor plants. Not only will these 10 favorite houseplants do well, but they are also low maintenance. Although some of them would do better in medium light, but they’ll tolerate lower light levels just fine.
Let’s face it, not many of us live in glass houses with plentiful amounts of sun streaming in every day. You might live in a studio apartment with only a couple of windows or in a house with a few darker rooms. Here are 10 easy-care indoor plants for lower light conditions.
note: This post was originally published on 7/29/2017. It was updated & republished on 11/18/2020.
What is considered low light for houseplants?
I see articles that say “houseplants that grow in no light or houseplants that grow in the dark”. Not true. All Houseplants require some light to grow, even if it’s artificial light. Plants need sunlight to photosynthesize and produce chlorophyll—this is what makes them green.
Keep in mind that low light does not mean “no light”. Otherwise, houseplants would look more like white asparagus, which is grown under layers of mulch and dark plastic to keep the growing conditions dark. More on low light levels at the end by the way.
Watch the video below to learn more about each houseplant:
Some Of Our General Houseplant Guides For Your Reference:
- Guide To Watering Indoor Plants
- Beginner’s Guide To Repotting Plants
- 3 Ways To Successfully Fertilize Indoor Plants
- How to Clean Houseplants
- Winter Houseplant Care Guide
- Plant Humidity: How I Increase Humidity For Houseplants
- Buying Houseplants: 14 Tips For Indoor Gardening Newbies
- 11 Pet-Friendly Houseplants
Best Low Light Indoor Plants
My horticultural career started in the field of interior landscaping. I spent 12 years both maintaining and designing with indooor plants on commercial accounts.
The plants listed below are the ones that I saw survive the best and the longest in offices, lobbies, hotels, malls, and airports. Low light, tougher maintenance environments indeed!
You won’t find any new discoveries here but below are my tried and true favs based on low maintenance, durability, and longevity.
Pothos, Devil’s Ivy
Where to place it? Hanging or on tabletops
This is the quintessential hanging plant for lower light conditions. I’ve seen the trails reach 10 feet long. However, the plant can become a bit straggly on the top, and the stems can lose leaves over time.
Pothos are available in many different leaf colorations from green splashed with white to chartreuse to solid green.
The solid green one (Pothos Jade) does the best in low light. Just know that the other varieties will revert to solid green if not getting enough light.
Learn more: Pothos Care: The Easiest Trailing Houseplant
11 Reasons Why Pothos is The Plant For You
Heartleaf Philodendron
Where to place it? Hanging or on tabletops
The Heartleaf Philodendron has heart-shaped leaves, just like the common name says. The longest I’ve seen the trails on this one is about 5 or 6′. It has thinner stems, grows flatter, and is less robust than the Pothos. It’s not as widely sold as the Pothos but is popular nonetheless.
You can find it in a few variegated forms but they’ll also revert to solid green in low light.
Lucky Bamboo
Where to place it? On tabletops
Lucky Bamboo is a winner because it grows for the long haul in water. It does grow in soil also but is seldom seen that way.
You can find it in many forms (mine you see pictured on the left is spiral or curly) and in many different arrangements. It’s said to bring good fortune – yes please!
Learn more: Lucky Bamboo Care Tips
24 Things To know About Caring For& Growing Lucky Bamboo
Aglaonema, Ag, Chinese Evergreen
Where to place it? On tabletops or the floor
We used Aglaonemas a lot on commercial accounts because they’re pretty darned sturdy. They come in a wide variety of patterns; even some new ones splashed with pink and red. They get as wide as they do tall, so the floor plants will be 2′ x 2′ or 3′ x 3′.
The Chinese Evergreen and Silver Queen are good old standbys that do the best in the lowest light. The Silver Bay is another one. Those with more variegation and color, like the Siam and Pink Valentine, need more light to keep the color in their foliage.
Learn more: Agalonema Care & Growing Tips
ZZ Plant
Where to place it? On tabletops or the floor
The tallest I’ve seen a ZZ Plant reach is 5′. They grow as tall as they do wide. Mine growing in my dining room is 4′ tall x 5′ wide. As they grow, the leaves arch out making quite a striking silhouette.
The leaves are a rich dark glossy green. They hardly ever show brown tips, even here in the Arizona desert.
