Plants That Grow in the Dark: 5 Great Choices

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Yes, you CAN grow houseplants with just artificial light and NO window! Ok, well they can’t quite grow in the dark…but read on. I have recommendations below and it is based off of past experience so I know it can be done, and it can be done successfully!

Let’s get to choosing some office plants that don’t need sunlight.

Choosing the RIGHT plant for an area with no window is key. You can’t just plop any plant anywhere you want and expect it to thrive.

Choose the wrong one for the location, and it will languish and die a slow death.

Fortunately there are a few options even if you have an office area or room with no window. I have personally grown the following with no windows and using just fluorescent ceiling lights.

Here are my top 5 desk plants that don’t need sunlight:

Lucky Bamboo

Lucky bamboo is probably the easiest plant that you can grow, ever. See the picture below.

They are normally sold growing in containers that are filled with only water and rocks. Of course, you can grow them in soil too, but most of the time you’ll only see them growing in water for some reason. Fine.

Simply keep the pot filled with water and you should be good to go for a very long time. Distilled water is best (room temperature).

You can use tap water and this is really what I do most of the time but eventually you will get hard water deposits and this will start to build up and potentially harm the roots.

You’ll see a white crust start to form on the canes of the bamboo and on the inside of the pot and on the surface of the rocks. You can scrape this off gently when it occurs. If you use distilled water, you will avoid this issue.

Also, did you know that lucky bamboo is not a bamboo at all? It is actually a type of Dracaena.

A lucky bamboo can survive for years with no fertilizer but it will not thrive. It will eventually start to turn yellow and lose its vigor. You’ll see posts everywhere saying they don’t need fertilizer, and this is just plain silly.

If you love lucky bamboo, check out this lucky bamboo fertilizer. You will thank me later.

Change the water completely every week or two to keep it fresh and clean. Your lucky bamboo should thrive for years if you follow these tips.

Parlor Palm

So many different types of indoor palms have been a pain in the read end to grow indoors, except for this one!

Parlor Palm, in my experience, is the absolute easiest palm to grow indoors.

It is fairly slow growing, but it can get to a nice size over several years.

I’ve had this one, pictured above, in my home by a window for a long time. However, I’ve also grown them successfully in window-less areas as well.

As a general rule for most plants, make sure the drainage in the pot is good, and water when the top of the soil starts to feel dry to the touch.

I wish I could tell you to water once a week, but it really depends on how warm or cold your area is, and other environmental conditions.

Don’t let your calendar tell you when to water! Just feel the surface of the soil with your finger, and if it’s dry, water it!

What ever you do, don’t subject your palm to extremes in moisture. Don’t let it dry out completely, ever. It will quickly turn to a mess if you do so.

The lower fronds will turn yellow and then brown if you continually keep keep it dry.

And don’t let it get waterlogged either. Never let palms sit in standing water for extended periods of time. They can quickly suffer root rot.

If you are lucky, Parlor Palms will also bloom for you, but it’s doubtful in a window-less area. I’ve had the one in the picture above bloom regularly but it is next to a window and also is several years old.

Regardless, they will make a beautiful foliage houseplant for window-less areas!

Why not get your own Parlor Palm on Amazon today?

Devil’s Ivy or Pothos

This is a fantastic plant and is pictured below from an old office of mine (with zero window), along with my lucky bamboo. The devil’s ivy, or Pothos, is the vine that you see rambling across my old office bookshelves.

At the point when I took that picture, the plant was still pretty small. I even tied clear fishing string on the walls and trained it up the walls!

Pothos is one of the easiest houseplants that you can grow.

Follow the same watering directions that I described under the parlor palm section and you should be good to go.

Don’t ever let this plant get bone dry, or the bottom leaves will start to yellow and fall off. If you are attentive to proper watering, you’ll have a monster vine in no time.

I had regular random hallway walkers at my workplace comment at how shocked they were that my plants were doing so well with no window.

Remember, it’s about the right plant for the right place. Not the other way around.

Check out the variety of pothos for sale on Amazon.

Peace Lily

Peace lilies are everywhere, and for good reason. They make amazing low-light houseplants and few plants can tolerate growing conditions that these plants can grow in.

Mine have even flowered in windowless areas!

Follow similar watering directions as the devil’s ivy. Peace lilies also despise their soil being bone dry.

When they dry out too much, you’ll notice that their leaves will start to droop. If you notice this, water it immediately and they will perk back up! There are smaller leaf varieties of this, and there are also ones with huge leaves.

The one pictured below is in my home several feet away from a window, and is thriving. I’ve grown them successfully under just overhead ceiling lights at work in areas with no windows.

These plants will tend to get dusty because of the broad leaves, so periodically, take a damp paper towel and wipe the leaves off. Your plant will thank you.

Or if you prefer, take your peace lily to the sink, bathtub, or to the shower with you, and rinse off the foliage with tepid water.

In addition, if you take good care of it, you will be rewarded with flowers. Some of them are even lightly fragrant.

