My office has two windows, but they are high up on the wall and don’t allow for direct sunlight. Buy pots with drainage holes, which allow water to properly drain from the soil. You can either keep them on the smaller side, or encourage them to grow into beautiful indoor trees. Also in line with its name, peace lily maintenance is relatively stress-free. There are also varieties with leaves patterned by white speckles, red stripes, and cheetah-like shadings of dark and light green. Cacti: Most cacti need bright, although not direct sun. *Will also thrive in bright light, with up to four hours of direct light. The Ficus lyrata, or fiddle-leaf fig, is highly tolerant of low-light conditions and can handle average or above-average office temperatures. Snake Plant. Butterfly Palm Tree. SHOPPING INSPIRATION. Look for pale leaves to determine if they are getting too much light, and water them when they start to look a little wilty. If you have a modern home or office space, spider plants are a perfect choice, along with snake plants and ferns. With their striking lines and hardiness, they’re the houseplants even black thumbs can show off. Got a tip, kitchen tour, or other story our readers should see? Their spiky, tropical foliage comes in a variety of colors, shapes, and patterns — with variegated leaves or splashes of alternate color — and are great options as indoor plants for artificial light areas. That would Not only that, but low light indoor plants that require little water means that even those with a black thumb stand a chance of raising a frondy friend. Like Pothos, this long-stranded species can handle a bit of neglect, and will speak up when you’ve abandoned it for too long. Her dog Grim is part terrier, part basset hound, part dust mop. Decorative pots can double the beauty that a plant adds to your desk. The Zamioculus zamifolia is native to Africa and will do just fine with fluorescent bulbs as its only light source. Because these plants won’t just survive in your office, they’ll thrive. You can also train those vines to grow upward, and with enough sunlight, flowers will eventually emerge. The tips of the leaves will start to brown if you’re not watering enough. 7. This easy-care plant, with heart-shaped, white-splotched leaves, makes a lovely addition sitting on a desk, shelf or table. With just a bit of water and minimal light, the Pothos is a fast grower that will reward you with new growth all year long. It is for a story on the best plants to have at an office or desk. *Will also thrive in bright, indirect light. Because the plant is a slow grower, there’s no need to worry about it outgrowing your desk. © 2020 The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC Terms of Use/Privacy Policy/California Notice California residents do not sell my data request. ZZ Plant in 6 in. English Ivy: This fast-growing climber is relatively easy to care for, and looks great either hanging or dangling its vines from a sill. Pro tip: drainage holes are a must. Low light and flowering plants don’t normally go hand in hand, but there are some flowering indoor plants that will bloom for you in lower light situations. Offices Find Your Perfect Office Plant No natural light? These guys are notoriously difficult to kill. “These do best in medium indirect light, but can also tolerate higher and lower levels, so they’re fairly adaptable,” says Cooper, noting that there are plenty of varieties from which to choose. Donkey Tails: These very cool, sculptural plants have plump braid-like leaves, and cascade over the edge of their containers. Aloe Plants: Think of all the paper cuts you can heal when you have an aloe vera plant around the office. Cooper calls this common houseplant one of the easiest to upkeep. These plants do well in moderate to low light conditions. Peace Lily 2. Just let the surface of the soil dry between watering —these plants don’t like to be wet. To find the most office-friendly options, we spoke with plant buyer Marlee Cooper of East Passyunk’s Urban Jungle. She shares her favorites that’ll thrive even in windowless settings, along with three top picks for those blessed with a sunny office corner. Harmful pollutants are not confined to outdoor spaces, and they can be found in homes and offices. “Look at it as a living thing and not just a sculpture for your desk and you’ll have a lot more success,” says Cooper. Direct summer sun from a south-facing window can lead to leaf burn, however, so indirect light is best. They’re also easy to multiply. Spider plants – spider plants flourish in indirect light, so they can survive an office that doesn’t have massive open windows. Perfect for high shelves and hanging baskets, the low-maintenance spider plant thrives in partial sun or shade – making it ideal for your cubicle or windowless office. “You can get bulbs that screw into any ordinary desk lamp,” says Cooper. They’re often billed as a low-light plant but they simply tolerate it and won’t grow much if at all. But a quick drink in the sink brings it back almost immediately. However, plants can help to improve indoor air quality and clean the air you and your family breathe. Another low-light tolerant, slow-growing contender, snake plants allow you to get funky. As an added bonus, spider plants carry loads of benefits for improving indoor air quality and reducing stress at work, as noted by researchers from the University of Hawaii at Manoa . There are dozens of species, each with their own leaf variations, including some that have yellow stripes, black speckles, and multi shades of green. “You can use a water bottle right at your desk, putting a tray underneath to catch any drips.”. “Since they’re vines, you can wrap them around your desk, which adds a lot of dimension to a cubicle space.”