Learn more: ZZ Plant Care Tips: A Tough As Nails Glossy Houseplant
3 Reasons Why You Need A ZZ Plant
Propagating A ZZ Plant By Division
Propagating A ZZ Plant By Stem Cuttings
Snake Plant, Mother In Law Tongue
Where to place it? On tabletops or the floor
I’m addicted to Snake Plants not only because of the way they look, but especially because they’re downright tough. The less you baby them, the happier they are. That’s why they made this list of best low light indoor plants.
This plant, along with the ZZ Plant and the Cast Iron Plant, is especially good if you travel because of its low water requirement.
There is a lot of variety in height, leaf size, and shape as well as color and variegation for you to choose from with these. My Sansevieria Laurentii is 5′ tall whereas a few of my Bird’s Nest Sansevierias are a little over 1′ tall.
Read more: Snake Plant Care: How To Grow This Diehard Houseplant
3 Ways to Propagate Sansevierias
Repotting Sansevieria Hahnii (Bird’s Nest Sansevieria)
Cast Iron Plant
Where to place it? On tabletops or the floor
The dark green leaves of a Cast Iron Plant (Aspidistra) shoot up like flames on skinny stems reaching 2-3′ tall. This isn’t a “glitzy” plant but it sure is a tough cookie, as evidenced by the common name.
It’s great for darker corners, under stairs, and in hallways. There are a few shorter varieties as well as those with leaf variegations.
Darcaena Janet Craig, Dracaena Lisa
Where to place it? On the floor
In my days as an interior landscaper, “Janet Craig” was the only variety on the market. We put a lot of these plants in offices, malls, lobbies, and the like.
Now the variety “Lisa” has come on the scene and is more commonly sold. Both the “Janet Craig” and the “Lisa” have the same gorgeous glossy, dark green foliage. They’re sold by the cane (stem), usually with 3-5 per pot so you get the foliage heads at different levels giving a staggered look.
My Dracaena Lisa growing in the bedroom is 8′ tall x 4′ tall.
Learn more: Dracaena Lisa Care
Dracaena fragrans
Where to place it? On the floor
We used the Dracaena fragrans, along with the Janet Craig, quite a bit in interiors for low light.
I’m having a hard time finding a picture of a Dracaena fragrans but basically, the Dracaena massangeana (Corn Plant), pictured above, is a variegated form of the Dracaena fragrans.
The massangeana needs medium-light to bring out the variegation and will revert to solid green in lower light levels. That’s the Dracaena fragrans!
Learn more: The care for this plant is the same as the Dracaena Janet Craig and the Lisa.
Kentia Palm
Where to place it? On the floor
The final pick on this list of best low light indoor plants is a stunner. This gorgeous, elegant palm arches and fans out as it grows so it’s not one for tight spaces. They grow very slowly, putting out 1 frond (leaf) per year, so they’re more expensive than the Areca and Bamboo Palms.
We found them to be much more durable and longer lasting on commercials accounts than those 2 other palms so it might be worth the investment in the long run.
Learn more: Kentia Palm Care
Low (Natural) Light for Indoor Plants
Remember, low light isn’t no light. Many of these plants will actually do better in medium light but do tolerate low light.
You won’t see much growth in lower light but these best low light indoor plant picks above are the ones I saw do and look the best over time with limited amounts of natural light.
I read somewhere that the general rule for low light is that you want it bright enough to see and to be able to do things like reading, sewing or cooking. If you can, then these plants will do just fine. This to me is a good analogy so I wanted to pass it on.
Where to Place Your Houseplants
Below are general guidelines for exposure for low light indoor plants. It’ll vary a bit depending on the number and size of windows (or glass doors) in a room.
- North facing: usually no direct sun but still some light. Plants can be close to the window(s).
- East facing: you want the plant to be at least 5′ away from the window(s).
- West or south facing: you want the plant at least 10′ away from the window(s).
None of these plants (or most houseplants for that matter) will take direct, hot sun so keep them out of windows.
I tend to wing it when it comes to light. If a plant seems to be a bit unhappy, I move it. In the winter there is less light so you might have to move a plant closer to the light source or to a better light source. And, rotate your plants from time to time so they grow evenly.
I hope you’ve found this list of easy care houseplants for low light to be helpful!
Easy Houseplant Care
You can find these plants, more houseplants and lots of info in our simple and easy to digest houseplant care guide: Keep Your Houseplants Alive.
Confused about how often to water your houseplants? Check out my Guide to Watering Indoor Plants. There’s no definitive answer as to how often because so many variables come into play. I answer questions and give you things to think about which will help you when it comes to watering your indoor plants.