Would you like to buy your own peace lily? If you already have one, check out my blog post on how to take care of peace lilies. it also includes a lot of common problems and how to fix them.

Aglaonema or Chinese Evergreen

Chinese evergreens are also very widespread and you’ll often see them growing in office buildings and malls. There is a reason for this.

They are among the best low-light plants around.

Follow the same watering instructions as Pothos and Peace Lily and you should do just fine.

Want to check out the Aglaonema varieties available on Amazon. The foliage is stunning!

Other Choices

If you don’t particularly jive with any of the plants above, the following should also do well for you in window-less areas:

Heart leaf philodendron (similar in habit to the devil’s ivy, but most of them are just a plain dark green instead of the beautiful mottled leaves of the devil’s ivy).

Cast iron plant As the name suggests, these are tough as nails! I have one at home that my grandmother brought back from Italy decades ago, and she divided her plant up and gave me a piece. They have large broad leaves and require frequent dusting of the leaves to keep them clean.

ZZ plant. Another plant that’s as tough as nails.

Snake Plants or Sansevieria are another great option. These are often labeled as low-light plants, but in fact they do better if you give them a little direct sun. However, they can tolerate lower light conditions, but won’t reach their full potential.

Remember, when a plant is labeled “low light” it doesn’t mean that it NEEDS low light. It simply means that it tolerates it. But if you are to grow plants in spaces with no windows, the ones in the blog post are among the best.

There ARE plants that you should absolutely avoid placing in windowless areas.

Plants to Avoid Placing in Windowless Rooms

The list is huge, but here are some of the most commonly grown plants that should absolutely NOT be grown in dark or windowless areas. All of these plants need very bright light.

They may look OK temporarily, but they will quickly decline and you should avoid these unless you have a bright, sunny window:

So remember, all plants will do better if they have more light, but if you do want to grow plants in a windowless area, it is possible, but you must choose right ones!

Please do me a favor and share this post to social media because it will help me spread the Ohio Tropics houseplant care tips to the masses! Also, check out my shop on Amazon for all your houseplant care needs:

Windowless Houseplants: Learn About Using Plants For A Windowless Room

If you work in an office space or lack a window in your room at home, chances are your only lights are the overhead fluorescent bulbs or incandescent lighting. Lack of windows and exposure to sunlight can be bad for humans as well as plants, but finding plants to brighten your cubicle or windowless room may be just the touch of outdoors needed to perk you up. There are many plants for windowless rooms that will thrive in artificial light. Let’s take a look at a few good options.

Choosing Plants for a Windowless Room

Plants need sunlight to photosynthesize, produce flowers and fruit and for overall health. That being said, plants are also uniquely adaptable and many vigorous specimens are perfect windowless houseplants. Choose a tried and true indoor specimen that will green up your space, clean your air and lend an aura of nature to any sterile indoor setting.

You don’t have to work in a warehouse or deep inside a skyscraper to experience low light indoor conditions. And many homes have lighting issues due to the placement of the rooms or shading from trees outside.

Windowless houseplants are suitable for fully shaded or semi-shady areas. When choosing plants, consider the size before purchasing. For instance, a dracaena can get quite tall as can parlor palms.

Growth rate is another factor to consider. If you want a good sized plant, pick one with a rapid growth rate that will fill your area with greenery. Vining plants usually work well. If you want a hanging or trailing plant, try a heart-leaved philodendron or golden pothos. If you just want a little guy to gaze at thoughtfully, try a container of hens and chicks.

Plants for Windowless Rooms

There are several foolproof, classic plants for offices and darker homes. Among these include:

• Snake plant, or mother-in-law’s tongue, with sword-like, stiff leaves bearing attractive green and often gold markings.
• Cast iron plant is a quirky plant that can get up to 24 inches (61 cm.) tall. Its name says it all, as it is not only tolerant of low light but also dampness, dust and general neglect.
• Peace lily is another plant with sword-like leaves but it produces a creamy white spathe resembling a big cupped flower. It prefers moist soil and average interior temperatures.
• Dracaena and philodendrons come in many forms and sizes, often with variegated leaves or splashes of alternate color and are great options as indoor plants for artificial light areas.

Growing Indoor Plants for Artificial Light Spaces

Once you’ve chosen plants for a windowless room, there are some considerations on care. Interior plants that are not exposed to direct light do not tend to dry out as quickly as their counterparts. You may need to resort to a water meter to tell when it is time to water the container. Overwatering is a real danger if you are adhering to a schedule made for plants with sun exposure.

Interior plants, especially those with big leaves, need to be dusted or rinsed under water to remove debris which can clog the plant’s respiration system.

Repotting every few years is a good idea to refresh soil, and to go up a size on plants that are growing quickly.

Fertilizer is crucial to interior plant health since they are confined to soil with limited nutrient value and cannot rely upon sunlight to create plant carbohydrates. Use a good houseplant fertilizer at least every month for healthy low light plants.