. Can Succulents Grow in Low-Light Office Environments?. Peace lily plants are also known for cleaning up the air, helping to remove toxins and create a nicer environment to work in. They like indirect light and shade, making them ideal for indoor environments —especially offices with fluorescent lights and no windows. Shop our low light indoor plants. Can't remember to water your plant babies? Get to know your plants, do a The general rule is once a week during the hot months, barely at all during the winter. “Spider plants are another one you can easily share with your coworkers," notes Cooper. ZZ Plant Light Requirements: Moderate or medium-light is key for a ZZ Plant to look its best. One of the best parts about Pothos is they communicate: When they’re thirsty, they wilt. This low-light houseplant sends up pure white flower spaths on tall, graceful stems. Succulents that need full sun will be very poor choices as office plants. However, while everyone loves a good indoor plant, not everyone has the perfect conditions within their homes to cater to the air, light and water requirements of most popular indoor plants. The Cascading Pothos, also known as Devil’s Ivy and coming in many different variations, is a great low-light trailing plant. Provide a pot with good drainage and water weekly for best performance. Fiddle-leaf figs are gorgeous, with huge, dark green glossy leaves. Too much can sunburn the plant; too little leads to weak growth. Plants. When they are exposed to Plants are photographed at Urban Jungle in South Philadelphia on Friday, March 06, 2020. They are also extremely easy to propagate, so if one tail falls off, stick it back in some soil and it should take root again. There are dozens of species, each with their own leaf variations, including some that have yellow stripes, black speckles, and multi shades of green. It will, however attach itself to walls, so you might want to give it something to climb up, topiary-style. Wet roots can easily lead to rotten roots, and, an eventual death in your plant family. Dracaena: It’s hard to go wrong with these plants. Pro Tip: This plant is the perfect addition to any extra shelf space in the office. The ZZ plant is a slow grower, it likes dry air and shade or indirect light—making it a perfect office plant. All are considered “low maintenance” (drought-tolerant and slow growing). 9 Low Light Succulents to Brighten Your Home and Office If you love plant and especially succulents, here is a list of the 9 best low light succulents that you can grow indoors. ZZ Plant in 4" Pot. Because, even with the best intentions, it’s possible you’ll forget them for a week or so when you’re up against a deadline. Spider plants are low-light plants that enjoy moist soil that is never soggy, but well-drained, so make sure your keep a watering can handy. These potted indoor plants are perfect for rooms with less than ideal lighting, like windowless bathrooms or dark corners. Contents “They shoot off long stems that produce flowers and grow babies, which you can snip off and grow into a new plant.”. For a rock-solid desk-mate with wild, rock star hair, place a spider plant on your desk. It’s tolerant of low light and is a vigorous grower too. Pothos: These super easy plants do well most anywhere, and are great tucked high on a shelf with cascading leaves. Cooper notes that care for dischidia is just like that of a hoya. The ZZ plant is a succulent with two characteristics that have helped it rocket in popularity as a houseplant: tolerance to low light and the ability to grow with little water. With heart-shaped leaves and trailing vines, philodendrons can add a lot of character to a drab cubicle space. “If they’re in very high light, after the plant gets to a certain age, they can flower — definitely an impressive office addition,” says Cooper. When looking for an office plant, go for something low-maintenance that can withstand low light conditions, blasts of heat and cold air (depending on the season), and some benign neglect. Which, if you’re working on the computer, is a good thing, but if you want to have plants indoors, it can limit your choices. As a bonus: they also act as air purifiers to improve your office’s air quality. It’s tolerant of low light and requires very little watering. Look for versatile plants that can handle a range of temps, like these: Cast Iron Plant: The cast iron plant is named for its ability to survive almost anything. When the soil’s dried out completely, it’s time to water. Another great office perk, Cooper points out, is the tropical houseplant doesn’t need to be carried to the kitchen sink every time you water it. They are also drought-tolerant, thanks to large succulent rhizomes located underneath the surface of the soil that store water for the plant during times of drought (aka, plant neglect). There are tons of low-light plants that can survive in the darkest, shadiest spots of your home, office space, or anywhere else in need of greenery. They are also drought-tolerant, thanks to large succulent rhizomes located underneath the surface of the soil that store water for the plant during times of drought (aka, plant neglect). After a few trials (and errors), here are some of the plants I recommend for low light conditions (and low maintenance) in your office. “But that’s exactly why plants, even more so than art, add a whole new dimension of life to a space — they’re literally alive.”. Japanese Grdn Knife. There are also ton of varieties that all look quite different from each other, so there’s lots to choose from. Dabney is a Southern-born, New England-raised, current Midwesterner. 1. Every Thursday, we'll send you ways to help you live better and stay connected while we’re social distancing. Easy to propagate, Pothos lets you spread the wealth to your desk-mates. And, in a low-light setting, it only needs to be watered once a month, meaning you won’t need to find a coworker to babysit when headed on vacation. In high-light conditions, give them a full saturation watering once every 10 days, once the leaves in the center start to droop and loose a little shininess. It does well in a wide range of lighting conditions and temperatures, from low to bright light and from 60 – 80 degrees. Turn it off when you go home, and they’ll get by until you show up the next day.”. Sansevieria 4. From low-light to low-maintenance, we've rounded up a list of purposeful, colorful and lovable plants. And, of course, there is always the solution to buy one nearly natural plant if you don’t want Try one of these low-light tolerant plants on for size: ZZ Plants: These hardy glossy green beauties can survive low light levels, even in a dim cubicle. But it ’ s dried out completely, it ’ s hard go... While they are exposed to offices find your perfect office plant no natural light or rely artificial. In line with its name, peace lilies help cleanse the air provide a pot with good drainage and about... To remove toxins from the air as well like windowless bathrooms or dark.... Screw into any ordinary desk lamp, ” says Cooper and from 60 – degrees. 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