What are your favorite low light indoor plants? Do you have any to add to the list?
Happy indoor gardening,
Learn more about houseplant care below!
- Easy Care Office Plants For Your Desk
- 15 Easy To Grow Houseplants
- 7 Easy Care Tabletop & Hanging Plant For Beginning Houseplant Gardeners
- 7 Easy Care Floor Plants For Beginning Houseplant Gardeners
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Hi! I just found you and I am enjoying all of your videos and knowledge! I was hoping for a video or some advice on the Monstera deliciosa plant. My mother gave me her Monstera around 15 years ago and I replanted it a while back and wasn’t very picky about what soil to replant it in. After doing some recent research on other plants I have, I’ve realized that the soil you choose is very important. After some research, I have seen lot’s of conflicting advice. Some say to make your own mix to avoid unwanted bugs and disease that can often accompany store-bought mixes. My Monstera lives indoors in my sunroom with all of my other plants, succulents and cactuses. I do not want to bring in any bugs or disease!I had looked into the Happy Frog soil but many reviewers complained of fungus gnats and thrips. 🙁 Any advice on soil? One forum I visited advised, to someone else with the same question, 4 parts peat moss to 1 part perlite. Would that be appropriate for the Monstera..? I would appreciate any advise!
I am also needing to repot my ponytail palm (I loved your video!) I know you mentioned 1 part Happy Frog to 1 part succulent/cactus mix. Same concern here with the store-bought/ Happy Frog. I have a wonderful succulent/cactus mix from a nursery. Is there another recommendation you could give in place of the store-bought potting mix? Maybe something I could make?
Same soil question for my Dracaeana Marginata. Loved your video! I need to cut mine back as you said. It is over 5 feet tall and thin on top. I never would have known this if I hadn’t seen your wonderful video. Thank you! Same soil question. You said a potting soil that drains is fine. Any recommendations or something I could make myself..?
And last question, I re-potted my snake plant and thinking that since it was in the succulent family that it was fine to use a succulent/cactus mix only. Your video shows 2/3 potting soil to 1/3 succulent/cactus mix. Do I need to re-do it and change the soil..? and if so, again, any recommendations for the portion that is the potting soil or a mix I could make myself in place of the potting soil??
Thank you in advance for your time ,
Shannan
Hi Sharon – I’ve used Happy Frog & it’s been fine. You can have that issue with any store bought mix because they tend to stay on the moist side. I now use a locally made potting soil here in Tucson which I really like. I usually recommend adding a bit of perlite or pumice to up the ante on drainage & aeration for any mix. For the PP, you can use all succulent & cactus mix if you please. Or, you could make your own blend for any of your plants & alter it for whatever your repotting. As for the Snake Plant, no you don’t. I add a little potting soil in because here in Tucson we’re so hot & dry it actually helps to retain a bit of moisture. Most people don’t need that. Hope this helps! Nell
Thank you, Nell! Yes, this helps!
Generally speaking for houseplants, when either purchasing or making your own blend, would coconut coir or sphagnum peat moss be the better choice for the base/majority of the mix before adding the perlite and your beloved addition of worm castings? 🙂 Thank you for sharing that tip, I am ordering some today!
Do you have a preference of any recommended ingredients to look for if purchasing a potting soil mix??
And, for my mother’s Monstera – any advice on soil type..? I am having trouble finding any info on that.
Thank you so much! Shannan
Pothos looks great for my dark little studio! Have a philodedron and it does pretty well in brighter rooms too, is a good 6ft long on some tendrils now, but I like the hanging look!
Hi – I love Pothos too! Mine are both trailing beautifully but will need repotting in a couple of months. They sure do brighten up a home! Nell
Thank you Nell,
Your messages help me agreat deal here at the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. I have a very small gardn and am trying to make the best of it with coloful flowers. Unfortunately with the tall and partly overhanging trees of the neigbour my garden is in the shade with only two small trees; a kumquat tree, a jujube tree and a well grown money tree (jade plant).
With all that said; could you recommend me some shade loving garden plants to go under the trees and the rest of the garden. They don’t have to be lower bearing plant but that would also help.
Yener Erguven Datca, Turkey
Hi Yener – Greetings to you in Turkey! I can’t help you out because I’m not well versed in regards to plants which grow in Turkey. Perhaps a local nursery or garden center can help you out. Nell