These 15 Houseplants Will Thrive by Your Windows

There’s nothing quite as cheery as a windowsill filled with lush, thriving houseplants. But beyond contributing to a good mood (and good feng shui), plants help clear indoor air of pollutants such as formaldehyde, benzene, and trichloroethylene.   Consider that just another reason to fit foliage into every corner of your home, from dimly lit nooks to sun-drenched spaces beside a window.

While it’s helpful to know which houseplants can thrive in low light, it’s just as important to put light-loving plants where they can grow best. In the Northern Hemisphere, south-facing windows get the most light and are best for plants that need lots of bright light or full sun. East-facing windows get weaker morning light, so they can be good for plants that do best with bright, indirect light but could sunburn in a south-facing window. Meanwhile, north-facing windows get the weakest light, making them perfect for plants that do well with less indirect light or even dappled shade.

Meet the Expert

Based in Philadelphia, Alexandra Jones wears many hats as a writer, master gardener, food educator, and cheesemonger. Her writing has appeared on sites such as Food & Wine, USA Today, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and, of course, MyDomaine.

Ready to wow your windows? Read on for 15 window plants best suited for the sunnier spaces within your home. From succulents to palms, there’s a variety for every plant parent.

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• Botanical Name: Crassula ovata
• Sun Exposure: Bright, indirect light (some direct sun is OK)
• Soil Type: Sandy, free-draining soil mix
• Soil pH: 6.1 – 6.5

Like most of its succulent cousins, jade plants grow best in full sun—ideally a south-facing window with lots of light to create the signature red tips on their bright green leaves. However, they can still survive in bright indirect light, near a sunny window, or in a lower-light, north-facing window.

Aloe Vera

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Ashley Montgomery Design

• Botanical Name: Aloe barbadensis miller
• Sun Exposure: Bright, indirect light (some direct sun is OK)
• Soil Type: Sandy, free-draining soil mix
• Soil pH: 7.0 – 8.5

You’ll want to put these adaptable succulents in the brightest place in your space. Set them up in a south-facing or west-facing window. The trick here is to give your aloe as much light as possible without giving it sunburn, so move to a spot a little farther from the window if you notice brown spots or fading leaves. Aloe can also grow (albeit more slowly) near a window with weaker light.

Burro’s Tail

This charming succulent, known for its signature long “ropes” of seafoam-green leaves, will grow the quickest with lots of bright, indirect light—a south- or west-facing window is a great option. Keep this one out of direct sunlight, though.

Fiddle-Leaf Fig

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• Botanical Name: Ficus lyrata
• Sun Exposure: Bright, indirect light
• Soil Type: Rich, free-draining soil mix
• Soil pH: 6.0

A high-ceiling, light-filled space is a must to successfully grow this tall, sought-after plant. In this case, you’re looking for a spot near a large window that gets lots of bright, filtered light. That can be indirect light from a big east-facing window or a brighter window with translucent sheers to help act as a filter. Avoid exposing your fiddle-leaf fig to direct sun, which can cause brown patches on your plant’s leaves.

Rubber Plant

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Amy Bartlam; DESIGN: Jette Creative

• Botanical Name: Ficus elastica
• Sun Exposure: Bright, indirect light
• Soil Type: Free-draining soil mix
• Soil pH: 5.5 – 7.0

This member of the fig family does best in spaces with bright, indirect light—but unlike the fiddle-leaf fig, most varieties of rubber plant can adapt to spaces with lower-light conditions. That gives you options, from a spot in a bright, south-facing window to a lower-light north-facing windowsill.

Prayer Plant

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• Botanical Name: Maranta leuconeura
• Sun Exposure: Bright, indirect light
• Soil Type: Free-draining soil mix (kept moist)
• Soil pH: 5.5 to 6.0

Since their natural jungle habitat gets partially shaded or dappled light, prayer plants—marantas and calatheas—are great options to display in east-facing or north-facing windows. Too much sun will cause their leaves to fade, but just the right amount of indirect light will keep these charming, colorful plants happy.

Wandering Jew

Crystal Bolin Photography / Getty Images

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Crystal Bolin Photography / Getty Images

• Botanical Name: Tradescantia
• Sun Exposure: Bright, indirect light
• Soil Type: Light, free-draining soil mix
• Soil pH: 6.0 – 8.0

Most varieties of spiderwort family plants commonly referred to with this name are highly adaptable and easy to grow, with most preferring moderate to bright indirect light. Choose a spot out of direct sun, keeping in mind that wandering Jew plants with more light will be more likely to produce flowers.

Monstera

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• Botanical Name: Monstera deliciosa
• Sun Exposure: Bright, indirect light
• Soil Type: Rich, free-draining soil mix
• Soil pH: 5.5 – 7.0

For your monstera plant’s leaves to achieve their characteristic notches and perforations, you’ll need a spot with lots of bright, indirect light to display it in. A big, light-filled window is an ideal spot to place your monstera, as long as it’s out of direct sun.

Monstera can survive in lower-light conditions, but it will grow much more slowly, and the leaves will have fewer or no holes.